History Of The Academy Awards And Some Of Oklahoma's Oscars

One of the biggest nights in Hollywood has been around for almost 100 years. The annual Academy Award ceremony, also known as the Oscars, has a rich history of honoring accomplishments in the arts.

When was the first Academy Awards ceremony?

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was incorporated in 1927. The organization had a goal to honor outstanding achievements, while encouraging high quality motion picture production.

On May 16, 1929, the first Academy Awards were handed out. It featured 13 categories. It was hosted as a closed banquet at the Blossom Room of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

By only the second year, media interest in the ceremony grew significantly. A Los Angeles radio station did a live, one-hour broadcast from the ceremony. It has had broadcast coverage ever since then.

The custom of presenting the awards at a banquet was discontinued after 1942. The increased audience and the war had made banquets impractical, and the presentation ceremonies have since been held in theaters.

In 1929, the winners in each category were known three months in advance. After that year, the results were given to newspapers to publish at 11 p.m. on the night of the ceremony. That continued for a decade, until 1940 when the embargo was broken by a local paper. The Academy then decided to seal the envelopes until the awards are presented, and that system remains in place now.

On March 19, 1953, the first Academy Award ceremony was televised. The 25th Oscars ceremonies were live from Hollywood, with Bob Hope as master of ceremonies, and from the NBC International Theatre in New York with Fredric March making the presentations.

Click here to learn more about the history of the Oscars.

Why is it also called The Oscars?

The award is officially named the Academy Award of Merit. But the statuette is better known by its nickname, Oscar.

The exact origin of that nickname is unknown. However, a common story is that Academy librarian and eventual executive director Margaret Herrick said it looked like her Uncle Oscar. From there, the Academy staff began referring to it as Oscar. The Academy didn’t officially use the nickname until 1939.

Click here to learn more about the statuette.

Who decides on the Oscar nominations and winners?

Most categories are nominated by members in that same category. Actors nominate actors, film editors nominate film editors, and so on. All Academy members are able to select the Best Picture nominees.

Candidates for Academy membership have to be sponsored by two Academy members from the branch to which the candidate wants admission.

However, anyone who has been nominated for an Academy Award is automatically considered for membership and they don't need sponsors.

Nominations voting is done through online ballots. All votes are tabulated by PricewaterhouseCoopers, and results are then announced live.

Finals voting is also conducted online. During finals, all Oscar categories are on the ballot for voting members.

After final ballots are in, only two partners of PricewaterhouseCoopers know the results until the sealed envelopes are opened onstage during the Oscars ceremony.

Some categories like International Feature Film and Animated Feature Film have different voting protocols though.

There are two rounds for International Feature Film voting. Academy members can submit 15 or less eligible movies. The movies that receive the most votes move to the second round of voting.

In the second round, members can view the 15 shortlisted films in the category and must watch the movies for the ballot to be counted. Members then rank their five preferences out of those 15.

Final voting for the International Feature Film award is restricted to Academy members who viewed all five of those nominated films.

Click here to learn more about the rules and eligibilities for Oscars.

Who are some Oklahomans that have won Oscars?

Multiple people from Oklahoma have been awarded Oscars over the years. From acting to directing, our state has produced many artists who have been recognized by the Academy.

Here are some of the nominees winners:

Gray Frederickson

Gray Frederickson was a producer for more than five decades. He was from Oklahoma City and attended Casady School and the University of Oklahoma. Frederickson earned an Oscar for producing The Godfather Part II, which is just one of many acclaimed films he worked on.

Ron Howard

Ron Howard is a director, producer, screenwriter and actor. He was born in Duncan, Oklahoma. Howard has won two Academy Awards, Best Director and Best Picture, for the film A Beautiful Mind.

Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt is an actor and producer. He was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Pitt earned two Oscars. One for Best Supporting Actor for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and another for Best Picture for his producer work on 12 Years a Slave.

Alfre Woodard

Alfre Woodard is an actress and producer. Woodard was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She went to Bishop Kelley High School and graduated in 1970. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in 1983 for her work in Cross Creek.

Ed Harris

Ed Harris is an actor and filmmaker. He grew up in New Jersey, but he eventually followed his family to Oklahoma where he attended the University of Oklahoma in Norman. Harris has been nominated four times by the Academy. He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his roles in Apollo 13, The Truman Show, and The Hours. Harris also earned a Best Actor nomination for Pollock.

K.K. Barrett

K.K. Barrett is a production designer. He lived in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma as well as Tulsa, Oklahoma. He graduated from Memorial High School in Tulsa and went on to study painting at Oklahoma State University. He was nominated in 2014 for Best Achievement in Production Design for the film Her.

James Garner

James Garner was an actor and producer. He was born in Norman, Oklahoma and attended Norman High School. He received an Oscar nominee in 1986 for Best Actor for Murphy's Romance.

Steve LaPorte

Steve LaPorte is a makeup artist who was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He was nominated and won an Academy Award in the category of Best Makeup for his work on Beetlejuice.

