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The 73rd Academy Awards ceremony takes place Sunday at the Shrine Auditorium. This year, the academy will announce the winners of Oscars in 23 categories, in a television event broadcast all over the world. Attendance at the Academy Awards is by invitation only.

* The first Academy Awards ceremony took place May 16, 1929, in the Blossom Room of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Two hundred-fifty people paid $10 each to attend. The now-traditional suspense of opening a sealed envelope was not a part of early Academy Award presentations. In those days, winners were announced beforehand. The winner of the very first Academy Award in 1929, actor Emil Jannings, was not even at the ceremony. He had been given his statuette before his already scheduled departure for his home in Germany. The sealed envelope system was not adopted until 1941.

* In the early years, only seven awards were given (best actor, actress, picture, director, writing, cinematography and art direction). The number has grown steadily through the years. In 1934, film editing, music scoring and best song were added. The best supporting actor and actress categories were added in 1936.

* Los Angeles sculptor George Stanley designed the statuette for the academy--a knight standing on a reel of film, hands gripping a sword. Although its official name is the Academy Award of Merit, the statuette is today known universally as Oscar. Legend has it that academy official Margaret Herrick mentioned that the statuette resembled her Uncle Oscar and the academy staff started calling it that. In 1934, Hollywood columnist Sidney Skolsky first used the name in print. The academy didn’t adopt the nickname officially until 1939.

* For the first 15 years, the Academy Awards presentations were banquet affairs held at the Hollywood Roosevelt, Ambassador and Biltmore hotels. The banquets were discontinued after 1942 because of increased attendance. The 16th awards ceremony in 1943 was the first broadcast by network radio.