On Feb. 9, the 2019 Oscars will be televised, a technology that we take for granted. On March 25, 1954, however, the thought of seeing the Oscars was enticing. For the first time, anyone who owned, borrowed, or was invited to sit before a television could enjoy the mysterious, glamorous event: Hollywood luminaries would be honored for 1953’s greatest film achievements at the 26th Academy Awards ceremony.
According to cultural historian Thomas Doherty, NBC broadcast live from the RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood and the Center Theater in New York, sponsored by Oldsmobile. The cameramen’s full-dress suits did not prevent old-school Hollywood folks from feeling invaded by the television staging. Many saw the film industry’s collaboration with television as joining the enemy, but Hollywood was simply following an old motto: If you can’t beat ‘em, join ’em.
