The 1st Academy Awards (1929)

Held in the Blossom Room of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on Thursday, May 16, 1929, honoring movies released from August 1, 1927 – August 1, 1928.

• Best Picture: “Wings” (Only silent film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture.)
• Douglas Fairbanks, the President of the Academy, made the official award presentations.
• The Academy statuette was designed in 1928 by MGM’s art director, Cedric Gibbons. Sculptor George Stanley was paid $500 to execute the original statue from Gibbons’ design.
• The first year, awards could be for a single achievement, for several achievements, or for the whole body of work during the year.
• Janet Gaynor won Best Actress for her work in three films: “7th Heaven,” “Street Angel,” and “Sunrise.”
• Emil Jennings Best Actor for “The Last Command”, “The Way of All Flesh.”
• For the first and only time, the Academy gave awards for both Dramatic Direction (Frank Borzage for “7th Heaven”) and comedy direction (Lewis Milestone for “Two Arabian Knights”)
• In 1927, the average cost of a movie ticket was 25 cents.
• On May 18, 1927, Grauman’s Chinese Theatre opened, showing Cecil B. DeMille’s “The King of Kings.”

Lewis Milestone
Douglas Fairbanks presented Lewis Milestone with the Academy Award for Directing – Comedy Picture (“Two Arabian Knights”).

Best Director (Dramatic Picture) Frank Borzage (“7th Heaven”).

Special Award

To Warner Bros., for producing “The Jazz Singer,” the pioneer talking picture, which has revolutionized the industry.

Special Award

To Charles Chaplin, for acting, writing, directing and producing “The Circus.”