A Renowned Perfectionist Gets His Due

Warren Beatty joked that Dustin Hoffman’s big break came in “The Graduate” after director Mike Nichols “made a breakthrough discovery that Al Pacino and Dustin Hoffman were, in fact, not the same person.”

Jon Voight said that even though it had been three decades since he and Hoffman co-starred in “Midnight Cowboy,” any time he ventures into New York City for more than a day someone invariably drives up and says, “Hey, Jon! How’s Dustin?”

And Lynn Redgrave used Hoffman’s own words in recalling what it was like breaking in as a character actor in an earlier era when movie stars had to be cookie-cutter handsome. “I had pimples, a big nose, braces just off my teeth. Everyone else looked like Tab Hunter.”’

But it was Hoffman, not the more handsome leading men of his earlier career, who stood center stage Thursday night at the Beverly Hilton Hotel as the Academy Award-winning actor whose career spans three decades was given the 1999 Life Achievement Award by the American Film Institute.

Hoffman, 61, is the 27th recipient of the award, which has gone to such movie legends as James Cagney, Fred Astaire, Barbara Stanwyck and Alfred Hitchcock.

The man who has won two Oscars for best actor for his roles in “Kramer vs. Kramer” and “Rain Man,” earning seven Oscar nominations in all, was clearly feeling emotional as he accepted the AFI’s award before hundreds of friends and admirers from throughout the film industry. The tribute was taped for broadcast later this spring on ABC.

“I’m so thankful to have been given this opportunity to practice this art . . .,” said Hoffman, a notorious perfectionist in front of the camera who is known for butting heads with some top filmmakers over the years.

“I’m sorry that I hurt the few people that I have,” he added. “I did it only in the search for an authenticity in my own work.”

Looking around the room, he said there were other actors and directors who felt as he did about the meaning of their work--men like Voight, Jack Nicholson and “Midnight Cowboy” director John Schlesinger.

“We have been drawn to the simple human beings who have no privileged status beyond their own humanity,” Hoffman observed.

Yet, while the evening was steeped in heartfelt praise from his peers, it was also a night of laughter.

Actress Faye Dunaway, who co-starred with Hoffman in “Little Big Man,” recalled how he secretly removed his swim trunks for a scene in which she was supposed to scrub him down with soap in a tub.

“Much to my surprise and his delight, something had been added to the scene,” she said as laughter erupted throughout the ballroom. “. . . The look on my face confirmed that they would definitely have to rethink the wording of the title of the picture.”

Schlesinger said that while filming “Midnight Cowboy,” Hoffman would ask him to make dinner reservations at some nice restaurant after a day’s shoot, but Hoffman would shuffle in picking his nose, still in character and dressed as the seedy Ratso Rizzo.

Nicholson then read from what he said was a tribute sent in by Meryl Streep, Hoffman’s co-star in “Kramer vs. Kramer,” a film that won Streep an Academy Award for best supporting actress.

“In ‘Kramer vs Kramer,’ Dustin campaigned very hard for me to get the part,” Streep said, as Nicholson gave the words his distinctive relish. “And for that I am forever grateful. Oscar, why not?!”

Hoffman also managed to trade hugs with stars like Geena Davis, Goldie Hawn, Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates and a now-grown up Justin Henry, who played the child in “Kramer vs. Kramer.” He also shared a long kiss with Anne Bancroft, his co-star in “The Graduate,” and even danced a tad with country singer Reba McEntire, although he couldn’t remember the words to the theme song from “Midnight Cowboy.”

Over the years, Hoffman’s characterizations have run a wide gamut, ranging from an actor disguised as an actress in “Tootsie,” to a hard-charging reporter investigating the Watergate scandal in “All the President’s Men” to the comically evil pirate, Capt. Hook, in “Hook.”

Looking back at his childhood, Hoffman recalled how he would lay outside at night on an old Ping-Pong table trying to feel close to God. He also recalled how much he hated practicing the piano.

“Now, 40 years later,” he said, “I realize I’m still practicing and I realize that since I’ve taken up acting, I’ve never been alone.”