Paying Homage to the 1st Academy Awards Winners

The year was 1929- women wore flapper dresses and pearls, men wore pin striped suits and opened doors for ladies, jazz music echoed through the streets from small town clubs and Hollywood stars had more than just glitz and glam, they had style. 1929 would be the first year that the Academy Awards was held with only 15 Oscars presented at a private dinner held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, California.

Only 270 people attended the private gathering and each had to pay $5 to get in. The first ever Academy Awards ceremony took about fifteen minutes from start to finish for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to honor the best films of 1927 and 1928. Today, millions watch the Academy Awards through live television broadcasts and it is no longer a private dinner ceremony but a large event with thousands in attendance at the Kodak Theatre where the Oscar's have been presented since 2002 when the venue became its permanent home.

The original Oscars at the 1st Academy Awards were presented by Douglas Fairbanks (President of AMPAS) on May 16th, 1929 during the small dinner party whichfeatured 36 banquet tables. The fifteen recipients of the first Oscars awarded included Emil Jannings for his roles in "The Last Command" and "The Way of All Flesh" (Best Actor in a Leading Role), Janet Gaynor for her roles in "Seventh Heaven", "Street Angel" and "Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans" (Best Actress in a Leading Role), and "Wings" for Outstanding Picture, Production.

Other winners of the 1st Academy Awards were "Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans" (Unique and Artistic Production, Best Cinematography), Joseph Farnham (Best Writing, Title Writing), Ben Hect who wrote "Underworld" (Best Writing, Original Story), Lewis Milestone director of "Two Arabian Knights" (Best Director, Comedy Picture), Frank Borzage director of "Seventh Heaven" (Best Director, Dramatic Picture), Benjamin Glazer writer of "Seventh Heaven" (Best Writing, Adapted Story), William Cameron Menzies for "The Dove" and "Tempest" (Best Art Direction), and Roy Pomeroy for "Wings" (Best Engineering Effects). Two honorary awards were given out during the 1st Academy Awards- one to Charles Chaplin for "The Circus" and one to Warner Brothers Production for "The Jazz Singer".

We now wait to see who will win during the 83rd Academy Awards which will be hosted by Anne Hathaway and James Franco, two young stars of Hollywood, on February 27th at 8pm eastern time on ABC.