On March 6, 1927, the first Academy Awards ceremony was held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, California. The event, which lasted just 15 minutes, was attended by around 270 people and tickets cost $5 (equivalent to about $77 in 2025).
The brainchild of Louis B. Mayer, head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) studios, the Academy Awards were designed to honor outstanding achievements in the film industry. The winners had already been announced three months earlier, so the ceremony itself was more of a formal banquet.
The first Academy Award winners included:
1. Best Picture: "Wings" (1927)
2. Best Director: Frank Borzage for "Seventh Heaven" (1927) and Lewis Milestone for "Two Arabian Knights" (1927)
3. Best Actor: Emil Jannings for "The Way of All Flesh" (1927) and "The Last Command" (1928)
4. Best Actress: Janet Gaynor for "Seventh Heaven" (1927), "Street Angel" (1928), and "Sunrise" (1927)
One notable absence from the first Oscars was Charlie Chaplin, who was originally nominated for Best Actor and Best Comedy Director. However, the Academy decided to remove him from the competition and instead honor him with a special award for "versatility and genius in acting, writing, directing, and producing The Circus."
The first Academy Awards laid the foundation for what has become the most prestigious and glamorous event in the film industry. Over the years, the ceremony has evolved, with the introduction of new categories, the televised broadcast, and the iconic Oscar statuette becoming a globally recognized symbol of excellence in cinema.
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
