“Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences” presents the Annual awards of merit in the U.S. Louis B. Mayer and others formed the Academy in 1927: to raise the standards of film production, and its first awards were presented in 1929. The awards (nicknamed Oscars) recognize excellence in acting, directing, screenwriting, and other activities related to film production.
The root of the name "Oscar" is contested. One biography of Bette Davis claims that she named the Oscar after her first husband, bandleader Harmon Oscar Nelson. Another claimed origin is that of the Academy’s Executive Secretary, Margaret Herrick, who first saw the award in 1931 and made reference of the statuette reminding her of her Uncle Oscar. Columnist Sidney Skolsky was present during Herrick’s naming and seized the name in his byline, "Employees have affectionately dubbed their famous statuette 'Oscar'”. Both Oscar and Academy Award are registered trademarks of the Academy, fiercely protected through litigation and threats thereof.
There are a few stories as to how the Oscar got its name:
- The Academy librarian and executive director Margaret Herrick said that the statuette reminded her of her Uncle Oscar.
- Bette Davis claimed she noted aloud the resemblance of Oscar's backside to that of her husband, Harmon Oscar Nelson.
- The first documented mention of the name was in 1934, when columnist Sidney Skolsky referred to Katharine Hepburn's first Best Actress Oscar. He says he was tired of writing "the Golden Statue of the Academy," and fell back on the name Oscar from an old vaudeville joke he had heard.
- The statuette weighs 8.5 lb/3.9 kg and is 13.5"/34.3 cm tall. It takes three to four weeks for a team of 12 to cast 50 statuettes. Each one is handled with white gloves.
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