Oscar

How This Famous Statue Got Its Name

There are several theories, but one famous filmmaker played the decisive role. The Academy Awards began with an inauspicious start, but the honors quickly became very important to the Hollywood community.  So important, in fact, the coveted gold statue soon needed a nickname!  Eventually, everyone settled on Oscar, but it's still not entirely clear who first named it, Oscar.  

The most frequently cited theory is that Academy librarian, Margaret Herrick said upon seeing the statue that it looked like her Uncle Oscar.  Her uncle must have apparently been in pretty good shape!  Another theory credits actress Bette Davis, who claimed to have coined the name after her first husband, bandleader Harmon Oscar Nelson, Jr.

Whatever the origin the moniker caught on, but remained informal until 1934 when Walt Disney described the award as an Oscar in his acceptance speech for The Three Little Pigs.  In his column about the ceremony, newspaperman Sidney Skolsky used "Oscar" in print for the first time.  Uncle Walt's reward for making the name official was 22 competitive Oscars over the course of his career which is a record that remains unsurpassed.  The Mouse had roared and the rest was history!

The statuettes are solid bronze and plated in 24-karat gold.  Due to the metal shortage during WWII, Oscars were made of painted plaster for three years.  Following the war, the Academy invited recipients to redeem the plaster figures for gold-plated metal ones.

All the Locations Oscar has Called, Home.

As Hollywood's biggest night, the Oscars are all about glitz, glamour and celebrating the past year in movies.

When they began in 1929, they were far more of an insider affair, a celebratory banquet rathan than a presenting ceremony.  As their allure grew and they were broadcast, first via radio then via televsion so did the trappings of their banquet hall.  Over a dozen different locations have played host to the Oscars.  In 2021, the Academy Awards added a new space to the mix with the announcement that Union Station would play home to portions of the ceremony.  Through the years many other locations have rolled out the famous red carpet. 

The Roosevelt Hotel

Los Angeles

The Roosevelt Hotel, which still stands today and often plays host to premieres and glitzy Hollywood events, holds the honor of being the location of the very first Academy Awards (the nickname "Oscar" hadn't been coined yet).  The banquet was held in the hotel's Blossom Ballroom and was open only to Academy members.  Douglas Fairbanks was the host and the ceremony was held three months  after the winners were already announced!  It was at this ceremony that Clara Bow became the first ever Best Picture winner for the war drama, Wings.  The business of handing out the statues only took 15 minutes which is a far cry from today's marathon award shows!

Ambassador Hotel

Los Angeles

The Ambassador Hotel, demolished in 2005 and replaced by a school, was once a Hollywood hotspot and home to the famed nightclub, Cocoanut Grove where performers like Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland entertained.  In 1930, the second ceremony was held within the Cocoanut Grove nightclub and it was the first ceremony to be broadcast in a one-hour live special on a Los Angeles radio station.  From 1930 to 1943, six Academy Awards banquets were held at the Ambassador.  At this location trailblazing screenwriter, Frances Marion became the first writer to win two Academy Awards and the Oscars had their first tie between Wallace Beery and Fredric March for Best Actor in 1932. The 1940 ceremony also prompted the Academy to transition to secret sealed envelopes after the L.A. Times published the names of the winners before the event!

The Ambassador was also where Gone with the Wind set records at the 1940 ceremony seeing the milestone of Hattie McDaniel's Oscar win.  McDaniel's won for her portrayal of Mammy, Scarlett O'Hara's feisty house slave.  

There is much more to share with my readers regarding Hattie McDaniel therefore I have chosen to publish a continuing article about her life and acting career that includes more about her appearance at the 12th Annual Academy Awards ceremony where she was the only black woman in the room!  

Biltmore Hotel

Los Angeles

The historic hotel opened its doors in 1923.  The Biltmore Bowl, a ballroom complete with a stage was the site of the Academy Awards eight times from 1931 to 1942.  The hotel, still famed for its art deco architecture, has multiple ballrooms with ties to Oscar history.  The Crystal Ballroom was the site of a 1927 luncheon where the Academy was founded.  It was also here that MGM art director, Cedric Gibbons first sketched the design for the Oscar statuette on one of the hotel's linen napkins.  Luise Rainer made Oscar history at the Biltmore becoming the first actor to win back-to-back Oscars.  It was an accomplishment repeated only one year later by Spencer Tracy.  

Grauman's Chinese Theatre

Los Angeles

Grauman's Chinese Theatre is a Hollywood icon, home to countless movie premieres and the famed open area in front of the theatre where stars have immortalized their hands and footprints in cement.  It was also home to the Oscars from 1944-1946.  The 1944 ceremony was the 16th Academy Awards and marked the first time the ceremony was held in a large public venue pivoting away from the original banquet format.  The beloved classic Casablanca won Best Picture at the 1944 ceremony.  This was the first year the Oscars were covered by network radio and also the beginning of the supporting actor and actress winners receiving full size statuettes.  1944 also marked the last time there were 10 Best Picture nominees until 2009. 

Shrine Auditorium

Los Angeles

The 1947 and 1948 Oscars took place in downtown Los Angeles at the Shrine Auditorium, a venue designed in the iconic architecture of the Moorish Revival style.  Besides the Academy Awards the Shrine has hosted many prestigious events such as the Grammy's and the People's Choice Awards. The venue has the single largest proscenium style stage with freestanding balcony in North America with some 6,300 seats.  The Shrine Auditorium opened its doors in 1926. 

