This was the show in which Marlon Brando who had won Best Actor for The Godfather (1972) sent Sacheen Littlefeather, an Apache woman in his place in order to tell the Academy that he was refusing the award because of the way that American Indians were being treated in films and on television. Because of this, the Academy put a strict policy into place, stating that absentee winners were not allowed to send a proxy to accept their awards.
Co-host Charlton Heston had a flat tire on the way to the awards and arrived a few minutes late, just after Clint Eastwood had been pressed into service as a temporary emergency substitute.
The 45th Annual Academy Awards were held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the Los Angeles Music Center. The ceremony was held there from 1969 to 1987, 1990, 1992 to 1994, 1996, and 1999.