Oscars recap: 8 things you might have missed (like Abe Vigoda)

If you didn’t watch the Academy Awards like we did, but you still want to be in the know, here’s your cheat sheet. We’ve got eight talkers about the ceremony and behind the scenes that will make you Oscar-smart for any conversation.

1. Chris Rock visits Compton

If you missed host Chris Rock’s trip to Compton, Calif., to talk to people about the movies, here you go. Our favorite part: When one woman says her favorite “white movie of the year” was “By the Sea” (just a 32 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes) starring Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Rock responds: “Wow, not even they would say that.”

2. Lady Gaga sings; Brie Larson hugs

Lady Gaga, a survivor of rape, poured her soul out performing her Oscar-nominated “Til It Happens to You,” which she co-wrote with Diane Warren. The lyrics are not subtle — “Tell me how the hell could you know/til it happens to you/you don’t know how I feel” — and she ended the performance surrounded by survivors of sexual assault who have written messages on their arms such as “survivor,” “unbreakable” and “it’s not your fault.” Worth watching. (The song, from the documentary “The Hunting Ground,” inexplicably lost to Sam Smith’s “Writing’s on the Wall” from “Spectre.”)

It’s been a big February for Lady Gaga, who performed the national anthem at the Super Bowl and a David Bowie tribute at the Grammys, a couple of weeks before the Oscars.

As the survivors walked off the stage after the song, best actress winner Brie Larson hugged every person. Another reason to love Brie.

3. Rose and Kanye are so happy for Jack

Leonardo DiCaprio — finally — won best actor after five acting nominations and 22 years, getting him a warm hug from Kate Winslet (the two played star-crossed lovers Jack and Rose in “Titanic”) and props from Kanye West.

4. Where’s Abe Vigoda?

Abe Vigoda, who died in January at age 94, was conspicuously missing from the In Memoriam tributes. It just added to the general media confusion of when Vigoda actually died.

According to the New York Times, the mix-ups started in 1982, when People magazine prematurely prefaced his name with the phrase “the late.” Fans of the sunken-eyed actor, best known for “The Godfather” and TV’s “Barney Miller,” were not happy, proving that Abe still has a following.

5. Arnold loves Sly

Though favored to win best supporting actor for “Creed,” Sylvester Stallone ultimately did not take home the statuette. (That went to Mark Rylance of “Bridge of Spies.”) He did, however, get this video of encouragement from former California governor and the Terminator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

6. Whoopi is not Oprah

That time that Total Beauty, a product review company, messed up and thought Whoopi Goldberg was Oprah? Yeah, it happened.

But the company soon apologized, tweeting, “We’d like to apologize to Oprah and Whoopi, as well as everyone we’ve offended. It was our error, and there are no excuses. We’re sorry.” And then it went one step further and said it would donate $10,000 to a charity of choice by both women.

7. Sam Smith mouth, meet foot

Sam Smith, winner for best original song for “Writing’s on the Wall” for “Spectre,” also made an error, referring to himself in his acceptance speech as the first openly gay man to win an Oscar.

Dustin Lance Black, who won for original screenplay for “Milk” in 2009, called him out on it, which many saw as an ultimate diss but others saw as egocentric. Tweeted one: “DLanceBlack chooses his ego instead of supporting @samsmithworld making LGBT equality statement to a huge worldwide audience.”

And Sir Ian McKellan seemed to forgive Smith.

See how he reacted when he found out (warning, salty language ahead).

8. #Oscarssowhite that fewer watched

Finally, despite the #Oscarssowhite controversy and anticipation of Rock’s commentary on the all-white acting nominees second year running, overall viewership for the ceremony was down from the year before.

The Los Angeles Times reports that based on Nielsen’s overnight data from 56 large U.S. TV markets, the telecast averaged a 23.4 rating (number of people who have televisions who tuned into the show) and a 36 percent share of the homes using television from 7:30 p.m. to 10:51 p.m., when the last commercial break aired.

That’s down 6 percent when compared with the 24.9 rating from the overnight data for 2015.

Among the local markets measured, the show’s highest rating was in New York, 33.2. That was higher than the rating in Los Angeles, where the telecast averaged a 29.5, down from 33.5 in 2015, when the ceremony hosted by Neil Patrick Harris. That show averaged 37.3 million viewers, the smallest audience in six years.

This story was originally published February 29, 2016 at 2:09 PM with the headline "Oscars recap: 8 things you might have missed (like Abe Vigoda)."