For most of us, the closest we have gotten to an award show is sitting in front of the television watching it in our living room. With our eyes glued to the screen, we feel like we are really part of the experience. We’re the ones commenting and remarking the dresses on the red carpet, and waiting in anticipating for the winners to be announced. We dive deep into the experience that we feel like we are there. In reality, it’s a whole other world at these award shows and we will never actually know what it’s like unless we experience it for ourselves. Fortunately for you, we have the inside scoop on all award shows right here!
First Academy Awards In History
The first Academy Awards show occurred in 1929 att the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel In Los Angeles California. However, this was not the extravagant event that we know it as today. Back then this award show was a private dinner with about 270 people!
First Academy Awards In History
Origin Of The Emmys
In the late 40’s the founder of the Emmy Awards show, Syd Cassyd suggested “Ike,” but the television academy was afraid this would remind people of the WWII Hero Dwight Eisenhower, and thus would involve politics too much. However, then the word “Immy” was thrown out, which is a name for a piece of TV technology. The team decided to morph this into “Emmy,” which corresponded with the feminine statuette.
Origin Of The Name
And The Best Director Goes To…
In 2009, Kathryn Bigelow made history when she became the first woman to ever win the award for Best Director. This was a result of her incredible film ” The Hurt Locker,” about an American bomb squad that disables explosives in Iraq set in 2004.
And The Best Director Goes To
That’s A Record
The famous Meryl Strep is the only actress in award show history to be nominated 18 times! She also won two awards for Best Actress for her roles in Sophie’s Choice and The Iron Lady. She also won Best Supporting Actress in Kramer vs. Kramer.
That’s A Record
Inspiration For The Statuette
Before they decided on the final design for the statuette, Cassyd and his members discussed 47 different designs! Finally, their luck began to turn when they tossed os the 4t8th idea, which was the design created by the Television engineer Louis McManus. It was of a woman with wings, holding an atom. Fun fact, this woman exists and his wife, Dorothy! Hmm, why wasn’t the show just called “Dorothies.”
Inspiration For The Statuette
A Family Affair
Liza Minnelli won Best Actress for Cabaret in 1971 and was the only award recipient whos parents were also Oscar winners at one point. In 1939, her mother Judy Garland received an honorary award and her father won Best Director for Gigi in 1958.
A Family Affair
The Very First Emmys
On January 25, 1949, the first Emmy Awards ceremony occured at the Hollywood Athletic Club. At this time, tickets to the event were only $5 and it was a very short event with only six awards handed out!
The Very First Emmys
Nomination And Win All In One
For her 2002 Chicago film, Catherine Zeta-Jones was nominated for an Academy Award for the first time. Lucky for her she also won the award, which was for Best Supporting Actress. Also, celebs like Lupita Nyong’o and Kim Basinger won the first time they were nominated.
Nomination And Win All In One
The First Lady
Till today, the only first lady whoever won an Emmy was Jackie Kennedy, who won a unique Trustees Award for her famous televised tour of the White House in 1962. Michelle Obama came close to an award in 2015, however, Kennedy remains as the only First Lady winner.
The First Lady
The Actor With The Most Nominations
Of all the male actors to date, Jack Nicholson is the one with the most Oscar nominations in acting categories. Out of 12 nominations, Nicholson won 3 awards for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), As Good as It Gets (1997), and Terms of Endearment (1983).
The Actor With The Most Nominations
Stealing Emmys
In 1985, Betty Thomas won an award for Oustanding Supporting Actress and a random man went on stage to collect her award. Thomas was in the audience and didn’t understand who the man was. It turns out it was Barry Bremen, who was known for his infamous pranks at sporting events. However, he was charged with a $175 fine and six months probation.
Stealing Emmys
The Young Oscar Recipient
Shirley Temple was five years old when she won her first Oscar in 1934. This made her the youngest winner in Oscar history, although it was an honorary award. Still, what an accomplishment for such a young girl!
The Young Award Recipient
The Oldest Oscar Recipient
We’ve covered the youngest award winner, but do you know who the oldest individual to accept an Oscar is? Well, it was Christopher Plummer and he was 82years old when he accepted the award for Best Supporting Actor in the 2012 film “Beginners.”
The Oldest Oscar Recipient
The Most Academy Awards
Walt Disney was awarded the most in Oscar’s history. Throughout his life, he was nominated 64 times and received 26 Academy Awards! However, Bong Joon Ho is now tied with Disney for his record of 4 Oscars in one night.
The Most Academy Awards
The Longest Speech
In 1942, Greer Garson gave the longest acceptance speech after being awarded Best Actress for “Mrs.Miniver.” It’s unclear exactly how long it was but somewhere between 5.5 to 7 fill minutes. She had a lot to be thankful for!
The Longest Speech
The Favorite Host
With the number of times he has hosted the Oscars, it seems that Billy Crystal is the preferred man for the job. He hosted the show in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2004, and 2012! It seems like he was a big hit and they couldn’t get enough!
The Favorite Host
Most Awarded Films
Three films are tied for winning 11 awards which is the most in history. These are The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), Titanic (1997), and Ben Hur (1959). The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King also is known for winning every category it was ever nominated for, and is only one of two sequels to win Best Picture.
Most Awarded Films
How Much Are The Oscars Actually Worth?
In 1999, Michael Jackson paid $1.54 million for producer David Selznick’s Best Picture award for Gone With The Wind. Ever since Jackson passed, the statuette seems to be missing. The executors of the estate have looked everywhere but can’t seem to find it!
How Much Are The Oscars Actually Worth
The Worst Mistake In Oscar History
In 2017 the Best Picture presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway were given the wrong card to announce. This event is something viewers will never forget because Beatty blurted out Emma stone. The producers for La-La Land were already well through their speech when they were urged off the stage because the actual winner was Moonlight.
The Worst Mistake In Oscar History
No Host
In 2019 there was an issue with the planned host Kevin Hart, so this was the first year the Oscars went on without a host in 320 years. However, the ratings increased so the Academy and ABC, the TV network that broadcasts the show decided to do this again in 2020.
No Host
Only One Oscar
This one is quite punny and we wish there were more instances like it, unfortunately, there was just one. Out of all the Academy Award Shows, one man named Oscar won an Oscar, lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II. He was nominated for five Oscars but won for two.
Only One Oscar
Emmy’s Don’t Come Cheap
This is something we didn’t expect but Emmy winners have to pay a hefty amount to collect their statuette. Each statuette costs about $400 to make and a lengthy five and a half hours. They employees mold and create them from scratch at Chicago’s R.S. Owens.
Emmy’s Don’t Come Cheap
Overcoming The Lack Of Diversity
In 1981, Isabel Sanford won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for The Jeffersons but since then the category remained all white. However, in 2015, Viola Davis won the Emma for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for How to Get Away With Murder. She used this as an opportunity to speak about race and possibilities, which was inspiring and emotional for audiences.
Overcoming The Lack Of Diversity
The First One Of It’s Kind
History was made in 2020, when Parasite was chosen as the first non- English film and first South Korean film to win the best picture at the Academy Awards. It also was awarded for the best international feature and best picture, one of 11 to ever be nominated in this category. It is said that this win may open opportunities for Asian-American actors who have struggled to be acknowledged in the award circle.
The One Of Its Kind
The Design For The Oscar Statuette
The Oscar Statuette was created by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) art director Cedric Gibbons. This design represents a knight standing on a reel of film holding a sword. Interestingly it takes 3 months to make a batch of 50 statuettes!
