Bob Hope

The Academy Awards ceremony made appeared on television for the first time 
with 34 million viewers in front of their TV sets. NBC-TV’s broadcast of the 25th 
Annual Academy Awards featured ceremonies held in both Hollywood and New 
York City. Bob Hope hosted the main festivities (above) held at RKO Pantages
Theater in Hollywood, while Conrad Nagel led a smaller ceremony at the NBC
International Theater in Manhattan.

The circus drama “The Greatest Show on Earth,” directed by 71-year-old 
cinema pioneer Cecil B. DeMille, won Best Picture over the heavily favored
“High Noon,” which featured Best Actor winner Gary Cooper.