Terrence Malick

Terrence Malick is a film director, screenwriter and producer. He was born in Ottawa, Illinois but he lived in Bartlesville, Oklahoma for a few years. Malick earned Best Director nominations for The Thin Red Line and The Tree of Life. He also received a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Thin Red Line.

Eric Heisserer

Eric Heisserer is a filmmaker, comic book writer, television writer, and television producer. He was born in Norman, Oklahoma. He was a nominee for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2017 for Arrival.

Matthew W. Mungle

Matthew W. Mungle is a makeup artist from Atoka, Oklahoma. He graduated from Atoka High School in 1975 and studied at Oklahoma State University. Mungle has been nominated five times for Academy Awards. He was nominated for Best Makeup and Hairstyling for Hillbilly Elegy, Albert Nobbs, Ghosts of Mississippi, Schindler's List, and Bram Stoker's Dracula. He won once, for Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Margaret Avery

Margaret Avery is an actress and singer. She was born in Mangum, Oklahoma. She was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her work in The Color Purple (1986).

Carol Littleton

Carol Littleton is a film editor. She was born in Oklahoma City, but her family eventually moved to Miami, Oklahoma and she grew up there. She studied at the University of Oklahoma College of Arts & Sciences, getting her bachelor's degree in 1965 and her master's in 1970. She was nominated for Best Editing for her work on E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial.

Gene Havlick

Gene Havlick is a film editor. He was born in Enid, Oklahoma. He was nominated for and won the Oscar for Best Editing for Lost Horizon. Havlick was nominated two other times, for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and You Can't Take it with You.

Van Heflin

Van Heflin was an actor who was born in Walters, Oklahoma. He went to the University of Oklahoma. Heflin was Oscar-nominated in the category of Best Actor in a Supporting Role for the film Johnny Eager.

Bud S. Smith

Bud S. Smith is a film editor and director who was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Editing for Flashdance and The Exorcist.

Gary Busey

Gary Busey is an actor who moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma as a kid. He attended Bell Junior High School, then attended and graduated from Nathan Hale High School. He also studied theater at Oklahoma State University. Busey was a Best Actor nominee for his role in The Buddy Holly Story.

Blake Edwards

Blake Edwards was a director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. He was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was a nominee for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium for Victor/Victoria. In 2004, he won an honorary Academy Award, "in recognition of his writing, directing and producing an extraordinary body of work for the screen."

Ben Johnson

Ben Johnson was an actor, stuntman, and rodeo cowboy. He was born in Foraker, Oklahoma, on the Osage Indian Reservation. He won the Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for The Last Picture Show.

Ayn Robbins

Ayn Robbins is a lyricist and poet who was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She was nominated for two Academy Award for the songs, "Gonna Fly Now" from Rocky and "Someone's Waiting for You" from The Rescuers.

Elmo Williams

Elmo Williams was a film editor and producer who was born in Lone Wolf, Oklahoma. He was nominated and won Best Editing for High Noon. Williams was also nominated in that category for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

Lucien Ballard

Lucien Ballard was a cinematographer who was born in Miami, Oklahoma and attended the University of Oklahoma. He was a nominee for Best Cinematography for the film The Caretakers.

Ralph Blane

Ralph Blane was a composer, lyricist, and performer. He was born in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma and attended Tulsa Central High School. He was nominated twice for Best Song for “The Trolley Song” in Meet Me in St. Louis and for “Pass That Peace Pipe” in Good News.

Michael Wilson

Michael Wilson was a screenwriter who was born and raised in McAlester, Oklahoma. He was nominated in the category of Best Writing for Lawrence of Arabia, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Friendly Persuasion, 5 Fingers, and A Place in the Sun. He won two times, for The Bridge on the River Kwai and A Place in the Sun.

Joan Crawford

Joan Crawford was an actress who lived in Lawton, Oklahoma as a child. She was Oscar-nominated three times in the category Best Actress. Crawford received nominations for Sudden Fear, Possessed, and Mildred Pierce. She won once for Mildred Pierce.

Jennifer Jones

Jennifer Jones was an actress who was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She went to Edgemere Public School in Oklahoma City, then attended Monte Cassino, a Catholic girls school and junior college in Tulsa. She worked a 13-week radio program in Tulsa before moving to Hollywood. Jones was nominated for Best Actress for her roles in Love is a Many-Splendored Thing, Duel in the Sun, Love Letters, Since You Went Away, and The Song of Bernadette. She won once for The Song of Bernadette.

Gene Autry

Gene Autry was an actor, musician, singer, composer, rodeo performer, and baseball owner. He lived with his family in Ravia, Oklahoma and had multiple careers in Oklahoma cities, including Chelsea and Tulsa. Autry was even known as "Oklahoma's Yodeling Cowboy" on a Tulsa radio station. He was nominated for Best Music for the song "Be Honest with Me" from the movie Ridin' on a Rainbow.

Bud Thackery

Bud Thackery was a cinematographer who was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma. He was nominated for the Academy Award of Best Effects for the movie Women in War.

