Today In History – First Academy Awards Ceremony

On May 16th 1929 the first ever Academy Awards Ceremony took place in Hollywood.

The event which took up the more popular name of 'The Oscars' in 1939 is now a massive annual event which see's stars from across the world gather together to contend for various awards.

The event was held at Blossom Room of the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, California where 250 people attended.

Its first president and the host of the May 1929 ceremony was the actor Douglas Fairbanks Sr. Unlike today, the winners of the first Oscars–as the coveted gold-plated statuettes later became known–were announced before the awards ceremony itself.

At the time of the first Academy Awards Ceremony sound had just been introduced to film. Warner Bros. created the first "talkie" movie, which was titled The Jazz Singer. Warner however were left out of the Oscar nominations as it was deemed unfair that they were put up against films without sound.

The first ever winner of the famous Best Picture award was titled Wings, a silent movie directed by William Wellman.

The Red Carpet Spectacular

Over the years the Oscars has become a star studded fashion extravaganza. The entrance of movie stars, dressed to the nines showing off the most stunning of outfits, has become a highlight of the event with press and photographers eagerly lined up to catch the moment they step out on the carpet. It's not just the biggest night of the year for the film industry but a huge one for fashion too.
Some of the best and most memorable red carpet appearances include the following: