James Dean and Jennifer Jones Win in Poll of Movie Audiences
(New York Times, December 7, 1955)
Beverly Hills, CA, Dec. 6 - The winners of the first Audience Awards Election were announced tonight to a festive gathering of Hollywood notables at a banquet in the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel.
By popular acclaim of movie-goers throughout the country, the late James Dean and Jennifer Jones were declared to have given the best performances in pictures released from Oct. 1, 1954 through Sept. 30, 1955.
Tab Hunter and Peggy Lee, the singer, were chosen as the "most promising new personality" and "Mister Roberts" was designated as the "best picture."
The audience stood for a moment of silence to honor the memory of Mr. Dean, who was killed in an automobile accident recently. He had appeared in two films, "East of Eden" and "Rebel Without a Cause."
Miss Jones won for "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing," Mr. Hunter for "Battle Cry" and "Track of the Cat," and Miss Lee for "Pete Kelly's Blues."
More than 150,000 votes, it is estimated, were cast at ballot boxes in more than 6,500 theaters during a ten-day period starting Nov. 17. The exact count of the vote has not been compiled yet by the accounting firm of Price-Waterhouse & Co., which tabulated the ballots. It was learned that several theatres, particularly in the East, turned in votes too late to be included in the official count.
The tabulation also was complicated, it was reported, by the fact that some voters expressed only a choice of picture or one of the competing performers. The ballots contained titles of twenty pictures and the names of eighty personalities.
The Audience Awards Election was sponsored by the Council of Motion Picture Organization. The poll marks the first time that the public has had the opportunity on a national basis, to vote year-end movie preferences.
Elmer C. Rhoden, chairman of the awards committee and president of National Theatres, Inc., said that "any picture or personality named on this ballot has a unique distinction" because it was reproduced "many millions of times" in newspapers. Alluding to the conflict that have kept the movie business divided through most of its long history, Mr. Rhoden said "the most thrilling phase of the Audience Awards is the unity that it reveals between production, distribution and theatre operation."
George Murphy served as master of ceremonies. The personalities who participated in the awards presentation were Walt Disney, Grace Kelly and William Holden. The prize, which has been dubbed "The Audie," is a gold statuette.
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(New York Times, December 7, 1955)
Beverly Hills, CA, Dec. 6 - The winners of the first Audience Awards Election were announced tonight to a festive gathering of Hollywood notables at a banquet in the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel.
By popular acclaim of movie-goers throughout the country, the late James Dean and Jennifer Jones were declared to have given the best performances in pictures released from Oct. 1, 1954 through Sept. 30, 1955.
Tab Hunter and Peggy Lee, the singer, were chosen as the "most promising new personality" and "Mister Roberts" was designated as the "best picture."
The audience stood for a moment of silence to honor the memory of Mr. Dean, who was killed in an automobile accident recently. He had appeared in two films, "East of Eden" and "Rebel Without a Cause."
Miss Jones won for "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing," Mr. Hunter for "Battle Cry" and "Track of the Cat," and Miss Lee for "Pete Kelly's Blues."
More than 150,000 votes, it is estimated, were cast at ballot boxes in more than 6,500 theaters during a ten-day period starting Nov. 17. The exact count of the vote has not been compiled yet by the accounting firm of Price-Waterhouse & Co., which tabulated the ballots. It was learned that several theatres, particularly in the East, turned in votes too late to be included in the official count.
The tabulation also was complicated, it was reported, by the fact that some voters expressed only a choice of picture or one of the competing performers. The ballots contained titles of twenty pictures and the names of eighty personalities.
The Audience Awards Election was sponsored by the Council of Motion Picture Organization. The poll marks the first time that the public has had the opportunity on a national basis, to vote year-end movie preferences.
Elmer C. Rhoden, chairman of the awards committee and president of National Theatres, Inc., said that "any picture or personality named on this ballot has a unique distinction" because it was reproduced "many millions of times" in newspapers. Alluding to the conflict that have kept the movie business divided through most of its long history, Mr. Rhoden said "the most thrilling phase of the Audience Awards is the unity that it reveals between production, distribution and theatre operation."
George Murphy served as master of ceremonies. The personalities who participated in the awards presentation were Walt Disney, Grace Kelly and William Holden. The prize, which has been dubbed "The Audie," is a gold statuette.
Back to Articles Index