The Origin of the Nickname 'Oscar' for the Academy Award

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The Origin of the Nickname 'Oscar' for the Academy Award
OscarAcademy AwardNickname
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The article explores the origin of the nickname 'Oscar' for the Academy Award, which has been used for almost as long as the award itself. It discusses the design of the statuette and presents popular theories about how it came to be known as Oscar.

When presenters open envelopes on stage at the 2024 Academy Award s and announce who the Oscar goes to, they'll actually be using a nickname that's been around for almost as long as the award itself. The statuette given to winners is technically called the Academy Award of Merit. It's based on a design by Cedric Gibbons, who was MGM art director at the time of the award's creation. He sketched a knight holding a sword and standing in front of a film reel, according to the Academy.

In 1928, they began the process to turn that idea into a statue. No one is quite sure exactly when or why the Academy Award of Merit began to be known as an Oscar. One popular theory, according to the Academy Awards, is that Margaret Herrick — former Academy librarian in the 1930s and 40s and later executive director —thought that the statuette looked like her Uncle Oscar. After hearing that, Academy staff started referring to the award as Oscar. Foster Hirsch, author of 'Hollywood and the Movies of the Fifties,' said there's another theory that he finds more plausibl

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