On May 16, 1929, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences handed out its first awards, at a dinner party for
around 250 people held in the Blossom Room of the
Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, California.

The brainchild of Louis B. Mayer, head of the powerful MGM
film studio, the Academy was organized in May 1927 as a
non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement and
improvement of the film industry.

Its first president and the host of the May 1929 ceremony was
the actor Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. Unlike today, the winners
of the first Oscars—as the coveted gold-plated statuettes
later became known—were announced before the awards
ceremony itself.

The first official Best Picture winner was Wings, directed by
William Wellman. The most expensive movie of its time, with
a budget of $2 million.
   

Joe Don Baker, the broad-shouldered Texas tough guy who
portrayed characters on both sides of the law, most notably
Sheriff Buford Pusser in the unexpected box-office hit 
Walking Tall (1973), died Monday May 7. 

Emmitt James Smith III former professional football running
back who played in the National Football League for 15
seasons, 13 as a member of the Dallas Cowboys and 2
seasons with the Arizona Cardinals.

Among other accolades, he is the league’s all-time leading
rusher.

During an outdoor rally in Laurel, Maryland, George Wallace 
(right) the governor of Alabama and a presidential candidate
was shot by 21-year-old Arthur Bremer (left).

On June 8, Shirley Chisholm, the first African American 
woman elected to Congress and one of Wallace’s opponents
for the Democratic nomination, famously visited him in the
hospital to wish him well.

He remained in the hospital for several months, bringing his
third presidential campaign to an irrevocable end.

After his shooting, a hospitalized George C.
Wallace holds up a newspaper touting his
victories in the Maryland and Michigan
Democratic presidential primaries.

George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September
13, 1998).

 Moshu was known as "Sir Snacks-a-Lot."
(June 20, 2011 – May 14, 2025)

Moshu was diagnosed with severe heart disease over a
year ago.
(KATU)