Newman, O'Connell Lose Oscars Again

The Associated Press

When nominees Randy Newman and Kevin O'Connell failed to win Oscars on Sunday, it was definitely a case of deja vu: The songwriter and the sound expert each have lost 14 times.

That puts them within one loss of the all-time record, 15 nominations without a trophy.

Newman, whose previous bids are for score and song, was nominated this time for the song "A Fool in Love" from "Meet the Parents." O'Connell, a re-recording sound mixer, was nominated for "The Patriot."

"Gladiator" won for sound Sunday; Bob Dylan won the best song Oscar for "Things Have Changed" from "Wonder Boys."

"My family is running out of cliches like `Third time's the charm' or `No. 13, maybe it's a lucky number for you this year,"' O'Connell said before the ceremony.

O'Connell's previous nominations were for films including "Top Gun," "A Few Good Men" and "Twister." He's working now on the Memorial Day release, "Pearl Harbor."

The record for most nominations without a trophy is 15, held by the late art director Roland Anderson and the late composer Alex North. In 1986, North received an honorary Oscar, but he never won a competitive award.

Although some friends have started comparing O'Connell to soap star Susan Lucci, an 18-time Emmy loser until she finally picked up an award in 1999, he remains upbeat about the Oscars.

"It's really been a positive experience for me and I don't look at it as being a loser because many people don't have the opportunity to get where I've been."

Win or lose, O'Connell said, "I'll be back at work with a big smile on my face. No hard feelings."

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