On this day in 1927, the very first big, fancy-schmancy meeting of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) was held. These are the folks who bring us The Oscars. It is no secret that I happen to love The Oscars, for better or for worse.
Sometimes I hear people bash The Oscars as nothing more than a group of elitists rewarding themselves. And you know what? That’s true. Always has been. As I understand things, The Oscars started out as a private party thrown by Hollywood for itself. There were no cameras, no radios and no outsiders. In fact, for the first few years, the to-do was done in ballrooms such as those of The Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood and The Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. (That’s me in the photo above, standing before a pic from one of those early first ceremonies at The Biltmore.) Not until the 1950s were cameras brought in, and we the regular people finally saw the hubbub. Clearly we liked it, because The Oscars have continued to grow and grow. The global audience is mind-boggling. I know I dig it and all, but I’m a dork. Why the heck do the rest of the world be watching, is what I wanna know.
Anyhoo – Mister snapped the above pic a couple of months ago, when we found ourselves in the beautiful, historic Biltmore. And today, as AMPAS celebrates its birthday, I celebrate Los Angeles. What a great town!