6. The Biltmore hosted early editions of the Academy Award Ceremony for the Oscars.
It seems hard to imagine now, but actors (even the most famous ones) weren’t always fawned over and overpaid the way they are today. The Academy for Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was founded over a labor dispute involving MGM boss Louis B. Meyer, who notoriously tried to keep his actors’ salaries low. Reacting to actors’ complaints, he apparently said, “What do they want? An award?” And thus the Oscars were born.