Honorary Awards, 1927-28

Awards presented May 16, 1929
(Films released from August 1, 1927 through August 1, 1928 were eligible.)

Charles Chaplin, for versatility and genius in acting, writing, directing and producing The Circus

The Academy first announced that Chaplin had been nominated as an actor and for comedy direction, but a dispute arose on the Board of Governors. Chaplin was perhaps the most famous person in the world at that time, and an acknowledged genius among film pioneers. What chance did anyone stand in competition with him? So they removed his name from competition and voted him a special award. His "collective achievements," the Academy told Chaplin in the citation, "place you in a class by yourself." Chaplin didn't show up to collect the award, which he may have interpreted as a snub. Which it may have been: Chaplin's next two films, City Lights (1931) and Modern Times (1936) were ignored in the nominations.

Warner Bros., for producing The Jazz Singer, the pioneer outstanding talking picture, which has revolutionized the industry. 

Although Hollywood was in the throes of converting to sound by the time the first Academy Awards were presented in May 1929, the Academy decided to rule The Jazz Singer ineligible for competition for best picture, believing it unfair to let sound films compete with silents. The movie was nominated for Alfred Cohn's story adaptation, and Nugent Slaughter's nomination in the "engineering effects" category was primarily for his work on the film.