Oscars History @ Pantages

1953: LIVE FROM THE PANTAGES - THE FIRST BROADCAST

The Academy Awards called our beloved Hollywood Pantages Theatre home for over a decade, and broadcast the event to the public for the first time from our stage on March 19, 1953!

The 25th Academy Awards ceremony was held in 1953 at (what was then known as) the RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood (hosted by Bob Hope) and the now-demolished NBC International Theatre in New York City (hosted by Conrad Nagel). It was the first time the Academy Awards were televised, and it was the first Oscars ceremony that took place in Hollywood and New York City simultaneously. Cameras switched back and forth between the two shows, depending on the location of the presenter or the winner. The show received the largest single audience to that date in television's five-year commercial history.

Here is the opening of the first televised Oscars broadcast - featuring legendary long-time host: BOB HOPE!

If you're wondering who captured that gorgeous opening shot outside of the theatre at the beginning of the video - it was THIS GUY! (By the way - it was raining that night. Very clever umbrella placement!)

Film’s most glamorous stars, including Elizabeth Taylor, Tony Curtis, Gloria Grahame, and more were in attendance! Recalls actor Robert Wagner about being in attendance for the first time being part of this national broadcast: “It was an adventure, being televised for the first time."

600x600.VintageLiz.jpg — Elizabeth Taylor paused to sign an autograph for a little girl on her way into RKO Pantages Theatre. It rained that day, cutting bleacher attendance to 1,500 (about half of the previous year’s count), but that did not dampen the spirits of the celebrities, who were ready for their close-ups.

Elizabeth Taylor & (2nd) Husband Michael Wilding

Jamie Leigh Curtis' Parents (Also known as Janet Leigh & Tony Curtis)

Television actress Sandra White laughs while arriving late at the 25th Annual Academy Awards. (Wonder if the cameras caught her coming in late! Haha!)

John Wayne (whose image is being projected on the huge screen) accepts the Best Director Oscar from Olivia DeHavillan for an absent John Ford

Walt Disney was a presenter and also won an Oscar for the live-action short *Water Birds.*

Greer Garson (left), a presenter, and Zsa Zsa Gabor flank Buddy Fogelson.

Just John Wayne and a few friends in hand!

“He was so proud of me that night,” says Terry Moore (a supporting actress nominee for *Come Back, Little Sheba*) of her date, Roger Wagner, who lifted a chain in front of the theater so that Moore could go in — the couple had missed the entrance for the red carpet. “I didn’t want to win,” adds Moore. “I just felt that I wasn’t good enough to win, so I was relieved when I didn’t.”

In one of the all-time upsets, the heavily favored High Noon lost the Best Picture award to Cecil B. DeMille's The Greatest Show on Earth. With five awards that night, The Bad and the Beautiful earned the most wins ever for a film not nominated for Best Picture.

CLICK FOR A COMPLETE LIST OF WINNERS FROM THE 25TH ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS

Needless to say, this upset made it ALL ABUZZ in the Press Room backstage in the basement! (Those of you who have taken a tour backstage at the Pantages, this room may look famililar!)

The Hollywood Reporter reported that a “near record audience” - seen in an estimated 10.9 million homes — CLEARLY the night’s biggest winner!

Here's the official program artwork for all who were in attendance!

And it's ALWAYS good to get a "Know Before You Go" handbill before you attend! (Nowadays - you'll find these in your email!) Hopefully all ticketholders made it there by 7pm like this said. Can you imagine how quickly everybody would have been seated if Mobile Entry was a thing back then?!

TERRIFIC SHOW, BOB! AND THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES!

OUR BELOVED PANTAGES THEATRE WILL ALWAYS HAVE A CEMENTED PLACE IN THE LEGACY OF HOLLYWOOD'S BIGGEST NIGHT!

THANKS FOR TAKING THIS TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE WITH US!

ENJOY THE 2021 OSCARS!