Millennium Biltmore Hotel - Events

Events

The Los Angeles Biltmore is known for being an early home to the Academy Award Ceremony for the Oscars. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was founded at a luncheon banquet in the Crystal Ballroom in May 1927, when guests such as Louis B. Mayer met to discuss plans for the new organization and presenting achievement awards to colleagues in their industry. Legend has it that MGM art director Cedric Gibbons, who was in attendance, immediately grabbed a linen Biltmore napkin and sketched the design for the Oscar statue on it. Eight Oscar ceremonies were held in the Biltmore Bowl during the Academy's early years of 1931, 1935–39, and 1941-42. In 1977 Bob Hope hosted the Academy's 50th Anniversary banquet in the same room.

The Biltmore Theater was situated at the corner of 5th and Grand from 1924–1967, now the Biltmore Court & Tower location. Will Rogers emceed the opening of the theater in 1924, which then ran plays starring luminaries such as Katharine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, and Mae West until its closure in 1967.

In 1929, Germany's Graf Zeppelin airship soared over the hotel on its round-the-world voyage, sponsored by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. Crew and passengers were fed by Biltmore culinary staff, who also replenished their on-board supplies.

During World War II, the Biltmore served as a military rest and recreation facility, with the entire second floor set up with cots for military personnel on leave.

On March 7, 1952, the well-known yogi and author Paramahansa Yogananda, while giving a speech in honor of the Indian ambassador Binay Ranjan Sen, dropped dead of a heart attack at the Biltmore Hotel. This site within the hotel is now revered by many as the place of the yogi's mahasamadhi, or conscious leave of the body.

The 1960 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles chose John F. Kennedy as the party's presidential nominee, and his acceptance speech was given at the Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel. He set up his campaign headquarters in the Music Room (now the Lobby), with running mate Lyndon B. Johnson across the hall in the Emerald Room. Their press conferences in the Crystal Ballroom were heavily photographed and documented.

The Beatles paid a visit to the Presidential Suite in August 1964 during their first U.S. tour. Due to the overwhelming number of fans crowding the sidewalks in front of the hotel, the "Fab Four" were forced to access their room by landing atop the hotel in a helicopter.

The Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel served the International Olympic Committee as their headquarters during the 1984 Summer Olympics. In 1988 the Duke & Duchess of York were hosted by Armand Hammer at a Biltmore gala. Recently the Biltmore has hosted the semi-finals for American Idol, the yearly awards for the Cinemal Audio Society, visiting teams for the World Baseball Classic, and multiple Grammy Awards after-parties.