Category Archives: Friday Factoid

Friday Factoid – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Before getting into today’s factoid, just a reminder that all CPCC libraries will be closed on Fridays from May 11 to July 13.  However, you can still access many of our services through our website.  However, the Friday Factoid will continue during this time…so, on with today’s factoid!

May 11 marks the 85th anniversary of the founding of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.  Known primarily today for hosting the Oscars awards ceremony every year, the Academy was founded by Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM Studios and others involved in the motion picture industry of the time.  While the purpose of the Academy today is to promote the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures, one of its original purposes was to help improve the industry’s image and mediate labor disputes.

The first Academy Awards ceremony was held in 1929 at the Hotel Roosevelt in Hollywood.  The ceremony has been held every year since, with the 84 Annual Academy Awards taking place in February 2012.

Some notable Academy Award facts:

  • 1977’s The Turning Point and 1985’s The Color Purple both hold the distinction of being the most nominated films (11 each) to not win a single award.
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is the most nominated film to win all awards that it was nominated for (11).
  • Actress Linda Hunt, winner of the 1983 Best Supporting Actress award for The Year of Living Dangerously, is the only person to win an award for playing a member of the opposite sex.
  • In 1939, Hattie McDaniel became the first African-American to win an Academy Award (Best Supporting Actress) for her portrayal of Mammy in Gone with the Wind.

Interested in watching some Academy Award winning films?  CPCC Libraries carries a number of them.  Check out the list below for titles that you might be interested in.

 

Best Picture Winner Year
All Quiet on the Western Front 1930
Mutiny on the Bounty 1935
How Green Was My Valley 1941
Mrs. Miniver 1942
The Best Years of Our Lives 1946
Hamlet 1948
From Here to Eternity 1953
On the Waterfront 1954
Lawrence of Arabia 1962
A Man for All Seasons 1966
The French Connection 1971
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest 1975
Ordinary People 1980
Chariots of Fire 1981
Best Picture Winner Year
Out of Africa 1985
Rain Man 1988
The Silence of the Lambs 1991
Schindler’s List 1993
Forrest Gump 1994
Shakespeare in Love 1998
American Beauty 1999
Gladiator 2000
A Beautiful Mind 2001
Chicago 2002
Crash 2005
The Departed 2006
Slumdog Millionaire 2008
The King’s Speech 2010

Friday Factoid – Keith Haring

May 4, 2012 would have been Keith Haring’s 54th birthday.  Haring was a New York based artist who was influential in the pop art movement.  Inspired by graffiti art, Haring’s early works consisted of chalk drawings in New York City subways.  The bold lines and bright colors of his work eventually came to be world-renowned.  Haring created public murals in a number of international cities, including New York, Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin and designed cover art for the Special Olympics benefit album A Very Special Christmas.  Diagnosed with AIDS in 1988, Haring died from AIDS-related complications in 1990.  Google is featuring a Haring-inspired doodle today to honor his legacy.

To learn more about Keith Haring and his art, check out the following links:

A profile of Keith Haring from the Christian Science Monitor

The website for Keith Haring, featuring his works, a biography and more.

A discussion of one of Haring’s works from the Museum of Modern Art

For more information about the pop art movement, have a look at Credo Reference.