An acceptance speech is the short address a winner gives on collecting an award, traditionally a cascade of thanks to collaborators, family and whoever else comes to mind under the lights. The Oscars have turned it into a sport with rules: since 2010 winners have been asked to keep it to 45 seconds.
The record holder is Greer Garson, who accepted the Best Actress award for Mrs. Miniver at the 1943 ceremony, after one in the morning, and spoke for somewhere between six and seven minutes depending on the account; only part of it survives on newsreel. Her marathon is widely believed to have encouraged the Academy to rein in later speeches. At the other extreme, Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder and Joe Pesci each got through their moment in fewer than ten words, still the surest way to win over a tired audience.