Editing Peter Finch (section)

===Oscar===
Finch was nominated for an Oscar for ''Network'' and went on to posthumously win the award, which was accepted by his widow, Eletha Finch. Although [[James Dean]] (twice) and [[Spencer Tracy]] had previously been posthumously nominated for a Best Actor Oscar, Finch was the first actor to win the award posthumously, as well as the first Australian actor to win a Best Actor award. He was the only posthumous winner of an Oscar in an acting category until fellow Australian [[Heath Ledger]] won the [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]] in 2009; there were many earlier [[List of posthumous Academy Award winners and nominees|posthumous Oscar winners]] in non-acting categories.<ref name="Eyewitness2">[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] ''Eyewitness News''; 23 February 2009; Midnight broadcast</ref><ref name="Posthumous2">{{cite web |title='Slumdog Millionaire' fulfills its Oscar destiny |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/slumdog-millionaire-fulfills-its-oscar-destiny-wbna29332714 |work=TODAY.com|date=22 February 2009 }}</ref> Finch also won five Best Actor awards from the [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts]] (BAFTA), including one for ''Network''.

Shortly before he died, Finch told a journalist:<blockquote>We all say we're going to quit occasionally. I'd like to have been more adventurous in my career. But it's a fascinating and not ignoble profession. No one lives more lives than the actor. Movie making is like [[geometry]] and I hated maths. But this kind of jigsaw I relish. When I played Lord Nelson I worked the [[poop deck]] in his uniform. I got extraordinary shivers. Sometimes I felt like I was staring at my own coffin. I touched that character. There lies the madness. You can't fake it.<ref>{{cite news |author=Paul Rosenfield |date=9 January 1977 |title=Peter Finch – Michelin Guide to Show Biz Comes to Rest in Hollywood |page=r29 |work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref></blockquote>