Bruce Campbell Adamson PO Box 1003 Aptos, CA 95001-1003

Since Katie is being paid 17 million a year as a newscaster, one would assume that her staff would have done the proper research for her. She did not say it, yet her assistant Bill Whittaker did. I enjoy her broadcasting, as I do Brian Williams, yet this one touched a nerve. For I did so much research on this subject and had to find out the answer with dedication, and feel that when a major news organization like CBS makes an error they should own up to it. Instead of saying they did not say "longest loosing streak," when they did. The Academy of Motion Pictures Library has confirmed I was correct. Read on :

Kevin O'Connell did not win and Couric & Company responded and I put the question to the Oscar

website : See Couric's response below :

[Hide Quoted Text]
From: "Bruce Campbell Adams..." <"P.O."@got.net>
Reply-To: bca@ciajfk.com
To: Couric and Co <couricandco@cbs.com>

Subject: RE: CBS and Katie Couric's Oscar Error
Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2007 19:28:22 -0800

To Oscar.com

To Oscar Historical Reference;

To Whom It May Concern and to Greg Kandra of Couric & Co.;

On Feb. 22, 2007 The Katie Couric Nightly News stated that Kevin O'Connell had the
longest loosing streak in Oscar history." I have it on Video and have listen to the
statement.

This is NOT TRUE....Victor Young had 21 and Kevin O'Connell now has 19. Victor Young
had the longest loosing streak in a row before he won his ONE and Only Oscar five
months after he died on November 10, 1956.

It took me some time to figure this out while reearching my family history and I take
pride in spreading of unintentional misinformation. If I am mistaken could you please
CORRECT My misunderstanding.

CBS did not say in this piece "WITHOUT EVER WINNING."

Sincerely yours, Bruce Campbell Adamson

******************************************************

Hi Mr. Adamson,

The Kevin O'Connell statistic can be found on the Academy's oscars.org
website under the heading of "Batting 0"
(http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/help/statistics/generalfacts.html
- scroll down the General Facts document and look for the specific
section). The "Batting 0" statistic lists nominees, whether they be
people, studio departments, companies or countries, that have eight or
more competitive nominations without winning a competitive award. A
requirement of this statistic is NOT having won a competitive award,
i.e. "Batting 0", and is the opposite of our "Batting 1000" statistic
(winning every competitive nomination). As I explained to you on the
phone, because Victor Young finally did win a competitive award, he was
removed from this list. This is the list that Kevin O'Connell now heads
with 19 nominations and no competitive wins.

Victor Young has a total of 22 competitive nominations. He received
his 21st and 22nd nominations (in two different music categories)
posthumously in the same year. He won for Music Score of a Dramatic or
Comedy Picture which was presented before the Song category on the
night.

You are correct that in taking the "Batting 0" statistic and stating it
as "the longest losing streak in Oscar history" the media is misstating
the facts. The "Batting 0" statistic is one type of a "losing streak",
but "losing streak" has broader statistical implications. As I
mentioned on the phone, it is difficult to count nominations in a losing
streak because of multiple nominations in a single year. If one of
those nominations is a winner, on which side of the win do you count the
rest? However you decide to count it, right now, Victor Young has a
greater losing streak than Kevin O'Connell. I also checked our database
and confirmed that there is no one else with more than 19 nominations
between wins.

I hope this helps,
Libby Wertin

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Libby Wertin
Reference Librarian/Academy Files
Margaret Herrick Library
lwertin@oscars.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**********************************************************
Response from Katie Couric News' by Greg Kandra:
en:
Thanks for writing. What the broadcast said was that Kevin O'Connell is Oscar's
biggest loser. He's been nominated the most times WITHOUT EVER
WINNING.

Victor Young won. ---------- YET HE HAD THE LONGEST LOOSING STREAK

Greg Kandra
Editor, "Couric & Co."
www.cbsnews.com
****************************************************************

Adamson is a Distant Cousin to Katie Couric through Carter family both of US are
related to Benjamin Harrison.

"On Feb. 22 , CBS on the Katie Couric's Nightly News made a serious error in Academy
Award History, stating that Keven O'Connell was the man who had more Oscar nominations
with 19 "more than any other person in the Academy history without winning an Oscar.
This is not the truth!

"My uncle's songwriting partner, Victor Young had 22 nominations in-a-row, only to have
his 22nd nomination turned into winning his ONE and ONLY Oscar five months after Young
had passed away on November 10, 1956. Young won an Oscar posthumously for the
composition for Around the World in 80 Days. Harold Campbell Adamson wrote the lyrics
for Around the World in 80 Days two weeks before Oscar night and the nominations and
votes were already in. So Hal was out of luck for an Oscar nomination. Yet Harold's
lyrics for Around the World in 80 Days were played in theaters around the USA at
intermissions. Hal's song was voted by the Television and Radio Producers and Directors
of America: 'Song Hit of the Year.' Harold did receive his last Oscar nomination the
following year for the lyrics in the film An Affair to Remember. Harold and Victor
Young wrote their first song together in 1933 for the film Turn Back the Clock with the
song "Tony's Wife." In 1933 CBS was then only six years old.

