In response to his unexpected nod in the Best Supporting Actor category, Nick Adams launched one of the highest-profile campaigns in the history of the Academy Awards. By Oscar night, Adams was considered the front runner simply by virtue of the massive exposure his publicists had achieved for him in the short time between the nominations and the awards ceremony. When veteran actor Melvyn Douglas, who hadn't campaigned at all, was announced as the winner for Hud (1963), Adams was left shell-shocked, and the public embarrassment of the episode led to a swift decline in film offers. The actor, who had always suffered from depression, would ultimately commit suicide based on the cumulative effects of his stalled career.