Why are Academy Awards called Oscars?
Most convincing theory? The nominees are…
The first Academy Awards Ceremony was held Blossom Room of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel Thursday, May 16, 1929. They immediately caught the public imagination and by the mid 30s the name Oscar was universally recognised pet name. But where did it come from?
The designer
The initial design for the art-deco influenced statuette came from a founding Academy member, the Irish art director, Cedric Gibbon. In 1928 Gibbon created the initial design for the 33 cm high gold-plated trophy.
The following year the Academy commissioned the Los Angeles sculptor, George Stanley to produce the 3D version. This depicts a knight standing on a reel of film holding a crusader’s sword. There is no obvious connection with the name Oscar.
In 1930 Gibbon stepped up to collect his own award. He would go on to win 11 more for production design.
First citation
The Academy credits gossip columnist Skolsky has “the first confirmed newspaper reference” to Oscar in his column on March 16, 1934. He claimed that he had tired of writing a full description of the award and needed a pithier more memorable name.
Why Oscar? Skolsky claimed that this was a reference to an old variety joke involving a cigar.
That would be fine for old 42nd Street chums but sounds a little rarified to appeal to all his syndicated readers.
Others have pointed out that Skolsky wrote that “these statues are called ‘Oscars’”, meaning that the name was already in use.
Uncle Oscar?
Another claimant to the golden (!) ticket was Margaret Herrick, variously described as a ‘secretary’ and ‘director’ at for the Academy.
According to this story, Herrick thought that the statue looked like her Uncle Oscar and started using the term in 1931. This fits better the timeline but again sounds more like a family anecdote than a marketing term.
Even in the early 1930s Hollywood was big business — and unless Uncle Oscar had an extraordinary social circle his name would not have resonated in Boise, Idaho.
Bette Davies?
Another suggestion is that Hollywood star, Bette Davies named her award after her husband. She claimed in interviews that the statuette reminded her of the Mr Davies’s ‘rear end’. And those foolish enough to challenge Ms Davies’ case might want to watch Whatever Happened to Baby Jane
Apparently his hated middle name (Oscar) was meant to be a state secret — so Bette — famed for her feuds — made sure that the world would remember. Doubtless any hurt feelings on the part of the then Mr Davies remained in house. Or not mentioned at all as one thing we can definitely confirm about that golden statuette is that it was heavy enough to do fatal damage in a domestic dispute.
