It Happened One Night

first Best Actor winner Emil Jannings

The very first Academy Awards ceremony was held 85 years ago, on May 16, 1929. Tickets cost $5, and the event, held in the Blossom Room of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, was attended by 270 people ~ a rather modest turnout by today's standards. Here is a brief history of the tradition: http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/about/history.html