How the Oscars really began: Inside the first 1929 ceremony and its 15 original categories

The first Academy Awards took place on May 16, 1929, when the film industry began recognizing “excellence in cinematic achievement.” Only two years earlier, in 1927, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had been founded at the initiative of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) president Louis B. Mayer.

One of the first committees created within the new organization was the Awards of Merit Committee, established in 1928. This seven-member group suggested to the Board that the awards be presented in 12 categories.

What the first Oscars ceremony was like

In 1929, the first Academy Awards ceremony was held. The event was very different from the lavish Hollywood galas that would later become the norm. Instead, the ceremony took the form of a banquet in the Blossom Room at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, attended by 270 guests.

In fact, the winners were already known during that first edition because their names had been announced three months earlier.

The following year, the rules changed and the winners’ names were revealed during the ceremony itself, although a list was still leaked to the press beforehand for publication. However, that tradition ended about a decade later when the Los Angeles Times published the winners early. Since then, the sealed envelope system has been used.

How many categories were in the first Oscars and who won?

The first Academy Awards recognized achievements in 12 categories. Below is a list of the awards presented that night:

• Best Picture: Wings
• Best Director, Drama: Frank Borzage for Seventh Heaven
• Best Director, Comedy: Lewis Milestone for Two Arabian Knights
• Best Actress: Janet Gaynor for Seventh Heaven
• Best Actor: Emil Jannings for The Last Command and The Way of All Flesh
• Best Picture, Unique and Artistic Production: Sunrise
• Best Original Story: Ben Hecht for Underworld
• Best Adaptation: Benjamin Glazer for Seventh Heaven
• Best Cinematography: Charles Rosher and Karl Struss for Sunrise
• Best Art Direction: William Cameron Menzies for The Dove and Tempest
• Best Engineering Effects: Roy Pomeroy for Wings
• Best Writing, Title Cards: Joseph W. Farnham

In addition to these twelve categories, the Academy also presented special recognition awards to Warner Bros. and Charles Chaplin.

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