The Academy Awards – Do You Know Some “Hollywood Golden Age” Facts?

It’s awards season and one most anticipated programs is the 95th Annual Academy Awards that will be held on March 12. Many of the films and stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age that people assume were big winners didn’t take the coveted statue home. Here’s a quiz with a dozen questions that zero in on some interesting Academy Award facts. Take it and have some fun. There are questions that include true/false and also multiple choice ones. Answers and explanations are at the included at the end. Take the quiz yourself or test your friends during your Academy Awards party!

1) How many awards were presented at the first Academy Awards Dinner in 1929 (not including honorable mentions for the runners up)?  This dinner honored films that were made between August of 1927 to July of 1928.

  1. 22
  2. 15
  3. 12
  4. 30

2) Who was the president of the Academy at the first awards dinner in 1929?

  1. Charlie Chaplin
  2. Douglas Fairbanks Sr.
  3. King Vidor
  4. Errol Flynn

3) In 1931, Bette Davis’ film career started with the movie, Bad Sister and she won her first Academy Award.

True

False

4) Who is the Golden Age of Hollywood star that holds the most Academy Awards?

  1. Sir Lawrence Olivier
  2. Olivia de Havilland
  3. Clark Gable
  4. Katharine Hepburn

5) In what year was the first radio broadcast of the Academy Awards available to the public?

  1. 1930
  2. 1938
  3. 1942
  4. 1943

6) Which movie won all 5 Top Oscars?

  1. It Happened One Night (1934)
  2. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
  3. Citizen Kane (1941)
  4. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

7) Which one of these actors received a Statuette as an Honorary Award from the Academy in the 1940’s?  

  1. Gary Cooper
  2. Fred Astaire
  3. Humphrey Bogart
  4. Sidney Greenstreet

8)  Cary Grant never received an Oscar for his performances in a movie.

True

False

9)  What popular movie was totally overlooked by the Academy?

1)  Grand Hotel (1932)

2)  Duck Soup (1933)

3)  The Yearling (1946)

4)  High Noon (1952)   

10) Who was the first person of color to ever receive the Oscar? 

  1. Hattie McDaniel 
  2. Canada Lee
  3. Nina Mae McKinney
  4. Lincoln Perry

11)  Which actor was known to make the longest Oscar acceptance speech in Academy Awards history?

1)  Ray Milland for The Lost Weekend

2)  Greer Garson for Mrs. Miniver

3)  Joan Crawford for Mildred Pierce

4)  Vivian Leigh for Gone with the Wind 

12)  The first “Best Director” Academy Award was given in 1937.

True

False 

Answers:

1) Twelve Academy Awards were presented at the dinner in 1929.  Twenty additional certificates of honorable mention were given to runners-up in each of the award categories.

2) The President of the Academy in 1929 was Douglas Fairbanks Sr. 

3) False.  Bette Davis won her first award for the 1935 film Dangerous

4) Katharine Hepburn currently holds the record with four Oscar wins.

5) 1930

6) It Happened One Night

7) Fred Astaire received the honorary statuette in 1950 for his achievements.  

8) True – Although nominated for Penny Serenade and None But the Lonely Heart, Grant never won an Oscar for his performances but received an honorary one in 1970 for his life’s work. 

9)  Duck Soup is considered a classic movie by the Marx Brothers but was overlooked by the Academy.

10) Hattie McDaniel received an Oscar for her performance as Mammy in Gone With the Wind  in 1939.

11)  Greer Garson for Mrs. Miniver.

12)  False. Best Director Oscars were awarded at the first Academy Awards Dinner in 1929 and was won by two directors. Frank Borzage was the winner for Dramatic Picture for 7th Heaven and Lewis Milestone, winner for Comedy Picture for Two Arabian Knights.

Top photo: Bigstock

About Marina P. Kennedy (144 Articles)
Marina Kennedy began her writing career when her four children were grown and she returned to college to study in the humanities. She is delighted to be a contributor for Woman Around Town. The majority of her articles focus on the culinary scene, theatre, and travel. Marina and her husband Chuck enjoy the rich cultural experiences of the New York metro area and beyond. She hopes that readers like reading her articles as much as she enjoys writing them.