Thursday, February 13, 2014

A Piece Of History: The Full Academy Membership List from 1948

As all my readers know, The Academy Members Project has been working hard to identify and celebrate as many Oscar voters as possible. It’s a research project that fascinates me endlessly -- and forever changed the way that I watch film credits -- even if the general public only tunes in to see the results once or twice a year.


But the Academy hasn’t always been as secretive as they are now. Early on, membership lists seem to have been regularly published, perhaps in an effort to establish it as the preeminent film organization that we all know today.


Recently, I was lucky enough to come across one of those lists from 1948. It’s a wonderful look back at old-school Hollywood, and a dream come true for all the historians out there.


I’ll be adding all of these names to the main pages over the next week or so, but for now I invite you to check out the original document below (you can right click each image for a larger version). And when you’re done, make sure to check out the rest of the Academy Members Project to see how today’s Oscar voters match up against those of yesteryear.















See the rest of The Academy Members Project:
(About) (Origins) (Branch Statistics) (Progress Updates) ( A ) ( B ) ( C ) ( D ) ( E ) ( F ) ( G ) ( H ) ( I ) ( J ) ( K ) ( L ) ( M ) ( N ) ( O ) ( P ) ( Q ) ( R ) ( S ) ( T ) ( U ) ( V ) ( W ) ( X ) ( Y ) ( Z ) (Non-Members)


Know of an Academy member that we have missed? Think we have included someone who shouldn’t be here? The Academy Members Project is a work in progress, and welcomes your input! Additions, suggestions, corrections and verifications may be submitted in the comments section, or by emailing nevertooearlymoviepredictions@gmail.com.

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