The 17th Academy Awards marked the first nationally broadcast Oscar ceremony and the only time one actor received dual acting nominations for the same role.
Key Facts
- Date
- March 15, 1945
- Venue
- Grauman's Chinese Theatre
- Host
- Bob Hope
- Broadcast duration
- 70 minutes on the Blue Network
- Best Picture winner
- Going My Way
- Unique dual nomination
- Barry Fitzgerald nominated for Actor and Supporting Actor
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences selected 1944 films for recognition, while major studios such as 20th Century-Fox invested heavily in campaigns to secure Best Picture for Wilson, and the Blue Network secured rights to broadcast the ceremony nationally for the first time.
On March 15, 1945, at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, the 17th Academy Awards honored films of 1944. Bob Hope hosted the nationally broadcast 70-minute ceremony, during which Going My Way won Best Picture, Bing Crosby won Best Actor, and Barry Fitzgerald won Best Supporting Actor—having been uniquely nominated in both acting categories for the same role.
Going My Way's victory over the heavily promoted Wilson left Darryl F. Zanuck embittered. The Academy subsequently changed its rules to prevent a single performer from being nominated in two acting categories for the same role, and the national radio broadcast set a precedent for widespread public engagement with the Oscars.