Schirmer Encyclopedia of Film

The Academy Awards, or Oscars, are known to film audiences the world over. The awards began in 1929 when the names of 15 winners were announced at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in front of 250 guests each paying $10 each. For the first 15 years the winners received their Oscars at private dinners, and it was not until later that media coverage began with a live, hour‐long, local radio broadcast. Did you know that the awards have been postponed on three occasions, but that they have never been cancelled? The Oscar statuette, officially referred to as “The Academy Award of...