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Humphrey Bogart, Best Actor, "The African Queen" (1951)

In 1951, all eyes were on Marlon Brando to win Best Actor for his breakthrough performance in "A Streetcar Named Desire," but he happened to be up against an overdue Hollywood veteran in a bawdy drunk role. In a surprise victory, Humphrey Bogart reaped Oscar gold as an alcoholic riverboat captain in "The African Queen."

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James Dunn, Best Supporting Actor, "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" (1945)

1945 could be dubbed The Year of the Drunk at the Oscars. The same year that "The Lost Weekend" took home Best Picture, Director, Actor, and Screenplay, James Dunn won Best Supporting Actor for his role as a lovable, slap-happy, alcoholic family man who can't keep a job.

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James Coburn, Best Supporting Actor, "Affliction" (1998)

Maybe it shouldn't have been so surprising that James Coburn pulled off an upset for "Affliction" – he portrays an alcoholic, abusive father who still strikes fear in the heart of his adult son (Nick Nolte). In fact, it's more surprising that Nolte's nomination for Best Actor that year didn't result in a win, since he too portrays a man hooked on the bottle.

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Lee Marvin, Best Actor, "Cat Ballou" (1965)

"I smell a water hole," proclaims Lee Marvin when he sniffs the faint smell of liquor in "Cat Ballou," one of the few comedic roles to win Best Actor. In a surprise victory, Marvin beat out heavyweight dramatic contenders Rod Steiger ("The Pawnbroker"), Richard Burton ("The Spy Who Came in From the Cold"), Laurence Olivier, ("Othello") and Oskar Werner ("Ship of Fools").

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Frank Sinatra, Best Supporting Actor, "From Here to Eternity" (1953)

Old Blue Eyes portrayed drunken Pvt. Angelo Maggio in Oscar's Best Picture champ "From Here to Eternity." When told that drinking is a weakness, Maggio responds, "I don't like weakness … but I like to drink!"

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Jessica Lange, Best Actress, "Blue Sky" (1994)

Jessica Lange has won two Oscars for portraying women with a drinking problem. As a daytime-television star in "Tootsie" (1982), Lange enjoyed one glass of wine too many. As an Army wife in "Blue Sky," Lange's alcoholism causes problems for her nuclear scientist husband (Tommy Lee Jones).

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Elizabeth Taylor, Best Actress, "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (1966)

During their marriages (they got hitched two times), Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton became notorious for their boozy battles off screen. When they decided to perform the same antics on screen as warring spouses George and Martha in Mike Nichols' adaptation of Edward Albee's Broadway play "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf," gossipmeisters were flabbergasted -- but fascinated too. The result: one of the greatest films in Hollywood history. Taylor won the Oscar for Best Actress, but Burton lost lead actor to Paul Scofield ("A Man for All Seasons"). Taylor and Burton divorced for the last time in 1974. In 1984, Burton went to his grave as Oscar's biggest loser (seven defeats), probably because academy members were fed up with his real-life drunken antics.

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