1st Academy Awards 1st Academy Awards The 1st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 1927 and 1928 and took place on May 16, 1929 at a private dinner held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, California. AMPAS president Douglas Fairbanks hosted the show. Tickets cost $5 (which would be $ in considering inflation), 270 people attended the event and the presentation ceremony lasted 15 minutes. Awards were created by Louis B. Mayer, founder of Louis B. Mayer Pictures Corporation (at present merged into Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer). It is the only
16th Academy Awards 16th Academy Awards The 16th Academy Awards, in 1944, was the first Oscar ceremony held at a large public venue, Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Free passes were given out to men and women in uniform. Originating on KFWB, the complete ceremony was internationally broadcast by CBS Radio via shortwave. Jack Benny served as master of ceremonies for the event, which lasted fewer than 30 minutes. The "Tom and Jerry" cartoon series won its first Oscar this year for "The Yankee Doodle Mouse" after two failed nominations in a row. It would go on to win another six Oscars, including three in