The Academy and the Award: The Coming of Age of Oscar and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

by Bruce Davis

The first behind-the-scenes history of the organization behind the Academy Awards.
 
For all the near-fanatic attention brought each year to the Academy Awards, the organization that dispenses those awards—the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences—has yet to be understood. To date, no one has ever produced a thorough account of the Academy’s birth and its awkward adolescence, and the few reports on those periods from outside have always had a glancing, cursory quality. Yet the story of the Academy’s creation and development is a critical piece of Hollywood’s history.

Now that story is finally being told. Bruce Davis, executive director of the Academy for over twenty years, was given unprecedented access to its archives, and the result is a revealing and compelling story of the men and women, famous and infamous, who shaped one of the best-known organizations in the world. Davis writes about the Academy with as intimate a view of its workings, its awards, and its world-famous membership. Thorough and long overdue, The Academy and the Award fills a crucial gap in Hollywood history.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction

512 pages, Hardcover

Published October 6, 2022

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Reviews

[Dave Taylor]

A fascinating and exhaustive history of the first fifty years of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences by long-time AMPAS executive director Bruce Davis. Unfortunately, at times, exhaustive proves the operative word, with so much detail about the political infighting and impact of external events - and endless financial woes of the organization - that it becomes a bit mind-numbing. The book is at its best when it talks about the people involved with the creation and evolution of the Academy, offering lots of fascinating insight.

While the research on the design and naming of the Oscar was illuminating, it was perhaps a bit too detailed. It does definitively end the debate about who named the Oscar award, however, which might prove the great claim to fame of this book. Tip: It wasn't Academy librarian Margaret Herrick, journalist Sidney Skolsky, or actress and short-term Academy President Bette Davis.

Ultimately, The Academy and the Award proves a detailed and meticulously researched book about an organization that people love to examine, a title that might just be a bit too academic in tone for the average reader. Recommended for film lovers, but if you're not of an academic bent, you might just find yourself skimming some of the content to "get to the good stuff".

[David Drews]

Actually 4.5 stars. I never have had more than a passing interest in the Academy Awards and had only the dimmest of ideas about where they came from and, absent a pretty big nudge, would not have thought about picking up a hefty book about this stuff.

But I enjoy history in general and really like good writing. Bruce (I do know him) delivers on both. He is a careful and thorough historian (perhaps too thorough for some) and an exceptional story teller. The writing is breezier than almost all historians and it pulled me along through topics that otherwise I might have skimmed. I kept running into passages that I was compelled to read out loud to my wife, the clearest tell that I'm really enjoying a book.

[Ali Davis]

This history of the early years of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences looks academic, but it's written by an Academy insider (former executive director) who clearly loves old Hollywood. It has all the precision of an academic book, but also some of the most hilarious, juicy footnotes I've ever read. It's a really interesting look at how people who worked with an art form so new that a lot of the public didn't consider it art worked to protect themselves and help the medium. If you're a classic film buff or an Oscar fan, this is well worth your time.

[Jeremy]

Did you know that the Academy Awards were an afterthought? Or that the statuette itself was originally by sand casting? Or that there are Bulova branded Academy Award watches out there? Now you do. All this and more are detailed in The Academy and the Award by Bruce Davis, a former executive director of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Davis has combed the Academy's extensive archives, read through old meeting minutes and has put together a comprehensive account and history of the formation and first 30 years of the Academy. As the title suggests, it is an account of the Academy and the award. So while we do get glimpses into some of the awards and the presentations themselves, they are there more as supportive evidence and color than the reason of the book itself. While the Oscars are the glamourous and well publicized icon of the film industry, it is the byproduct the Academy, and this is the book that lets you know that and what it took to originally put on its annual show. The Academy, which was founded in 1927, the brainchild of MGM head Louis B. Mayer "as a way of warding off the labor union movement that had been working its way westward across the US." Even though charted by directors, actors, writers and technicians, they had a hard time convincing the world they weren't under the executives' thrall. That took time. In the early years they were often nearly broke. And when they hit upon the idea of an award to honor achievements in the nascent art form, the idea of a statuette itself was novel, and it didn't take long for it to become essential. Davis being an ultimate Academy insider is very helpful. He understands how the organization functions, knows what to look for. But his insider status (and long tenure there) also makes him a bit of an apologist of the organization. Not always, but you can see where he can't help but defend them. To the layperson, it's the award that is more memorable than the Academy. Davis knows that without the Academy, there wouldn't be an award.

[Kevin Cecil]

A through and revealing history of the first 50 years of the Academy, from its origins as a non/anti-union peacemaker between branches, to the dawn of its modern form as a museum and Awards show.

There are a ton of great stories and debunked myths, but I also found Bruce Davis a little abrasive in his defense of some of the Oscars' more indefensible moments. Like at the end of the chapter on the Blacklist, he gets into the Elia Kazan Honorary Oscar. He tries to be fair to both sides, but at one point brings up that most of the people Kazan named weren't that talented anyway, and nobody even knows their names now. Well maybe if they hadn't had their careers stolen from them by Kazan and HUAC they may have gone on to better careers? And maybe even if their names aren't known - they still were human beings who had their lives destroyed? He also attacks younger people who criticize Kazan, saying it's easy to say what you would have done with the benefit of hindsight. As if there weren't a ton of people who didn't choose to fink on their friends.

