May 16, 1929: The 1st Academy Awards

May 16, 1929: The 1st Academy Awards ceremony is held, at a private dinner at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) honored the best films of 1927 and 1928 -- a last gasp for, and perhaps a fond farewell to, the Silent Film Era. And it was the only Academy Award ceremony that was not broadcast on either radio or television.

* Best Picture: Wings, a film about pilots in World War I, starring Clara Bow, Charles "Buddy" Rogers and Richard Arlen.

* Best Director. Comedy: Lewis Milestone, for Two Arabian Knights, produced by Howard Hughes. Another film set in the combat of World War I, it starred William Boyd, Mary Astor and Louis Wolheim.

* Best Director, Drama: Frank Borzage, for 7th Heaven, about poor people in Paris, starring Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell.

* Best Writing: Ben Hecht, for Underworld, directed by Josef von Sternberg, a crime drama starring Clive Brook, Evelyn Brent and George Bancroft.

* Best Actor: Emil Jannings, for The Last Command, another von Sternberg film, about the Russian Revolution, also starring Brent, and William Powell.

* Best Actress: Janet Gaynor, for 7th Heaven.

Janet Gaynor with a charter "Oscar"

In 1939, the gold statuette that is the trophy for the Academy Award was officially named "Oscar." The origin of the name is disputed. Margaret Herrick, the Academy's executive director, supposedly first saw the award in 1931, and said, "Why, he looks just like my uncle Oscar." That story was first repeated in 1934. That same year, Walt Disney won one, and thanked the Academy for his "Oscar." This conflicts with the claim of Bette Davis, who won them in 1935 and 1938, and said she named the trophy after her 1st husband, bandleader Harmon Oscar Nelson.

Venues for the ceremonies:

* 1929: Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel (1 time)

* 1930, 1932-34, 1940, 1943: Ambassador Hotel (6)

* 1931, 1935-39, 1941-42: Biltmore Hotel (8)

* 1944-46: Chinese Theatre (3)

* 1947-48, 1988-89, 1991, 1995, 1997-98, 2000-01: Shrine Auditorium (10)

* 1949: Academy Theatre (1)

* 1950-60: Pantages Theatre (11)

* 1961-68: Santa Monica Civic Auditorium (8)

* 1969-87, 1990, 1992-94, 1996, 1999: Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (25)

* 2002-20, 2022: Dolby Theatre (20)

* 2021: Union Station (1, a smaller ceremony, due to COVID restrictions)

In 1989, after 70 years of presenters saying, "And the winner is... " before opening the envelope and revealing the winner, they began saying, "And the Oscar goes to... " That's the way it's been ever since. With one notable exception. In 2003, with his wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, already a winner for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Chicago, Michael Douglas announced the Best Picture winner with his father, Kirk Douglas. Each of them was a previous Oscar winner. Once Kirk, his voice affected by a stroke, read off the nominees, Michael said, "Now, you're supposed to say, 'And the Oscar goes to.'" But, as one of the earliest surviving winners, Kirk, who lived to be 103, went the old way, and said, "And the winner is... " And they announced it together: "Chicago!"

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May 16, 1929 was a Thursday. Jazz singer Betty Carter was born on this day.

Football, basketball and hockey were out of season. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox, 5-3 at Yankee Stadium. Ed Morris outpitched Waite Hoyt, and Bill Regan won it with a triple in the top of the 12th inning. Babe Ruth went 1-for-6 with an RBI, and Lou Gehrig went 0-for-5.

* The New York Giants beat the Boston Braves, 9-5 at Braves Field in Boston. The game went 10 innings, and pitcher Freddie Fitzsimmons helped his own cause with an RBI single in the top of the 10th. Travis Jackson hit a home run.

* The Brooklyn Robins -- as the Dodgers were known while Wilbert Robinson managed them from 1914 to 1931 -- beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 14-13 at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia.

* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Washington Nationals, 4-1 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Lefty Grove went the distance for the win.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-2 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-2 at Navin Field in Detroit. (It was renamed Briggs Stadium in 1938, and Tiger Stadium in 1961.)

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds, 9-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* And the St. Louis Browns beat the Cleveland Indians, 7-6 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.

April 20, 1937: "A Star Is Born" Premieres

Janet Gaynor and Frederic March

April 20, 1937: A Star Is Born, directed by William Wellman, premieres. Among the people contributing to the script was Dorothy Parker, the writer, poet and critic associated with the Algonquin Round Table.

Janet Gaynor plays Esther Victoria Blodgett, a farm girl who wants to be a film star. She meets film star Norman Maine, played by Frederic March. He's impressed with her, and gets her a screen test. She gets a role, and a stage name: Vicki Lester.

They get married, but as her star rises, so does his drinking, and his star falls. He ends up committing suicide. Vicki wants to drop out of show business, but her grandmother, who funded her trip to Hollywood, convinces her to stick with it. Later, interviewed for the newsreels outside her next film premiere, she pays tribute to the man she loved, the man who gave her her big break, telling the crowd, "Hello, everyone: This is Mrs. Norman Maine."

James Mason and Judy Garland

It's been remade 3 times. In the 1954 version, James Mason keeps Norman as an actor, but Judy Garland plays Esther/Vicki as an aspiring singer. In 1976, both halves of the couple are singers: Kris Kristofferson plays John Norman Howard, and Barbra Streisand plays Esther Hoffman, who takes his name upon marriage but doesn't change her given name. A variation is that John doesn't drown himself, but rather drinks, drives, and crashes.

Kris Kristofferson and Barbra Streisand

And in 2018, again, both were singers: Bradley Cooper as Jackson Maine, and Lady Gaga as Ally, whose maiden name is not revealed. And Jackson hangs himself. This film led to rumors of Cooper and Gaga becoming a real couple, which both have denied.

Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga

So there have been gaps of 17 years, 22 years, and 42 years. That's an average of 27 years. So, look for another remake around 2045 or so.

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April 20, 1937 was a Tuesday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Washington Senators, 3-2 at Yankee Stadium. Monte Weaver outpitched Lefty Gomez. Former Philadelphia Athletics star Al Simmons went 3-for-5 with a home run and 2 RBIs for the Senators.

* The New York Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers, 4-3 at Ebbets Field. Pitcher Hal Schumacher helped his own cause by driving home George "Kiddo" Davis with the winning run on a sacrifice fly in the top of the 9th inning. Mel Ott went 0-for-4.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 11-5 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 2-0 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Johnny Mize doubled home the winning run in the top of the 10th inning. Dizzy Dean allowed 13 hits, but kept the shutout through all 10 innings.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-3 at Navin Field in Detroit. (The ballpark was renamed Briggs Stadium in 1938, and Tiger Stadium in 1961.) Elden Auker outpitched Mel Harder. Lyn Lary and Roy Hughes each had 3 hits for the Indians. But Gerald "Gee" Walker went 4-for-4 with a solo home run for the Tigers. Hank Greenberg went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Cy Blanton pitched a 5-hit shutout. Paul Waner went 2-for-4. His brother, Lloyd Waner, did not play.

* The Chicago White Sox and the St. Louis Browns were rained out at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. The game was made up as part of a 4th of July doubleheader. The ChiSox swept, 4-2 and 9-5.

* And the Boston Bees (as the Braves were known from 1936 to 1940) and the Philadelphia Phillies were not scheduled.