Academy Awards archive

Ben-Hur Oscar Nominations & Wins

Ben-Hur has 12 Academy Award records in the AwardWentTo archive, including 11 wins.

Wins recorded in the archive

All 12 award records

Counts reflect film-linked records in this archive. Historical, special and honorary awards may be included; these are not a verified competitive-award total. Years identify the source film eligibility year.

Ben-Hur: all recorded nominations and wins
Film yearCategory / credited nomineeRecorded result
Film year1959Best Actor
Credited nominee / recipientCharlton Heston

Judah Ben-Hur

Win recorded
Film year1959Best Supporting Actor
Credited nominee / recipientHugh Griffith

Sheik Ilderim

Win recorded
Film year1959Art Direction (Color)
Credited nominee / recipientArt Direction: William A. Horning, Edward Carfagno; Set Decoration: Hugh Hunt
Win recorded
Film year1959Cinematography (Color)
Credited nominee / recipientRobert L. Surtees
Win recorded
Film year1959Costume Design (Color)
Credited nominee / recipientElizabeth Haffenden
Win recorded
Film year1959Best Director
Credited nominee / recipientWilliam Wyler
Win recorded
Film year1959Film Editing
Credited nominee / recipientRalph E. Winters, John D. Dunning
Win recorded
Film year1959Original Score
Credited nominee / recipientMiklos Rozsa
Win recorded
Film year1959Best Picture
Credited nominee / recipientSam Zimbalist, Producer
Win recorded
Film year1959Sound Mixing
Credited nominee / recipientMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Franklin E. Milton, Sound Director
Win recorded
Film year1959Visual Effects
Credited nominee / recipientVisual Effects by A. Arnold Gillespie, Robert MacDonald; Audible Effects by Milo Lory
Win recorded
Film year1959Adapted Screenplay
Credited nominee / recipientKarl Tunberg
Nomination recorded
Recorded winner in this categoryRoom at the Top
Neil Paterson

Who else was nominated?

Compare Ben-Hur with the film-linked nominees recorded in the same category and ceremony. Each performance or song keeps its own credit; winners are marked in gold.

Comparisons are shown only for unambiguous competitive results. Honorary awards, ties and groups with unresolved source notes remain in the award history above.

Best Actor 1959 film year · Ceremony 32
Best Actor winner historyAll 1959 film-year results
Best Supporting Actor 1959 film year · Ceremony 32
Best Supporting Actor winner historyAll 1959 film-year results
Art Direction (Color) 1959 film year · Ceremony 32
  • Ben-Hur This film
    Art Direction: William A. Horning, Edward Carfagno; Set Decoration: Hugh Hunt
    ★ Winner
  • The Big Fisherman
    Art Direction: John DeCuir; Set Decoration: Julia Heron
    Nominee
  • Journey to the Center of the Earth
    Art Direction: Lyle R. Wheeler, Franz Bachelin, Herman A. Blumenthal; Set Decoration: Walter M. Scott, Joseph Kish
    Nominee
  • North by Northwest
    Art Direction: William A. Horning, Robert Boyle, Merrill Pye; Set Decoration: Henry Grace, Frank McKelvy
    Nominee
  • Pillow Talk
    Art Direction: Richard H. Riedel; Set Decoration: Russell A. Gausman, Ruby R. Levitt
    Nominee
Art Direction (Color) winner historyAll 1959 film-year results
Cinematography (Color) 1959 film year · Ceremony 32
Cinematography (Color) winner historyAll 1959 film-year results
Costume Design (Color) 1959 film year · Ceremony 32
Costume Design (Color) winner historyAll 1959 film-year results
Best Director 1959 film year · Ceremony 32
Best Director winner historyAll 1959 film-year results
Film Editing 1959 film year · Ceremony 32
Film Editing winner historyAll 1959 film-year results
Original Score 1959 film year · Ceremony 32
Original Score winner historyAll 1959 film-year results
Best Picture 1959 film year · Ceremony 32
Best Picture winner historyAll 1959 film-year results
Sound Mixing 1959 film year · Ceremony 32
  • Ben-Hur This film
    Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio Sound Department, Franklin E. Milton, Sound Director
    ★ Winner
  • Journey to the Center of the Earth
    20th Century-Fox Studio Sound Department, Carl Faulkner, Sound Director
    Nominee
  • Libel!
    Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer London Studio Sound Department, A. W. Watkins, Sound Director
    Nominee
  • The Nun's Story
    Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department, George R. Groves, Sound Director
    Nominee
  • Porgy and Bess
    Samuel Goldwyn Studio Sound Department, Gordon E. Sawyer, Sound Director; and Todd-AO Sound Department, Fred Hynes, Sound Director
    Nominee
Sound Mixing winner historyAll 1959 film-year results
Visual Effects 1959 film year · Ceremony 32
  • Ben-Hur This film
    Visual Effects by A. Arnold Gillespie, Robert MacDonald; Audible Effects by Milo Lory
    ★ Winner
  • Journey to the Center of the Earth
    Visual Effects by L. B. Abbott, James B. Gordon; Audible Effects by Carl Faulkner
    Nominee
Visual Effects winner historyAll 1959 film-year results
Adapted Screenplay 1959 film year · Ceremony 32
Adapted Screenplay winner historyAll 1959 film-year results
About these award records

This independent archive groups film-linked award records by film, credited name, category and eligibility year. The film year can differ from the year the ceremony took place. Ceremony numbers are shown where supplied by the records.

Each distinct performance, song or award credit remains a separate record, even when it belongs to the same film. Shared credits stay together. A person's page covers the name shown, without combining aliases or shared credits into a complete career total.

Totals can include honorary, special and historical awards alongside competitive nominations. Awards without a linked film are outside these page totals. Source notes and uncertain records are retained; category comparisons omit groups with unresolved notes, ties or conflicting identities.

For the official record, search the Academy Awards Database (opens in a new tab). Award Went To is an independent exploration tool and is not affiliated with the Academy.