Oscar Quest

Oscar is no spring chicken. But at the ripe old age of 74, he’s still the most respected man in Hollywood. Russell, Sean, Will, Denzel or Tom will walk away from the Academy Awards March 24 as Hollywood’s leading man, but Oscar is the man of the hour.

And almost three-quarters of a century after they were first presented, the Academy Awards are only improving with age. The film industry’s top honors were first handed out in 1929, at a banquet dinner that would seem strangely low-key compared to the media extravaganza that surrounds the awards today.

Tickets to that first ceremony were $10, and 15 statuettes were awarded — 14 of them to men. Two hundred and fifty people attended, and the show was not broadcast.

This year, more than 3,000 people will be in the theater when 25 awards are given out, and, if last year is any indication, almost 43 million people will watch the event on television.

Oscar has seen a lot in his day — wars, floods, assassinations, bad dresses, bad speeches. And his history is packed with the kind of drama that only Hollywood could produce.

Here’s your chance to take a trip down the red carpet — and through 74 years of movie history. (No designer gown or enormous baubles required.)

You’ve seen the films, you’ve picked your favorites, now it’s time to learn the back story. Because sometimes what’s behind the scenes is more interesting than what’s on the screen.

— Becky Sher
Knight Ridder/Tribune

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TCU Daily Skiff © 2002