Why are Academy Awards called Oscars?
Irish art director, Cedric Gibbons , created the initial design for the Art Deco-influenced trophy i n 1928.
Posts
Where do 'a ghost and a prince meet. And everyone ends in mincemeat'?
In Hamlet, according to the Hollywood anthem 'Thats Entertainment'. More on the relationship between Tinseltown and the Bard here
What is an oscar? Where does the word come from?
Winners of Hollywood's Academy Awards receive a gold-plated statuette on a black metal base. It is 13.5 in (34 cm) tall, weighs 8.5 lb (3.85 kg) and depicts a knight rendered in Art Deco style holding a crusader's sword standing on a reel of film with five spokes. The five spokes each represent the original branches of the Academy: Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers, and Technicians. The popular name for an Academy Award is an Oscar. But there is no definitive explanation as to why. The name was first publicly used was in an article by Hollywood columnist about Katharine Hepburn's first Best Actress victory at the fifth annual ceremony in 1934. By 1939 the word was universally known - but there remains confusion regarding its origin. One theory is that the name came from an early Academy director, Margaret Herrick, in 1931. According to this legend, Herrick thought that the statue looked like her Uncle Oscar. Another is that Bette Davies named it after her hu...