2nd Academy Awards: History and Background

The 2nd Academy Awards, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) on April 3, 1930, at an awards banquet in the Cocoanut Grove of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, honored the best films released between August 1, 1928, and July 31, 1929. This was the first Academy Awards ceremony broadcast on radio, by local station KNX, Los Angeles. Over 300 attended the event, which included Academy members and guests.

The second ceremony included a number of changes from the first: most importantly, it was the first presentation for which the winners were not announced in advance, and the number of award categories was reduced from twelve to seven. It is unique in that there were never any official nominees; instead, AMPAS conducted further research and came up with a list of unofficial or de facto nominees using records of the films that the judges had given their opinions on. Chester Morris was the first nominee for Best Actor to be born in the 20th century.

Mary Pickford, a founding member of AMPAS and married to its first president, lobbied to be considered for the Best Actress award, inviting the judges over for tea at her home, while other actresses being considered for the same award were not made aware of their status.

Jeanne Eagels became the first and, to date, only actress to be posthumously nominated for Best Actress, for The Letter. The Divine Lady became the last film to win Best Director without receiving a Best Picture nomination.

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