How Did the Oscar Get Its Name?

Most of us have been watching The Academy Awards since we were kids, and we've seen actors and actresses win the gold statuette year after year. We refer to it as "Oscar." It's as fine a nickname as any, but did you ever wonder where it originated? Why not call him Harry, or Melvin, or Tom? Why Oscar? He's a powerful little man for sure, capable of ensuring a pay raise, and coveted future movie roles, for those who take him home. To receive an Oscar is the highest honor in Hollywood, and it's been around since May, 1929. (I'm referring to the statuette, but in the beginning, it wasn't called "Oscar." It was simply called "The Statue.")

The first full award presentation was at The Academy Awards banquet at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, and less than 250 people were present. Best actor, Emil Jannings, had requested that he receive his Academy Award earlier than the ceremony date, as he planned on returning to Europe sooner, and wanted to carry the statuette with him. His was actually the first Academy Award ever received.

After a small start, The Academy Awards became a very popular event, and the next year it was broadcast on radio. It wasn't until 1953, that The Academy Award show, was televised in the United States and Canada, and the number of viewers increased steadily. But the addition of color television in 1966, thrilled viewers with all the glitz and glitter of Hollywood. From 1969 until the present, The Academy Award show has been broadcast worldwide.

So who is Oscar, and how did he get his name? The Oscar is officially called The Academy Award of Merit. (I never realized until my research, that the Oscar is actually a (naked) knight, with a sword in his hands, standing on a movie reel. Who knew? I mean, I knew he was naked, but I never realized that he was a knight!) According to the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Oscar is 13 1/2 inches tall, and he weighs a hefty 8 1/2 pounds. Oscar is fashioned from Brittanium, plated with silver, nickel, and copper, and then finished off in an impressive 24-karat gold. He's been the same for all these years, except for a slight alteration in 1945, when his pedestal was raised. (Isn't that so Hollywood?) And apparently the first Academy Awards were gold-plated bronze. Another interesting fact is that during World War II, when there was a metal shortage, Oscar was made of nothing more than painted plaster. But not to worry--after the war was over, The Academy Awards board of directors replaced all the plaster statuettes, with the fine gold-plated Oscar, that we are so familiar with.

Cedric Gibbons, an art director at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, sketched the statue, and artist George Stanley sculpted it. The Academy Awards board of directors wanted it to be something that winners would be honored to display.

One theory about how Oscar got his name is included on the Academy Awards' website, Meet The Oscars. Legend has it that an Academy librarian, Margaret Herrick, said that the statue looked a lot like her Uncle Oscar, and the staff began jokingly referring to the statue as "Oscar." Through the late 1930's the name caught on, but it wasn't officially used by The Academy Award show until 1939. This is not a totally proven story, but it's worthy enough to appear on the official Academy Awards website.

One story that you won't find there, is a far more entertaining one about Oscar. According to the television program, Myths and Legends, actress Bette Davis, upon receiving her first Academy Award, took a glance at the statuette's rear, and proclaimed something like, "It looks like Oscar's derriere!" (She was referring to her husband, Oscar Nelson, Jr. and his backside.) His later wife, Anne Nelson, has been filmed substantiating this story, and agreeing about the likeness of the buttocks.

So the debate about the mysterious origin of the name "Oscar" goes on, but regardless, the whole Academy Awards show is now called "The Oscars." (Not too shabby for a naked knight.)

Sources: http://www.oscars.org/aboutacademyawards/awards/

http://www.oscars.org/80academyawards/meet_the_oscars/oscarfacts.html

http://www.oscars.org/aboutacademyawards/index.html

http://www.essortment.com/all/historyacademy_refm.htm