This next Sunday, February 28, is celebrated the Academy Awards in Hollywood. During the event, the prized statuette of 34 centimeters in height, 3,85 kilograms in weight and gold plated, will be rubbed to the winners, except in the period of the Second World War, which were made in plaster. In the almost 90 years that the Hollywood Academy has been giving these awards, there has always been someone who has been the first to receive them. Below we show you a compilation of the most curious cases.
- Hattie McDaniel. The first black actress to win an Oscar. It was the year 1940 when Hattie McDaniel managed to win the statuette as best supporting actress in gone With the Wind, becoming the first person of color to win an Oscar. McDaniel played the role of servant and surely you will remember if I tell you that his most repeated words were "Miss Scarlet, Miss Scarlet."
- George C. Scott. First actor to turn down an Oscar. Scott won the statuette for best leading actor for the film Patton. He did not attend the ceremony but sent a telegram in which he stated that he refused to accept it because he did not agree with the voting process since having to compete against his co-stars was artistically incorrect.
- Norma Shearer. He was the first person to announce the Oscar that he won. During the celebration of the Oscars gala in 1931, Norma Shearer was in charge of announcing the winner of the best leading actress. Shearer was nominated for two Oscars in the same category for two different films. He finally won it for the movie The Divorce.
- The first color film to win an Oscar was gone With the Wind. The first color film to enter the Oscar nominations was A Star is Born, but it did not go from there. Two years later the movie gone With the Wind it became the first color film to win an Oscar. Black and white films continued to be nominated in the best picture category until 1956, in which all five nominated films were in color.
- Oscar Hammerstein. First person to be named Oscar and win an Oscar. Bill composer Oscar Hammerstein won two Oscars throughout his career, in 1942 and 1946.
- First ceremony broadcast on television was in 1953. The celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Academy Awards served as the first ceremony to be broadcast on television in black and white at the RKO Pantages Theater in Hollywood, and at the NBC Theater in New York. In 1966 the first Oscars ceremony was broadcast in color on ABC.
- First X-rated film to win an Oscar for Best Picture: Midnight cowboy. In 1972 Midnight cowboy it was the first film to win an Oscar when it was rated X. Two years later Clockwork Orange it obtained the same award, when it was also classified as X. In 1990 the X classification was renamed to NR -17, not recommended for children under 17 years of age due to the scenes of sex and violence they contained and thus be able to differentiate using them from the really pornographic ones.
- First sequel to win an Oscar: The Godfather II. This film was the first sequel to win an Oscar for best picture in 1975, two years after the first part also won the same statuette.
- First woman to win an Oscar for best picture: Julia Phillips. In 1974 Julia Phillips won the first Oscar for best picture for El golpe, with Paul Newman and Robert Redford, along with Tony Bill and producer and husband Michael Phillips. The success of the film paved the way for Julia her husband Michael to make Taxi Driver Two years later. Later they also worked on the Steven Spielberg film Encounters in the third phase.
- First woman to win an Oscar for best director: Kathryn Bigelow. In 2010 and after 82 editions of the Oscars, Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win the Academy Award in the category of best director for the film. In Hostile Land (The Hurt Locker). Only three women had previously applied for this position: Lina Wertmüller for Seven beauties, Jane Campion for The piano and Sofia Coppola for Lost in translation 2004 the year.
- First animated film to be nominated: Beauty and the Beast. Although it did not win the Oscar, the Disney film Beauty and the beast it was the first film to receive a nomination in the best picture category. Since then Up, in 2009, and Toy Store 3, in 2010, they have also received these nominations. In 2001, the Hollywood Academy introduced the Best Animated Film category.
- First actor to receive two nominations for the same role: Barry Fitzgerald. In 1945, the actor Barry Fitzgeral received two dominations for the same film as best actor and as best supporting actor for the film Going My Way. Finally he won the best supporting actor. The Hollywood Academy changed the rules so that this would not happen again.
- First actor to receive a posthumous Oscar: Peter Finch. Finch was the first actor to win the Academy's Oscar posthumously, after dying three months before the awards ceremony, where he was nominated for best actor.
- First 3D film to receive a nomination: Avatar and UP. Although the 3D format has been around since 1915, we had to wait until 2010 for the first stereoscopic film to be nominated for an Oscar for best picture. This time there were two: Avatar y UP. Both lost the award to Kathryn Bigelow, for the film in Hostile Land.