The Academy Awards - The Oscars - Events and Ceremonies
1927 - MGM Studio Chief, Louis B. Mayer creates the Academy Awards and pays George Stanley to design the Oscar. The Roosevelt Hotel hosts the first ceremony; tickets cost only five dollars. Price Waterhouse takes over ballot calculations and to this day ensures secrecy of the winners. The L.A. Times reveals the winners prior to the ceremony, forcing the Academy to seal the envelopes. During World War II, Oscars are made of painted plaster to conserve metal. Tatum O’Neal becomes the youngest recipient of an Oscar at ten years old. Bob Hope hosts the awards for a record nineteenth time and Michael Jackson buys an Oscar for 1.5 million dollars. Fifty-five Oscars are stolen on their way to the ceremony, all but two have been recovered. Each year, the six-thousand voting members of the Academy give out this distinguished award with categories changing throughout its history.