"One person had more nominations than Victor Young, but they were not in a row and this
person was a corporation, Walt Disney. I. Bruce Adamson, spent six months at the
Academy's Library conducting research on uncle Harold Adamson, who was nominated five
times for an Oscar and researching The Barrymore Family history. Even in death it did
not stop Victory Young and Harold Adamson from collaborating. In 1958 Hal put words to
Victory Young's song "God Has His Arms Around Me," for the Barbara Stanwyck film Forty
Guns.

Bruce Campbell Adamson

Feb. 22, 2007

P.O. Box 1003, Aptos, CA,

**************************************

Having Not Received an Answer to this question by the Oscar.com website I wrote the following to The Academy Award

Re: Second Request Who had the longest loosing streak in Academy History of nominations without winning an Oscar. Was it Kevin O'Connell with 19 or was it Victor Young with 21

To Reference;
Katie Couric of CBS' Nightly News said, or rather her coworker Bill Whittaker said that Kevin O'Connell had "The Longest Loosing Streak in Oscar Nomination History, with 19 nominations in a row without winning." I spent much time and knew this to be a mistake. For my uncle Harold Adamson's songwriting partner, Victor Young had 22 nominations and died on November 10, 1956 before he won his one and only Oscar months after his death. I contact Katie Couric, a distant cousin and her staff, one Greg Kandra of Couric & Company

Beginning in 1999 I began producing a documentary a video: Our Pal Hal; An Affair to Remember on my uncle HArold Adamson a songwriter from 1930-1964 and believe in proper broadcasting the TRUTH.

"On Feb. 22 , CBS on the Katie Couric's Nightly News made a serious error in Academy
Award History, stating that Keven O'Connell was the man who had more Oscar nominations
with 19 "more than any other person in the Academy history without winning an Oscar.
This is not the truth!

*********************************************

On December 22, 2006 George Clooney appeared on TV with former CIA Director George H. W. Bush. In the early 1990s George Clooney has played in films supporting the War in the Middle East under he elder Bush's administration. Then he produced Chuck Barris CIA recruiting film: Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, 2002. Sure Clooney came up with Syriana in 2005 which was critical of the CIA. This is to off set the other films which were pro CIA. Such as Without Warning: Terror in the Towers 1993; The Peacmaker 1997; Three Kings, 1999. I remember watching one of his films where war is declared in the Middle East for a pipe line Clooney said: "We are Doing this for President George H.W. Bush," and knowing that the CIA manipulates Hollywood, and itt left me wondering. if Mr. Clooney is in reality living the life of a CIA agent like Chuck Barris allegedly did? The fictional Middle East War Clooney was promoting in his film has turned into a nightmare in reality. The Republican party can impeach Bill Clinton for lying and protecting the honor of a lady and when President Bush lies about going to War in Iraq which resulted in the casualities of hundreds of thousands, the American public and their representatives can diggest it. Without even considering Impeachment. On December 13, 2006 All sort of Holyuwood CIA assests appeared to honor Clooney in the world of film making. Clooney promoted Bush War in 1990s now he has found PEACE with BUSH. I hope not to be one who is prejudging Clooney for he is openingly supporting Obama for Pressident. I just believe he should have taken a STRONGER stance against Bush and could simultaneously promote his Sudan thing.

The public loves Clooney for his noble work in Darfur, Sudan. It would be Great if we could show the rest of the world by setting an example. What Clooney has done is try to blame the government of Sundan of exactly what the U.S. goverment is guilty of doing in Iraq. Iraq is not important. Now Clooney is rubbing elbows with the former CIA Director and President who atarted the first war in Iraq. Bush Sr.'s son has caused a war which has caused as many casulities as in the U.S. Civil War over six hundred thousand. Bush said on Christmas Eve "God told him to go to War in Iraq." Do you really believe that Mr. Bush? I believe that Bush does not want to loose possession of all of the billion dollars he has spent on the new Embassy and military camps. That would make him look foolish if he had to give it all up. Bush may want to make Iraq the fifty-first state so that we have a steady source of Oil. Beware of Hollywood Stars,

When Clooney's good friend, Walter Cronkite was working for CBS, Cronkite's boss was William S. Paley had a special agreement with the Central Intelligence Agency to allow CBS newscasters that were in reality CIA agents. Paley was "CIA assassin" Chuck Barris' uncle-by-marriage who helped in producing The Gong Show.

"And That is The Way It Is," today! Say Hay, Katie Couric. Walter Cronkite. In my eyes he was still a great newscaster.