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12th Academy Awards
The 12th Academy Awards ceremony, held on February 29, 1940 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best in film for 1939 at a banquet in the Coconut Grove at The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. It was hosted by Bob Hope, in his first of nineteen turns as host. David O. Selznick's ''Gone with the Wind'' received the most nominations of the year with thirteen, winning eight Oscars (both records at the time). This year was the first in which multiple films received ten or more nominations ('' Mr. Smith Goes to Washington'' received eleven). This was the first year in which Best Visual Effects was a competitive category; previously, "special achievement" awards for effects had occasionally been conferred. This year, Best Cinematography was split into Color and Black & White categories. Hattie McDaniel became the first African-American to receive an Academy Award, winning Best Supporting Actress for ''Gone with the Wind''. Mickey Rooney becam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ambassador Hotel (Los Angeles)
The Ambassador Hotel was a hotel in Los Angeles, California. Designed by architect Myron Hunt, the Ambassador Hotel formally opened to the public on January 1, 1921. Later renovations by architect Paul Williams were made to the hotel in the late 1940s. It was also home to the Cocoanut Grove nightclub, Los Angeles’ premier night spot for decades; host to six Oscar ceremonies and to every United States President from Herbert Hoover to Richard Nixon. Prominent figures such as Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Sammy Davis, Nat King Cole, Lena Horne, Barbra Streisand, Bing Crosby, John Wayne, Lucille Ball, Marilyn Monroe, Yma Sumac and The Supremes were some of the many entertainers who attended and performed professionally at the Cocoanut Grove. The hotel was the site of the assassination of United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy on June 5, 1968. Due to the decline of the hotel and the surrounding area, the Ambassador Hotel was closed to guests in 1989. In 2001, the Los Angeles ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh ( ; 5 November 1913 – 8 July 1967; born Vivian Mary Hartley), styled as Lady Olivier after 1947, was a British actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, for her definitive performances as Scarlett O'Hara in ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and Blanche DuBois in the film version of ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' (1951), a role she had also played on stage in London's West End in 1949. She also won a Tony Award for her work in the Broadway musical version of '' Tovarich'' (1963). Although her career had periods of inactivity, in 1999 the American Film Institute ranked Leigh as the 16th greatest female movie star of classic Hollywood cinema. After completing her drama school education, Leigh appeared in small roles in four films in 1935 and progressed to the role of heroine in ''Fire Over England'' (1937). Lauded for her beauty, Leigh felt that her physical attributes sometimes prevented her from being taken seriously as an actress. Despite her fame as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Selznick International Pictures
Selznick International Pictures was a Hollywood motion picture studio created by David O. Selznick in 1935, and dissolved in 1943. In its short existence the independent studio produced two films that received the Academy Award for Best Picture—''Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and '' Rebecca'' (1940)—and three that were nominated, '' A Star Is Born'' (1937), ''Since You Went Away'' (1944) and '' Spellbound'' (1945). Company history Selznick International Pictures was founded in 1935 by producer David O. Selznick and investor Jock Whitney after Selznick left Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and leased a section of the RKO Pictures lot in Culver City, California. The studio itself had been built in 1918–19 by film pioneer Thomas Ince. When Ince died in 1924 the studio was taken over by Cecil B. DeMille. Eventually Pathe took over and then in the 1930s it became part of RKO. In 1957 it would become part of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz's company, Desilu. Selznick leased offices at the stud ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Academy Award For Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only category in which every member of the Oscars is eligible to submit a nomination and vote on the final ballot. The Best Picture category is often the final award of the night and is widely considered as the most prestigious honor of the ceremony. The Grand Staircase columns at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, where the Academy Awards ceremonies have been held since 2002, showcase every film that has won the Best Picture title since the award's inception. There have been 581 films nominated for Best Picture and 94 winners. History Category name changes At the 1st Academy Awards ceremony (for 1927 and 1928), there were two categories of awards that were each considered the top award of the night: ''Outstanding Picture'' and '' Unique and Artistic P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conrad Nagel
John Conrad Nagel (March 16, 1897 – February 24, 1970) was an American film, stage, television and radio actor. He was considered a famous matinée idol and leading man of the 1920s and 1930s. He was given an Academy Honorary Award in 1940 and three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. Early life Born in Keokuk, Iowa, into an upper-middle-class family, he was the son of a musician father, Dr. Frank L. Nagel, who was of German descent, and a mother, Frances (née Murphy), who was a locally praised singer. Nagel's mother died early in his life, and he always attributed his artistic inclination to growing up in a family environment that encouraged self-expression. When Nagel was three, his father, Frank, became dean of the music conservatory at Highland Park College in Des Moines, and the family moved there. After graduating from Highland Park College, Nagel left for California to pursue a career in the relatively new medium of motion pictures where he garnered instant a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ralph Block
