The 2nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, honored the best films released between August 1, 1928, and July 31, 1929. They were held on April 3, 1930, at an awards banquet in the Cocoanut Grove of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Radio coverage began with this ceremony, with a local broadcast by KNX, Los Angeles. As the ceremony was being held more than eight months after the end of the eligibility period, it was decided that the 3rd Academy Awards would be held in November 1930, so as to bring the awards ceremony closer to the relevant time period. As a result, 1930 was the only calendar year in which two Academy Awards ceremonies were held. The second ceremony included a number of changes over the first. Most importantly, it was the first presentation for which the winners were not announced in advance. Additionally, the number of award categories was reduced from twelve to seven. The 2nd Academy Awards is unique in being the only occasion where there were no official nominees. Subsequent research by AMPAS has resulted in a list of unofficial or de facto nominees, based on records of which films were evaluated by the judges. Mary Pickford, a founding member of AMPAS and the wife of its first president, lobbied to be considered for the Best Actress award, inviting the judges over for tea at her home, while other actresses who were considered for the same award were not made aware of their consideration. The Divine Lady is the only film to ever win the Best Director award without receiving a Best Picture nomination, excluding the first year in which there was an award for Best Director. This is the only year in which no film won more than one Oscar. The Broadway Melody became the second of seven films to win Best Picture without a writing nomination, and the first of three to win Best Picture and nothing else.
Academy Awards of Merit
Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface and indicated with a double-dagger.
* The awards for Best Writing and Best Writing were merged into a single Best Writing award.
* The award for Best Writing was discontinued.
Notable awards and nominations
In Old Arizona and The Patriot with five nominations each tied the record for the film receiving the most Academy Award nominations. This record was set by 7th Heaven at the 1st Academy Awards. One year later, at the 3rd Academy Awards, the record was broken by The Love Parade, which garnered six nominations. The current record for the film receiving the most Academy Award nominations with fourteen nominations apiece is held by All About Eve, Titanic, and La La Land. This record has stood for years.