But Davis isn't an unbiased reporter, he was Executive Director of the Academy for decades. Which means, in addition to the ethical blind spots like defending Kazan's award, he offers a great insight into the machinations, mission and purpose of the Academy, beyond the Awards. If you are interested in the Oscars, this is definitely worth reading (after Oscar Wars though).

[September Withers]

The Academy and the Award offers a fascinating behind the scenes look at the origins and development of one of Hollywood’s most recognizable institutions. Bruce Davis draws on his more than two decades as executive director of the Academy, along with unprecedented access to its archives, to explore the people, personalities, conflicts, and decisions that shaped the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

What makes the book particularly compelling is the way it moves beyond the glamour of the Oscars to examine the organization behind the ceremony. Davis brings attention to the Academy’s early years and its sometimes awkward development, revealing how its leadership, membership, awards, and internal dynamics helped shape its place in the film industry.

For anyone interested in Hollywood history, film institutions, or the origins of the Academy Awards, this is a substantial and valuable work. Thoroughly researched and filled with historical insight, The Academy and the Award provides an important perspective on an organization whose influence on cinema and popular culture extends far beyond one annual awards ceremony.

[Michael Jolls]

This will be viewed as a definitive book in Academy Award history – Davis compiles an aggressively exhaustive recount of the Academy's origins and evolution over the subsequent decades, packed with details and historical correlations. It's nearly akin to reading a text book, so depending on the topic that you are interested in viewing the Oscars from, the material is likely in the book. (The extensive footnotes are really distracting – at least half of them could have been incorporated into the text). The biggest takeaway is learning what the Academy's purpose was upon its founding, how it functioned throughout it's first forty-ish years, and its morphing into the glamour event contemporary audiences see it as today. Bruce Davis gives the indication that the shift seemed to have come in the mid-1950s. It's not a light read, but it's one that should be readily available for those in the industry for the intention of refocusing what the roots of the show-'business' industry were.

[Garrett Rowlan]

this book started rather slowly for me. I suspect because its opening chapters were culled from archives and notes of meetings some 95 years ago when the Academy is first formed. And its growing pains seem tied in with meeting and regulations and so forth. For me, only when the Academy acted as a regulatory agency in terms of standardizing theater screens and film size does the book start to pick up. One thing that kept me going was the author's deft touch and economy of expression that kept things moving along. I liked the chapters dealing with the Academy Awards themselves, and how the Academy struggled to find sponsorship for the gala event, and while I had been to the Herrick library I knew nothing of its founder, Margaret Herrick, and her rise to prominence in the Academy.

[Shannon]

Bruce Davis' Academy and the Award is a fascinating deep dive into the history of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, from its earliest inception to today. This covers very nearly 100 years of cinematic history, exploring studios, actors, movies and everyone who made them. The topic is interesting enough, but Davis' clever writing makes it even better. There was so much to learn, even for this movie buff, from the dark days of the Hollywood Blacklist to lighter details behind the "Snow White Oscars". Best of all are the stories collected from the depth of Academy records. What a treasure.

[Jason]

Extensive detail on the formation of the academy and early hopes for what the group might be and what it became. Main focus is from formation in the 20s until it the academy reaches stability in the 60s. Very interesting details on the formation of the other guilds in the 30s, the academy's relationship with the Hayes Office and the establishment of and continuous changes to the academy awards before it's eventual foray into broadcasting the awards on radio, then television. Such a fun and endlessly interesting read.

[Scott Martin]

(Audiobook) This book looks at the backstory of the Academy Awards, from how it evolved as one of a series of competing organizations/guilds in the most prestigious of movie awards. Looking mainly at the backstory and the behind-the-scene efforts and leadership of the Academy, this work covers the 1st 50 years primarily. Plenty of drama and intrigue, but maybe not enough for an Academy Award winning picture…or maybe. Worth a read for the movie history buff.

[David]

Who knew projectionists had such an impact on the way films were made?

For die-hard fans of Hollywood, this is a tireless account of the coalescing and execution of AMPAS. The first 1/4 of the book is fascinating. As we progress, there's more of a chance of a yawn, as we're taking through AMPAS' struggles to legitimize excellence and refrain from the perils of commercialization.

However, this book is well-written, lovingly researched, and essential reading if, as I've said, you're a fan of all things Hollywood and Oscar.

[Ed]

This was a real big, dare I say painful disappointment. If Oscar Wars was a page turner, then these pages were made of lead. The big problem here is very dense dry and tangential writing. The attention to detail and research is astounding but this was real fucking homework. Some of those tangents are interesting like how the Oscar was designed and the Elia Kazan controversy. To be this boring on my favorite subject is a perverse trick.

[Oliver]

3.5 stars. Packed with info, the book reveals that the Academy functioned like a guild in the early days and that the Award unintentionally turned into one of the best marketing tools in modern media history. Unfortunately, the author's writing is dry and the book piles on information that was best forgotten in mid-century meeting minutes.

[Lulu]

Well-written and engaging, this is a must-read for anyone interested in Classical Hollywood.

[Will Mavity]

Occasionally goes too deep into unrelated tangents but incredibly thorough and well researched

[Ali Davis]

This history of the early years of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences looks academic, but it's written by an Academy insider (former executive director) who clearly loves old Hollywood. It has all the precision of an academic book, but also some of the most hilarious, juicy footnotes I've ever read. It's a really interesting look at how people who worked with an art form so new that a lot of the public didn't consider it art worked to protect themselves and help the medium. If you're a classic film buff or an Oscar fan, this is well worth your time.