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Friday, September 14, 2012
I was curious about the longest standing ovations in history, but wasn't able to find a definitive list. This is my attempt at creating one.
There are likely many undocumented standing ovations longer than these. Supposedly Stalin would shoot the first person who stopped clapping at his speeches and that usually resulted in some long standing ovations, but for the sake of this list I'll consider that cheating.
Here are some notable standing ovations:
Academy Awards
Hollywood, CA 1972 - Charlie Chaplin returned to the United States after more than 20 years of self imposed exile. Traditionally the final Oscar of the evening is awarded to Best Picture, but the Academy saved his return for last. After awarding the 1971 Best Picture to the French Connection, a retrospective of Chaplin's career was played and when the lights came back on, the 82 year old icon was already on the stage. The audience erupted at the sight of him and broke into a record 12 minute standing ovation to close the show.
Sports
Montreal, Quebec, Canada 1996 - After the Canadiens played their final game in the Montreal Forum a number of past players were welcomed onto the ice. When Maurice "Rocket" Richard was introduced to the crowd he was overwhelmed by a standing ovation that would last over 16 minutes.
Baltimore, Md 1995 - Career .276 hitter, Cal Ripken jr was playing in his 2131st consecutive game when the bottom of the fifth inning started, giving him the official record for most consecutive games played. The crowd rose to its feet and gave Ripken a 22 minute standing ovation while play stopped so he could parade around the entire field.
On stage
Vienna, Austria 1991 - Placido Domingo was the recipient of an 80 minute standing ovation that included 101 curtain calls after what must have been a particularly strong rendition of Guiseppi Verdi's Otelo. This is believed to be the longest standing ovation in recorded history.