Jack Oakie

Jack Oakie was an actor whose given name was Lewis Delaney Offield. He moved to Muskogee, Oklahoma as a child, which is where he got the name "Oakie." He was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his work in The Great Dictator.

Who is nominated for an Academy Award in 2024?

The nominations for the 2024 Oscars were announced today with "Oppenheimer" leading the pack with 13 nods followed by "Poor Things" with 11. The 96th annual Academy Awards follow a year that saw blockbusters "Oppenheimer" and "Barbie" pack movie theaters around the world with each raking in hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office.

Best Picture

1. "American Fiction"
2. "Anatomy of a Fall"
3. "Barbie"
4. "The Holdovers"
5. "Killers of the Flower Moon"
6. "Maestro"
7. "Oppenheimer"
8. "Past Lives"
9. "Poor Things"
10. "The Zone of Interest"

Best Actor

1. Bradley Cooper, "Maestro"
2. Colman Domingo, "Rustin"
3. Paul Giamatti, "The Holdovers"
4. Cillian Murphy, "Oppenheimer"
5. Jeffrey Wright, "American Fiction"

Best Actress

1. Annette Bening, "Nyad"
2. Lily Gladstone, "Killers of the Flower Moon"
3. Sandra Hüller, "Anatomy of a Fall"
4. Carey Mulligan, "Maestro"
5. Emma Stone, "Poor Things"

Best supporting actor

1. Sterling K. Brown, "American Fiction"
2. Robert De Niro, "Killers of the Flower Moon"
3. Robert Downey Jr., "Oppenheimer"
4. Ryan Gosling, "Barbie"
5. Mark Ruffalo, "Poor Things"

Best supporting actress

1. Emily Blunt, "Oppenheimer"
2. Danielle Brooks, "The Color Purple"
3. America Ferrera, "Barbie"
4. Jodie Foster, "Nyad"
5. Da'Vine Joy Randolph, "The Holdovers"

Best director

1. Jonathan Glazer, "The Zone of Interest"
2. Yorgos Lanthimos, "Poor Things"
3. Christopher Nolan, "Oppenheimer"
4. Martin Scorsese, "Killers of the Flower Moon"
5. Justine Triet, "Anatomy of a Fall"

International feature film

1. "Io Capitano," Italy
2. "Perfect Days," Japan
3. "Society of the Snow," Spain
4. "The Teachers' Lounge," Germany
5. "The Zone of Interest," United Kingdom

Animated feature film

1. "The Boy and the Heron"
2. "Elemental"
3. "Nimona"
4. "Robot Dreams"
5. "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse"

Adapted screenplay

1. "American Fiction"
2. "Barbie"
3. "Oppenheimer"
4. "Poor Things"
5. "The Zone of Interest"

Original screenplay

1. "Anatomy of a Fall"
2. "The Holdovers"
3. "Maestro"
4. "May December"
5. "Past Lives"

Visual effects

1. "The Creator"
2. "Godzilla Minus One"
3. "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3"
4. "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One"
5. "Napoleon"

Original score

1. "American Fiction"
2. "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny"
3. "Killers of the Flower Moon"
4. "Oppenheimer"
5. "Poor Things"

Original song

1. "It Never Went Away" from "American Symphony"
2. "I'm Just Ken" from "Barbie"
3. "What Was I Made For?" from "Barbie"
4. "The Fire Inside" from "Flamin' Hot"
5. "Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)" from "Killers of the Flower Moon"

Documentary feature film

1. "20 Days in Mariupol"
2. "Bobi Wine: The People's President"
3. "The Eternal Memory"
4. "Four Daughters"
5. "To Kill a Tiger"

Cinematography

1. "El Conde"
2. "Killers of the Flower Moon"
3. "Maestro"
4. "Oppenheimer"
5. "Poor Things"

Costume design

1. "Barbie"
2. "Killers of the Flower Moon"
3. "Napoleon"
4. "Oppenheimer"
5. "Poor Things"

Animated short film

1. "Letter to a Pig"
2. "Ninety-Five Senses"
3. "Our Uniform"
4. "Pachyderme"
5. "War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko"

Live action short film

1. "The After"
2. "Invincible"
3. "Knight of Fortune"
4. "Red, White and Blue"
5. "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar"

Documentary short film

1. "The ABCs of Book Banning"
2. "The Barber of Little Rock"
3. "Island in Between"
4. "The Last Repair Shop"
5. "Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó"

Film editing

1. "Anatomy of a Fall"
2. "The Holdovers"
3. "Killers of the Flower Moon"
4. "Oppenheimer"
5. "Poor Things"

Sound

1. "The Creator"
2. "Maestro"
3. "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One"
4. "Oppenheimer"
5. "The Zone of Interest"

Production design

1. "Barbie"
2. "Killers of the Flower Moon"
3. "Napoleon"
4. "Oppenheimer"
5. "Poor Things"

Makeup and hairstyling

1. "Golda"
2. "Maestro"
3. "Oppenheimer"
4. "Poor Things"
5. "Society of the Snow"