A Brief Look at the History of the Academy Awards

Every February people all around the world gather in front of their TV sets to watch the annual Academy Awards ceremony. Some of us watch to see if our favorite movie or star wins the coveted Oscar, others watch to see what the stars are wearing to the affair. At the same time some just want to see what the host will do this year and who the entertainers are. Whatever the reasons are millions of people watch. When did this ceremony start, who started it and why - was it always this glamorous?

Let's start by taking a look at when it got started, and who started it. It came from an idea that movie mogul Cecil B. Demille discussed over a dinner at his home with three guests, actor Conrad Nagel, producer Fred Beetson and director Fred Niblo. The idea was to form some type of organization that would not only benefit the movie industry as a whole, but would recognize outstanding work. This was in early 1927, by the 11^th of January that year a group some of the leading names in the industry gathered together to form the international Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

By 1928 they had their own screening rooms and selection committee, their job was to pick out the best in each of the original 15 categories. The very first awards were made at a small dinner that included 270 guests who paid $5 to attend. No one at the dinner was surprised, as the winners had already been told. This is the only year that this was done since then the winners have been kept secret until the night of the awards.

Lists of winners were sent in advance to the newspapers at 11pm on the night of the awards so that they would have them to publish the next day. However the L.A. Times ruined this in 1940 by publishing the results before hand. This brought about the system of the sealed envelope that is still in use today, now only people on the selection committee know who the winners are.

The very first award and statuette was awarded to German actor Emil Jannings who received it 3 months early, because he had to return to Germany before the banquet. This first awards dinner was the only one to escape the attention of the media. Now it is considered one of the biggest media events of the year.

Since its inception, the awards ceremonies have been held without each year without fail. In fact in its history the Academy Awards have only been delayed three times, in 1938 for floods in LA, in 1968 after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and in 1981 after the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan.

Over the years the academy awards ceremony has become a huge affair, filled with glamour and glitz as befits Hollywood. This year is sure to be no different with a great list of movies and stars to choose from. Be sure to tune in February 22^nd to see who will receive an Oscar.

Sources Wikipedia.com and Oscars.org