Peter Finch’s ‘Network’ Golden Globe Goes to Auction
In 1976, Peter Finch received the posthumous Best Actor Golden Globe for his iconic performance in satirical black-comedy Network. Now the award is included in RR Auction’s ongoing “The Fine Autographs and Artifacts” sale, which launched January 20th and concludes on February 8th.
The Sidney Lumet-directed Network, ranked Number 66 on AFI’s list of the 100 Greatest American Movies, is best remembered for Finch’s character, news anchor Howard Beale, and his mid-show mental breakdown. In an enraged, impassioned soliloquy, he ignores the teleprompter and rants about “the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crime in the street.”
“All I know is that first, you’ve got to get mad,” Beale continues, launching into the film’s most quoted – and still timely – line. “You’ve gotta say, ‘I’m a human being, goddammit! My life has value!’ So I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window, open it, and stick your head out and yell, ‘I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!'”
Finch died at age 60 on January 14th, 1977, 15 days before the Golden Globes ceremony. He was also awarded the first-ever posthumous Academy Award.
The Golden Globes trophy features a engraved plaque on front of the marble stand, which reads, “Peter Finch, Best Motion Picture Actor, Drama, ‘Network,’ 1976, Hollywood Foreign Press Association.” The award is accompanied by an original program from the event.