The Numbers
The shortest
Academy
Awards
ceremony
took about
15
minutes.
That speedy awards presentation,
held in 1929, was also the first. Why
so swift? "It was very much an
experiment," says Tariq Khan,
FoxNews.com's Oscar expert. The
winners had been announced three
months earlier, "so it was a chance
to just gather and see friends and
colleagues and celebrate [their]
work." The fancy festivities included
entertainment and a banquet, but
when it was time for the honors,
names were read with little fanfare
and sans skits. Since coming to TV
in 1953, the Oscars have gotten
longer-last year's ran 3.5 hours-
but at least they've increased in
entertainment value (Ellen DeGeneres hosts on March 2). We'd
like to thank the Academy for that.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ADAM VOORHES
FEBRUARY 2014 SPIRIT
43
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Spirit Magazine - February 2014