Ralph J. Block (June 21, 1889, Cherokee – January 2, 1974, Wheaton) was an American film producer in the 1920s and became a full-time screenwriter in 1930. He is most famous for being President of the Screen Writers Guild from 1934 to 1935. He received an Honorary Academy Award in 1940 for his dedicated work for the Motion Picture Relief Fund. Biography Block was born in the City of Cherokee in the Cherokee County of Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ... to E.S. and Doris Block (née Chraplewski). Filmography As producer As Writer References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Block, Ralph 1889 births 1974 deaths American film producers Academy Honorary Award recipients Presidents of the Screen Actors Guild American male screenwriters Univers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ralph Morgan
Raphael Kuhner Wuppermann (July 6, 1883 – June 11, 1956), known professionally as Ralph Morgan, was a Hollywood stage and film character actor, and the older brother of Frank Morgan. Early life Morgan was born in New York City, the eighth of eleven children of Josephine Wright (née Hancox) and George Diogracia Wuppermann. His mother was a Mayflower descendant. His father, George Wuppermann, was of Spanish and German lineage. Born in Venezuela and raised in Germany, he later immigrated to the United States. He had made a fortune by distributing Angostura bitters, allowing him to send all of his children to universities. Morgan attended Trinity School, Riverview Military Academy and graduated from Columbia University with a law degree. However, after almost two years' practicing, he abandoned the world of jurisprudence for the vocation of journeyman actor, having already appeared in Columbia's annual Varsity Show. In 1905, billed as Raphael Kuhner Wupperman, he appea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean Hersholt
Jean Pierre Carl Buron (12 July 1886 – 2 June 1956), known professionally as Jean Hersholt, was a Danish-American actor. He is best known for starring on the radio series '' Dr. Christian'' (1937–1954) and in the film ''Heidi'' (1937).Obituary ''Variety'', 6 June 1956, p. 63. Asked how to pronounce his name, he told ''The Literary Digest'', "In English, ''her'sholt''; in Danish, ''hairs'hult''." Of his total credits, 75 were silent films and 65 were sound films (140 total); he directed four. Early life Hersholt was born Jean Pierre Carl Buron in Copenhagen, Denmark. Hersholt claimed to be born into a family of actors, but in reality, both of his parents Henri Pierre Buron, the son of a French Catholic father and a Danish Protestant mother, and Clara (née Petersen), the daughter of a Danish Protestant father and a Danish Jewish mother, were hairdressers, though the father later was a cigar and wine retailer/vendor. Hersholt appeared in two of the first short films of Danish f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thief of Bagdad'', ''Robin Hood'', and '' The Mark of Zorro'', but spent the early part of his career making comedies. Fairbanks was a founding member of United Artists. He was also a founding member of The Motion Picture Academy and hosted the 1st Academy Awards in 1929. With his marriage to actress and film producer Mary Pickford in 1920, the couple became 'Hollywood royalty', and Fairbanks was referred to as "The King of Hollywood", a nickname later passed on to actor Clark Gable. Though he was considered one of the biggest stars in Hollywood during the 1910s and 1920s, Fairbanks's career rapidly declined with the advent of the "talkies". His final film was ''The Private Life of Don Juan'' (1934). Early life Fairbanks was born Douglas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Judy Garland
Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939). She attained international stardom as an actress in both musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage. Renowned for her versatility, she received an Academy Juvenile Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Special Tony Award. Garland was the first woman to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, which she won for her 1961 live recording titled ''Judy at Carnegie Hall''. Garland began performing as a child with her two older sisters, in a vaudeville group " The Gumm Sisters" and was later signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as a teenager. She appeared in more than two dozen films for MGM. Garland was a frequent on-screen partner of both Mickey Rooney and Gene Kelly and regularly collaborated w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gregg Toland
Gregg Wesley Toland, A.S.C. (May 29, 1904 – September 28, 1948) was an American cinematographer known for his innovative use of techniques such as deep focus, examples of which can be found in his work on Orson Welles' ''Citizen Kane'' (1941), William Wyler's ''The Best Years of Our Lives'' (1946), and John Ford's ''The Grapes of Wrath'', and ''The Long Voyage Home'' (both, 1940). He is also known for his work as a director of photography for ''Wuthering Heights'' (1939), '' The Westerner'' (1940), ''Ball of Fire'' (1941), ''The Outlaw'' (1943), ''Song of the South'' (1946) and ''The Bishop's Wife'' (1947). Toland earned six Academy Award nominations for Best Cinematography, and won for his work on ''Wuthering Heights''. He was voted one of the top 10 most influential cinematographers in the history of film by the International Cinematographers Guild in 2003. Career Toland was born in Charleston, Illinois on May 29, 1904 to Jennie, a housekeeper, and Frank Toland. His m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music, who composed over 500 songs, a number of which have become known worldwide. In addition to composing the songs for the 1939 film '' The Wizard of Oz'' (lyrics by Yip Harburg), including " Over the Rainbow", Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the Great American Songbook. "Over the Rainbow" was voted the 20th century's No. 1 song by the RIAA and the NEA. Life and career Arlen was born in Buffalo, New York, the child of a Jewish cantor. His twin brother died the next day. He learned to play the piano as a youth, and formed a band as a young man. He achieved some local success as a pianist and singer before moving to New York City in his early twenties, where he worked as an accompanist in vaudeville and changed his name to Harold Arlen. Between 1926 and about 1934, Arlen appeared occasionally as a band vocalist on records by The Buffalodians, Red Nichols, Joe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
