3rd Academy Awards — award ceremony presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for achievement in filmmaking in 1929 and 1930
The 3rd Academy Awards introduced full-membership voting, a new sound category, and the first sibling winners in Oscar history.
Key Facts
- Date
- November 5, 1930
- Venue
- Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles
- Attendance
- Over 500 Academy members
- Best Picture
- All Quiet on the Western Front
- Most nominations (no wins)
- The Love Parade – 6 nominations
- First new category since inception
- Best Sound Recording
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
AMPAS chose to hold the ceremony only seven months after the 2nd Academy Awards in order to align future ceremonies more closely with their eligibility periods, resulting in two Oscar ceremonies occurring within the same calendar year for the first and only time.
On November 5, 1930, the Academy held its 3rd ceremony at the Ambassador Hotel, awarding films from August 1929 through July 1930. For the first time, the full membership voted on winners. All Quiet on the Western Front took Best Picture and Best Director, while Best Sound Recording debuted as the first new Oscar category since the awards began.
The ceremony established several lasting precedents: full-membership voting became the standard, the Best Picture and Best Director double-win became a recurring pattern, Lewis Milestone became the first two-time Oscar winner, and Douglas and Norma Shearer became the first siblings to win Oscars in the same year.