In 1953, the Academy Awards ceremony was shown on television for the first time. Bob Hope was the host in Hollywood, and a ceremony was also held simultaneously in New York. Another five years passed before the first nationwide Oscar broadcast aired in 1958. Hope hosted the Oscars 18 times from 1939 to 1977, but he never won an Oscar himself.
The first Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film was awarded in 1956 to "La Strada." The first African-American nominee for best actress was Dorothy Dandridge for her 1954 role in "Carmen Jones." (Grace Kelly won for "The Country Girl"). In 1958, Sidney Poitier became the first African-American to be nominated in the Best Actor category for his star-making turn in "The Defiant Ones." He lost to David Niven for his role in "Separate Tables."
In 1952, John Ford was named Best Director for "The Quiet Man," the fourth time he won the award. In 1959, the epic "Ben-Hur" won 11 of the 12 awards it was nominated for, setting a record that stood until the 1990s. "Ben-Hur" won for Best Picture, Director (William Wyler), Lead Actor (Charlton Heston) and Supporting Actor (Hugh Griffith). James Dean was named Best Actor, posthumously, in both 1955 and 1956 for "East of Eden" and "Giant," respectively. Walt Disney won four Oscars in 1953 -- the most in a single year -- for Best Cartoon, Documentary Short, Documentary Feature, and Two-Reel Short.
From 1951's Best Picture, "An American in Paris," to "Ben-Hur" (Best Effects was among its 11 wins), special effects boomed in the 1950s. Walt Disney's streak of animated musical magic continued with Best Score nominations for "Cinderella" and "Sleeping Beauty." The company closed out the decade with a Best Documentary Short nomination for "Donald in Mathmagic Land."