History of the Oscars
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The Oscars awarded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Awards had its first ceremony on 16 May 1929. An 'Oscar' is the gold-plated statuette handed out to the winners; it is thirteen and half inches tall and weighs around 8 pounds.
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Though initially an effort to improve the falling image of Hollywood, today an Oscar is considered the highest honor for cinematic excellence, in the entire world. It is also one of the most glamorous events in Hollywood.
The first ceremony to award the Oscars was held in 1929 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, and was hosted by noted actor and the first president of the Academy Douglas Fairbanks. While today the awardees list is a closely guarded secret and is revealed only on stage on the grand night, for the first ceremony had no surprise element to it, since the names of the winners had already been disclosed 3 months prior to the awards night. The first Oscars' night was a lackluster affair, as most those who were nominated and the ultimate winners did not show much interest and were not present. Emil Jennings, a German actor, was the first person to receive the statuette. The first Oscars' awards were not broadcast publicly, but the second one was on radio, and since 1953, Oscar night has been on TV every year. Worldwide broadcast of this super glitzy event began in 1969.
Till 1940, newspapers knew the results beforehand so that they could publish it in their evening editions, immediately after the ceremony was over. It was modified in 1940, because Los Angeles Times had made the mistake of announcing the winners even before the ceremony was held. A sealed-envelope rule was made effective from the next year onwards, which has worked very well since.
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