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 Since 1929, the glamorous event has captured the imaginations of
film fans around the world. The 90th Academy Awards, given out
by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, will be held
in Hollywood.
Following are some highlights of the last 90 years.
1929 - The first Oscars ceremony is held on May 16, 1929, at the
Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood and hosted by actor Douglas
Fairbanks Sr. It is the only time a film from the silent era won
best picture, with the award going to World War One romance
"Wings."
1939 - The academy officially begins using the nickname "Oscar"
for its awards. Though unconfirmed, the popular tale behind the
origin of the name holds that academy librarian Margaret Herrick
said the statuette looked like her Uncle Oscar.
1940 - Hattie McDaniel becomes the first black performer to win
an Oscar for acting, picking up the supporting actress prize for
"Gone with the Wind." She is required to sit at a segregated
table at the ceremony. It would be 51 years before another black
woman would receive an acting Oscar, when Whoopi Goldberg won
for "Ghost."
1953 - The Oscars are televised for the first time. Host Bob
Hope marks the occasion by saying, "Isn't it exciting to know
that a lot of these glamorous stars are going to be in your
homes tonight? All over America housewives are turning to their
husbands and saying: 'Put on your shirt, Joan Crawford is
coming.'"
1963 - Sidney Poitier becomes the first black man to win an
Oscar for acting, for "Lilies of the Field."
1968 - The Oscars awards ceremony is postponed for two days
because of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on April
4.
1969 - The Oscars produce their only tie ever in the best
actress category. Katharine Hepburn wins for "The Lion in
Winter" and Barbra Streisand won for "Funny Girl." Hepburn does
not attend the ceremony.
1973 - Marlon Brando wins a best actor award for his performance
as Vito Corleone in "The Godfather," but boycotts the ceremony
to protest how Native Americans are portrayed in movies and
television. Sacheen Littlefeather, an Indian activist, appears
onstage in traditional Apache dress in Brando's place but
declines the statuette.
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2002 - Halle Berry becomes the first, and still the only black
woman, to receive a best actress Oscar, dedicating her award to
"every nameless, faceless woman of color that now has a chance
because this door tonight has been opened."
2003 - "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" pulls off the
largest awards sweep in Oscar history, winning in every category for
which it was nominated. It is the third film ever to win 11 awards,
tying with "Titanic" in 1997 and "Ben-Hur" in 1959.
Also in 2003, Roman Polanski wins the best director Oscar for his
Holocaust film "The Pianist" but cannot travel to Los Angeles for
the ceremony because he is wanted in the United States to serve time
for the rape of a minor in 1977. The audience responds with a
standing ovation.
2009 - Kathryn Bigelow becomes the first woman to win a best
director Oscar, for "The Hurt Locker."
2013 - Jennifer Lawrence trips and falls on her way to accept the
best actress award for her role in "Silver Linings Playbook." She
receives a standing ovation, prompting her to joke that "you're all
only standing because I fell and that was embarrassing."
2016 - For the second year in a row, all 20 Oscar acting nominees
are white, prompting criticism and the social media hashtag #OscarsSoWhite.
In response, the academy announces plans to increase the number of
women and minority members.
2017 - "Moonlight" becomes the first film with an all-black cast to
win best picture, but in a backstage envelope mixup victory is first
handed to musical "La La Land."
(Reporting by Nichola Groom; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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