Who was the only person to win an Oscar via a write-in vote?

Notably, Hal Mohr is the only person to have won a competitive Academy Award without being nominated for it. In 1936, a write-in campaign won him the Best Cinematography Oscar for his work on A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935).

The Academy later changed the Oscar rules, making write-in voting impossible. In 1944, Mohr became the first person to win an Oscar for both Black-and-White and Color cinematography when he won his second Academy Award, this time with W. Howard Greene for Best Cinematography in a Color Film, for their work on The Phantom of the Opera (1943).

As a point of further interest, Hal Mohr was born on August 2, 1894 in San Francisco, California. He died at the age of 79 on May 10, 1974 in Santa Monica, California. Mohr served as president of the American Society of Cinematographers from 1930 to 1931. Then, for two terms from 1963 to 1965 and finally from 1969 to 1970. He was one of the first members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and a senior member of the Academy's Board of Directors. He headed the Academy's Cinematography Branch for over 20 years.

For his many contributions to motion pictures and the film industry, Hal Mohr ultimately received a star on the Hollywood Blvd Walk of Fame.