Only two in the world hold both an Oscar and a Nobel Prize

In the annals of prestigious awards, only two individuals have achieved the rare feat of winning both an Oscar and a Nobel Prize: Bob Dylan and George Bernard Shaw. Their unique accomplishments bridge the worlds of arts and literature, marked by distinct, and at times contradictory, responses to their accolades.

Bob Dylan became the second person to achieve this dual honor in 2016 when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for "creating new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition." This recognition followed his Oscar win 15 years earlier for Best Original Song, "Things Have Changed," from the film "Wonder Boys." Despite his known aversion to formal recognition, Dylan acknowledged the Academy's award, noting the song "doesn't close its eyes to the human condition."

Before Dylan, Irish playwright and socialist George Bernard Shaw was the first artist to unite these two prestigious awards. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1925, cited for his "idealism and humanity, his often-exquisite poetic beauty of expression." Shaw's initial reaction was famously reserved, even critical. He reportedly stated, "I can forgive the Nobel for inventing dynamite, but only a monster in human form could invent the Nobel Prize." Encouraged by colleagues, he eventually accepted the award but refused the prize money, redirecting it to fund translations of Swedish playwright August Strindberg's works into English.

Shaw's encounter with the Academy came in 1939 when he received an Oscar for Best Screenplay for adapting his own play, "Pygmalion," into the film later known as "My Fair Lady." His reaction to this award was surprisingly irate. He declared it "pure nonsense" and an "insult," suggesting the Academy had never heard of him. This reaction echoes themes from his play "Pygmalion," where Professor Henry Higgins transforms flower girl Eliza Doolittle into a lady but struggles to see her as a person, rather than his creation. The question lingers whether Shaw, like Higgins, allowed ego to overshadow his artistic achievement.