For the film industry, the Academy Awards is the most celebrated and most significant night of the year: everyone longs for the recognition of being nominated to win a little golden statuette. For most of us, however, even a walk down the red carpet is just a dream. 85 Years of the Oscar puts readers into those iconic plush seats for the thrill of the Academy Awards, from the first show in 1928, shortly after the introduction of the talking picture, to this year's eighty-fifth anniversary. With hundreds of photographs and an informative text by Hollywood insider Robert Osborne, 85 Years of the Oscar is the official history of the Academy Awards. Organized by year, 85 Years of the Oscar chronicles the ceremonies themselves, as well as the accomplishments, trends, developments, and events that occurred, both within the Academy and for the film industry as a whole. Osborne comments on each year's most important films and shares the stories behind them. He also transports readers into the awards show, quoting from notable acceptance speeches and celebrity reactions, as well as regaling readers with anecdotes from each year. All award nominees and winners are listed, with a special listing of Oscar record-holders. An indispensable and encyclopaedic reference for the amateur and expert alike, from the struggling actor to the film critic, this book has been a popular favourite since its first edition was published twenty-four years ago, just after the sixtieth awards ceremony. 85 Years of the Oscar provides an authority and depth of coverage found nowhere else, and it is sure to please movie-goers around the world. AUTHOR: Robert Osborne is host of Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and serves as the official host for the TCM Classic Film Festival and the TCM Classic Cruise. For over 25 years, Osborne served as a reporter and columnist for The Hollywood Reporter, one of the industry's most important newspapers. He has written a dozen books on the film world; many of them focused on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and has frequently served as host of the Academy's in-person tributes, in both Beverly Hills and New York. Osborne earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006 and in 2008, received a special award from the National Board of Review for his contributions as a film historian. 765 illustrations