A new Academy publication, the Screen Achievement Records Bulletin, debuted when the Writers Branch began publishing a bulletin of screen authorship records. It listed film production titles and complete credits for directors and writers.
Academy Story
1931
1931
M.C. Levee
1932
1932
Conrad Nagel
1933
1933
J. Theodore Reed
1934
1934
Frank Lloyd
Keeping Track
1935
1935
Academy President from 1935-1939
A Source Of Security
Film Editing, Music Scoring, and Song were added to the categories honoring films released in 1934. The year also brought the first write-in campaign, seeking to nominate Bette Davis for her performance in "Of Human Bondage." (Academy rules now prohibit write-ins on the final ballot.) Also that year, the Academy retained the accounting firm of Price Waterhouse to tabulate the ballots and ensure the secrecy of the results. The firm, now called PricewaterhouseCoopers, continues to tabulate the voting to this day.
1937
1937
Strong Support
The first Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress Academy Awards are presented for performances in films of 1936. The honors went to Walter Brennan for "Come and Get it" and Gale Sondergaard for "Anthony Adverse."
The Academy Players Directory was published, including photos of actors and the name of their agent or industry contact. The directory was published by the Academy until 2006, when it was sold to a private company.
1938
1938
Time For Thalberg
The Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award was presented for the first time at the ceremony held in 1938. The honor went to Darryl F. Zanuck.
For the first time, the Oscar ceremony was delayed when massive flooding in Los Angeles pushed the date back one week.
By 1938 the Academy's Research Council, a forerunner of today's Science and Technology Council, had 36 technical committees working to address issues related to sound recording and reproduction, projection, lighting, film preservation and cinematography.
1939
1939
Academy President from 1939-1941
Very Special Effects
Fred Sersen and E. H. Hansen of 20th Century Fox were the first winners of the Academy Award for Special Effects. They were honored for their work in the 1939 film "The Rains Came."