“I didn’t show up at the ceremony to collect any of my first three Oscars. Once I went fishing, another time there was a war on, and on another occasion, I remember, I was suddenly taken drunk.”

John Ford (1894-1973)

John Ford was one of the earliest auteur directors of motion pictures. He won four Academy Awards for directing, a record in the category. Among his films were “The Grapes of Wrath,” “The Searchers,” “The Quiet Man,” “Stagecoach” and “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.” He died on this date in 1973.

Source: The Internet Movie Database