The first Oscar Awards were given out on May 16, 1929. The first Best Actor winner was Emil Jannings, who won for his performance in two 1929 movies, "The Way of All Flesh" and "The Last Command." Fourteen other Oscars were awarded that night. Presented at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, that first-year ceremony was open to the public, who could attend for the whopping price of $5 per ticket. Venues have changed often throughout the years, and have included presentations at Shrine Auditorium, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, RKO Pantages Theatre and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. In 2002, the Oscars moved to the Kodak Theatre. The award show has been televised since 1953.
The Oscars is formally known as The Academy Awards. Oscars are distributed to actors, directors, screenwriters, costume designers, art directors, technicians, musicians, make-up artists and film editors. The red carpet pre-show arrival of the nominees lasts an average of 30 minutes and offers designers a chance to showcase their creations. The Oscars ceremony has lasted from just over 3 hours to a record 4 hours and 23 minutes in 2002.
Officially known as the Academy Award of Merit, the Oscar statuette weighs 8.5 lbs. It is made of gold-plated Britannia metal, an alloy composed of mostly tin, with 5 percent antimony and 2 percent copper. Set on a black metal base, the statuette stands 13.5 inches tall. The origins of the statuette are somewhat shrouded in mystery. What is known is that sculptor George Stanley designed the basic mold in 1928 after asking Mexican director Emilio "El Indio" Fernández to pose naked. The naming of Oscar is also controversial. The most accepted theory (which the Academy Awards references when asked about the "Oscar" name) is that the name originated when Academy secretary Margaret Herrick nicknamed the statuette "Uncle Oscar." Other stories make reference to journalist Sidney Skolsky popularizing the name in a story about Best Actress winner Katharine Hepburn.
There is no fixed date for the Oscars, which are awarded at the end of February or during March. The ceremony features top musicians and actors. There are high-end presentations and live renditions of the songs nominated for Best Original Song. More than 40 million Americans watch the show annually, and the biggest crowds show up in the years when box-office hits are nominated. This was the case when Midnight Cowboy (1970), Titanic (1998) and Lord of the Rings (2004) were up for awards. The ceremony has an official host every year. For years, this position was held by Billy Crystal or Whoopi Goldberg. Chris Rock, Steve Martin and Ellen DeGeneres also have hosted.
Oscars winners are chosen by the vote of representatives of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which includes actors, film critics and others in the entertainment industry. Prizes are awarded in 24 categories, of which the most distinguished are Best Actor and Actress in a Leading Role, Best Actor and Actress in a Supporting Role, Best Director and Best Movie. Categories that sometimes receive special attention include Best Foreign Language Film, Best Animated Feature and Best Documentary Feature. Through the years, some awards have been retired, such as Oscars presented for Best Dance Direction, Best Assistant Director and the Academy Juvenile Award. For more than 30 years, beginning in the 1930s, there were separate categories for black and white films and color films. Aside from the standard Oscars, there are also special category prizes, such as the Academy Honorary Award, which recognizes special achievements in the movie industry. Winners can be people or institutions and have included the Museum of Modern Art Film Library, Charlie Chaplin, Walt Disney and Bob Hope.