By LISA CHIU
Observer staff
February 20, 2008

A little taller than a ruler, the golden statuette that is Oscar has been the source of Hollywood envy since it was first created in 1928.

It takes 12 people a total of 20 hours to make one Oscar statuette.

While the statue is officially known as the Academy Award of Merit, its nickname is said to have stuck after academy librarian and later executive director Margaret Herrick, said it reminded her of her Uncle Oscar. The statue is a model of a knight holding a sword and standing over a film reel with five spokes representing actors, writers, directors, producers and technicians – the original branches of the academy.

The first Oscar is crane-lifted into place at the entrance of the Kodak Theatre on Monday in preparation for the 80th Academy Awards. (Photo: Todd Wawrychuk/©A.M.P.A.S.)

The Oscar name was first documented in 1934, when a Hollywood columnist used it to refer to Katharine Hepburn’s first Best Actress win. The academy started using the nickname officially in 1939.

There have been 2,658 Oscars presented since 1929. About 50-60 are presented each year.

The first statuettes were made of gold-plated bronze, but were later changed to a metal alloy. During World War II metal shortages, the statuettes were made of plaster but winners then redeemed them after the war for gold-plated versions. Today the statuette is made of the alloy Britannium and then plated in copper, nickel, silver and finally 24-karat gold.

Every year, metal workers at R.S. Owens & Company of Chicago cast approximately 50 Oscars. But they’ve also had to repair approximately 160 old ones, due to chemicals used to polish the statue or to corrosion.

Company President Scott Siegel offers a simple cleaning method: “If it gets dusty, simply wipe it with a soft dry cloth.”

Walt Disney was given one full-size Oscar and seven miniature ones for “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”

THE LIFE OF OSCAR:

1929: The first awards banquet was held. The first statuette was given to Emil Jannings, Best Actor for “The Last Command” and “The Way of All Flesh.” Presentations were made by academy President Douglas Fairbanks.

1934: The categories of best film editing, music score and song were added.

1935: The Oscar saw its first refusal when writer Dudley Nichols refused to accept his win for “The Informer” because the Writer’s Guild was on strike.

1936: The categories of best supporting actor and actress were added.

1938: Destructive floods washed out Los Angeles and delayed the ceremony one week. This was the first of only three circumstances that prevented the ceremony from going on as scheduled.

1941: The academy adopted the sealed-envelope system after the Los Angeles Times revealed the winners before the academy’s embargoed press time the previous year. The best documentary film category appeared on the ballot for the first time.

1953: The 25th Academy Awards was the first televised academy presentation held at the RKO Pantages Theatre. Bob Hope was the master of ceremonies. NBC broadcasted the show.

1956: The best foreign-language film became an annual category.

1968: The ceremony was postponed two days out of respect for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was assassinated a few days before.

1970: George C. Scott returned his Oscar for his performance in “Patton,” telling the academy that he didn’t feel himself to be in competition with other actors. He was reported to have disliked the politics surrounding the award.

1972: Marlon Brando refused the Oscar for his role in “The Godfather” to protest the depiction of American Indians by Hollywood. American Indian activist Sacheen Littlefeather spoke on his behalf during the ceremony.

1974: A streaker ran across the Oscar stage naked while actor David Niven spoke. Niven responded: “The only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping, and showing his shortcomings.”

1981: The awards were postponed 24 hours because of the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan. Awards for makeup and technological contributions were first established.

2001: Best animated feature film became a new category.

WHO IS THE ACADEMY?
Founded in 1927, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization of more than 6,000 motion picture artists and craftsmen. Its goal is to advance the arts and sciences of motion pictures through cultural, educational and technological cooperation. The academy does not promote economic, labor or political matters.