Marquis Theatre

Los Angeles

For one year only, the Academy moved the ceremony to their own private theatre on Melrose Avenue.  The 21st Academy Awards were held at this location on March 24, 1949.  It was a ceremony filled with firsts including the first non-Hollywoood produced Best Picture winner, Laurence Olivier for Hamlet and the introduction of the Best Costume Design category.  The Marquis opened November 11, 1925. AMPAS arranged to buy the building in December 1945.  They would soon take down the art deco marquee and rename the theatre the Academy Award Theatre.  It was their offices and the site of screenings.  

The Marquis seen in 1951. 

A neon across the entrance identifies it as the

Academy Award Theater.

Pantages Theater

Los Angeles

Beginning in 1950, the Oscars kicked off an 11-year run at what was when known ass the RKO Pantages Theatre.  This Art Deco marve once part of the famous Pantages movie palace circuit has since been converted for theatrical productions and hosts national tours of productions like Hamilton. The first televised Oscars took place here in 1953 (with joint presentations from New York City).  It was hosted by Bob Hope who presided over the event a record 19 times! For their first time on television, the Oscar came complete with an upset in the Best Picture category when Cecil B. DeMille's The Greatest How on Earth beat heavy favorite High Noon.  In 1960, it was here that Ben-Hur set the record for most Oscar wins ever, which has been met twice though never broken.

NBC International Theatre

New York City

In 1953, the Oscars offered their first ever bi-coastal broadcast, airing live on television (for the first time) from both Los Angeles' Pantages Theater and New York's International Theatre in Columbus Circle.  Frederic March acted as emcee forthe NYC proceedings with many nominated Broadway actors going straight from their theatres to the broadcast since it didn't beging until 10 p.m. Eastern Time.  The theatre, which was owned by NBC, was torn down not long after this broadcast. 

NBC Century Theatre

New York City

The Oscars remained a bi-coastal affair from 1954 to 1957 and it was this theatre that served as the New York City hub for the broadcast.  It was here that two of the biggest actresses of the 1950s accepted their Academy Awards.  In 1954, newcomer Audrey Hepburn won for her role as royalty playing hooky in Roman Holiday.  The 1955 awards honored an entirely different type of performance with actress Eva Marie Saint's hyper-realistic performance in On the Waterfront.  

Santa Monica Civic Auditorium

Santa Monica, California

The Academy Awards reached their furthest West destination beginning in 1961 when they moved to Santa Monica.  The newly built Civic Auditorium played host to the Oscars until 1968.  The Apartment became the last black-and-white film to win Best Picture for over three decades here. In 1966, the ceremony was broadcast in color for the first time from sunny Santa Monica.  This was also the site of the infamous 1963 Oscar spat between Joan Crawford and Bette Davis where Crawford upstaged Davis in the midst of her What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? nomination (this moment and all that led up to it was also recreated by Ryan Murphy's Feud: Bette and Joan).  The 1968 awards were postponed from April 8 to April due to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

Los Angeles

Beginning in 1969, the Oscars found a new space at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, home to the LA Opera and one of the biggest stages in the world.  The ceremony was held every year through 1987 and then it alternated with the Shrine Auditorium for another dozen years from 1988-2001.  The 41st Academy Awards in 1961 were the first to be broadcast, internationally.  That year also marked Stanley Kubrick's only Oscar win for the visual effects of 2001: A Space Odyssey and a rare tie (the only one in the Best Actress category) between Katharine Hepburn for The Lion in Winter and Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl.  The 1999 ceremony was the final one to be held here and it was at that Oscars where Shakespeare in Love famously upset Saving Private Ryan for Best Picture.

Shrine Auditorium

Los Angeles

The Oscars returned to the Shrine for the 1988 and 1989 ceremonies before alternating between here and the Dorothy Chandler until 2001.  During the Academy Awards' second stinit at the Shrine, it served as host for the 70th Oscars in 1998 where Titanic won an epice 11 Oscars, tying with Ben-Hur for most wins ever (which would be matched once more by The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King in 2003).  Due to Titanic's immense box office popularity, that became the highest-rated broadcast in Oscar history. 

Dolby Theatre

Los Angeles

The Dolby Theatre, formerly known as the Kodak Theatre, was designed specifically with the Oscar ceremony in mind and has played home to the Academy Awards since it opened in 2001.  The Dolby shared hosting duties with Los Angeles' Union Station in 2021 marking the first time in two decades the ceremony diverged from what has been dubbed the Oscars' permanent home.  Numerous memorable modern Oscar moments have occurred here including the Lord of the Rings record-tying 11 wins and the infamous envelope mix-up that led to La La Land being mistakenly named Best Picture before the record was corrected to honor Moonlight.  Presumably, after the COVID disruption, the Oscars will continue here for many years to come! 

The 96th Academy Awards

March 10

Jimmy Kimmel, Host

Best Picture Nominations 

American Fiction

Anatomy of a Fall

Barbie

The Holdovers

Killers of the Flower Moon

Maestro

Oppenheimer

Past Lives

Poor Things

The Zone of Interest

Peter O'Toole and Glenn Close jointly hold the record for most nominations in the acting categories without a win, with eight; followed by Richard Burton with seven; Deborah Kerr, Thelma Ritter and Amy Adams for six.  Both O'Toole and Kerr did receive the Academy Honorary Award. Another name who received this award was Fred Astaire. 

The most recognized trophy in the world.

The Oscar statuette has stood on the mantels 

of the greatest filmmakers in history since 1929.

One final thought on the subject of Oscar:  All Oscar winners since 1950 have been required to sign an agreement which states if they wish to sell their statue, they have to offer it to the Academy first for $1.00

The first and possibly the only non-human to win an Oscar.  At the 5th Academy Awards in 1932. Mickey received his first Academy Award nomination for Mickey's Orphans.  Walt Disney also received an honorary Academy Award for the creation of 

Mickey Mouse.