When FDR Opened the Oscars

But no one can accuse modern Hollywood, who passed on a satellite address from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, of promoting interventionist and pro-war sentiments.

I didn’t watch the Oscars last night, but I dozed off listening to a remarkable moment: On February 27, 1941, Franklin Delano Roosevelt became the first sitting President to speak at the Oscars when he opened the 13th Annual Academy Awards.

FDR’s edits. (FDR Library and Museum.)

It had been a hell of a month to watch World War II from the sidelines. Horrors and highlights included the Blitz, the deportation of Austrian Jews to ghettos in Poland, and the first altercation between German and British troops in North Africa. Under those circumstances, FDR couldn’t don a tux and fly to Los Angeles, but he could take advantage of the high-profile event.