As author Eileen Whitford records in the 1997 book “Pickford: The Woman who Made Hollywood,” Mary Pickford was married to the first president of AMPAS, Douglas Fairbanks. This might explain how she knew she was a contender for the best actress at the second Oscar ceremony held in 1930, a case strengthened by Pickford entertaining the judges in her own home. That’s an advantage that no other actress had (or any other contender that year, for that matter) because none of the nominees were announced in advance.
It’s lost to history exactly why no nominees were announced beforehand, but many aspects of the Oscars were different in those early years. Exactly who was nominated that year was decided retroactively by AMPAS, based on the recollection from judges, according to The Official Academy Awards Database. In addition to winners like Pickford, other nominees Oscars lists from that year include actors like George Bancroft and directors like Lionel Barrymore (pictured). One wonders if any of them even knew they were honored.
