Who holds the record for most Oscar nominations of all time?

You can call them the Academy Awards or the Oscars, but the simple truth is that they’re actually the Academy Awards of Merit. Throw that out there next time you’re attending an Oscars watch party and see how quickly you can kill the mood.

The first Oscars presentation was held on May 16, 1929 and took about 15 minutes. That’s barely enough time for most winners to even make up on stage today. Obviously, things have changed a lot since then, and in the almost century of handing out Merit awards, there are a handful of people who have tried to hog all the nominations.

When you consider actors, producers, directors, costume designers, special effects, and all the rest, there are actually a lot of opportunities to nab a nom, even if most of us will never understand what that’s like. Who holds the record for most total Oscar nominations ever?