1st Academy Awards

The 1st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and hosted by AMPAS president Douglas Fairbanks, honored the best films from August 1, 1927, to July 31, 1928, and took place on May 16, 1929, at a private dinner held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Tickets cost $5 ($92 in 2024, considering inflation); 270 people attended the event, which lasted 15 minutes. It is the only Academy Awards ceremony not broadcast on either radio or television; a radio broadcast was introduced for the 2nd Academy Awards.

1st Academy Awards
The first Academy Awards ceremony (pictured) was held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel
Date	May 16, 1929 (1929-05-16)
Site	Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Hosted by	Douglas Fairbanks
Highlights
Best Picture	Wings
Most awards	7th Heaven and Sunrise (3 each)
Most nominations	7th Heaven (5)
2nd →

During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards – later to be colloquially known as "Oscars" – in 12 categories. The winners had been announced three months ahead of the ceremony. Some nominations did not reference a specific film, such as Ralph Hammeras and Nugent Slaughter, who were nominated for Engineering Effects, a category that was dropped the following year – along with those for Unique and Artistic Production, Best Director (Comedy), and Best Title Writing. Unlike later ceremonies, an actor could be awarded for multiple films: Emil Jannings won Best Actor for his work in both The Way of All Flesh and The Last Command, while Best Actress winner Janet Gaynor was honored for three films. Charlie Chaplin and Warner Brothers each received an honorary award. Jannings, a Swiss-born performer who gained fame in Berlin, had been notified in advance of his victory; he subsequently posed for pictures with his statuette before leaving for Germany.

Major winners at the ceremony included 7th Heaven and Sunrise, with three awards apiece (the latter winning for Unique and Artistic Picture), and Wings receiving two awards, including Outstanding Picture. The academy decided retroactively that Wings's award was its highest honor the following year and dropped Unique and Artistic Picture.

Background

Louis B. Mayer, the founder of the Louis B. Mayer Pictures Corporation, which would later merge into Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), established the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in 1927. Mayer's purpose in creating the award was to unite the five branches of the film industry: actors, directors, producers, technicians, and writers. Mayer commented on the creation of the awards: "I found that the best way to handle [filmmakers] was to hang medals all over them ... If I got them cups and awards, they'd kill themselves to produce what I wanted. That's why the Academy Award was created." Mayer asked Cedric Gibbons, art director of MGM, to design an Academy Award trophy. Nominees were notified through a telegram in February 1928. In August 1928, Mayer contacted the first Academy Central Board of Judges to decide the winners. However, according to the American director King Vidor, the voting for the Academy Award for Best Picture was in the hands of the AMPAS founders: Mayer, Douglas Fairbanks, Sid Grauman, Mary Pickford, and Joseph Schenck.

Ceremony

The ceremony was held on May 16, 1929, at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, located in Los Angeles. It consisted of a private dinner with 36 banquet tables, where 270 people attended, and tickets cost $5 (equivalent to $92 in 2024). Actors and actresses arrived at the hotel in luxury vehicles, and gathered outside to cheer the attendees. The ceremony was not broadcast on radio, and was hosted by AMPAS president Fairbanks during a 15-minute event.

Overview

The winners were announced three months before the ceremony. The recipients included: Emil Jannings, the inaugural award recipient for Best Actor (The Way of All Flesh and The Last Command); Janet Gaynor for Best Actress (7th Heaven, Street Angel, and Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans); Frank Borzage for Best Director, Drama (7th Heaven); Lewis Milestone for Best Director, Comedy (Two Arabian Knights); and Wings for Best Picture (which was the most expensive film produced up to that time).

Two Special Award were also presented, to Charles Chaplin and Warner Bros. Chaplin, who was nominated multiple times for the 1928 film The Circus (Best Actor, Best Writer, and Best Director, Comedy), was instead honored for his overall contribution to the industry, while Warner Bros. was awarded for pioneering talking pictures with The Jazz Singer (1927).

Three categories were eliminated for subsequent presentations: Best Engineering Effects, Best Title Writing, and Best Unique and Artistic Quality of Production. The major film studios received the majority of awards: Fox Film Corporation, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Paramount Pictures, Radio-Keith-Orpheum, and Warner Bros.

Winners and nominees

Awards

At the 1st Academy Awards (1927–1928), the nomination process allowed candidates to be nominated and awarded for a single film, multiple films, or without reference to any specific film.

Nominees were announced on February 2, 1929. Winners are listed first, in boldface, and indicated with an asterisk (*).