Reese Witherspoon, born in New Orleans while her father was at Tulane, is an Oscar nominee for best actress in her role as June Carter Cash in Walk the Line.

Viewers settling in to watch the Academy Awards ceremony this year will find Tulane connections to three of the nominated films, Walk the Line, Cinderella Man and Munich.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' 78th annual awards ceremony--the "Oscars"--will air Sunday (March 5) on ABC-TV at 7 p.m. CST.

Reese Witherspoon, nominated for best actress for her portrayal of June Carter Cash in Walk the Line, is the daughter of a former Tulane medical resident. In fact, she was born during her father's residency in otolaryngology in New Orleans. John D. Witherspoon is an ear, nose and throat surgeon living in Tennessee.

Born Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon, the actress is the odds-on favorite for the Oscar after already receiving the 2006 Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards for best actress. While many media outlets have erroneously reported Reese Witherspoon as being born in Baton Rouge, her father says she was born on March 22, 1976, in New Orleans at the former Southern Baptist Hospital (now Memorial Medical Center).

John Witherspoon says he is excited about his daughter's career, though not surprised--she started putting together plays at home at age 3. "I tried to make her a neurosurgeon, but she did not want anything to do with that," he says.

Walk the Line has another connection to Tulane. David Lonner, a 1984 graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences, is an agent and co-head of William Morris Agency's motion picture department, which represents the film's director, Jim Mangold.

The film Cinderella Man, nominated in several categories, also has ties to a Tulane alum. Meryl Poster, who graduated from Newcomb College in 1986, is the former president of production for Miramax Films, which oversaw the making of the film.

Finally, the Steven Spielberg film Munich, nominated for best picture and in four other categories, is based on the story of the terrorist attack on the Israeli Olympic team during the 1972 Olympic Games in Germany. David Berger, who graduated from Tulane's College of Arts and Sciences in 1966, was a competitive weightlifter and a member of the Israeli team whose members were taken hostage and killed.

"Hollywood South" New Orleans trivia

• In 2002, the New Orleans City Council renamed "Avenger Field," located at Tchoupitoulas and Audubon, the "David Berger-Avenger Field" in memory of Berger and all victims of terrorism.

• Johnny Cash covered the Steve Goodman song "City of New Orleans" and Johnny Horton's "Battle of New Orleans." He also included New Orleans in the lyrics of songs he wrote--"Big Bad John," "Big River" and "Ragged Old Flag."

• Peyton Manning, NFL quarterback and native son, was born two days after Reese Witherspoon. According to her father, they spent time near each other in the same hospital nursery.