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 |
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.