The 2007
Academy Awards took place Feb. 25 and were hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. Held since 1929, the ceremony has become one of the most important nights in Hollywood and has amassed a rich history steeped in tradition. Learn some Academy Awards history, including the stories behind a streaker incident and cleavage regulations.
1. Why Call Him 'Oscar'? The exact origin of the name is unknown. A popular version of the story is that a librarian at the Academy remarked that the statue looked like her uncle Oscar. A journalist who overheard the comment later included the phrase in an article in the early 1930s. By 1939, the Academy officially adopted the nickname.
2. Plaster Statues: The Academy was forced to cut back on the quality of its statues during WWII. Instead of the usual gold-plated metal statue, winners were issued plaster Oscars to help conserve materials for the war effort. Winners of plaster Oscars were given the standard gold statues when the war ended. While it seems that many of the plaster statues have been lost in the shuffle of the past 60 years, Australian cameraman Damien Parer has kept his 1943 award for best wartime documentary in the family.
3. Don't Cross the Academy: In 1973, Robert Opal streaked across the Academy Awards stage flashing a peace sign as co-host David Niven prepared to announce a guest. When the crowd died down, Niven remarked, "Isn't it fascinating to think that the only laugh that man will probably ever get is for stripping and showing his shortcomings?" Opal enjoyed a short period of fame for his efforts, including appearing on talk shows and at Hollywood parties. Apparently Karma didn't appreciate his stunt: He was murdered during a robbery at his San Francisco shop in 1979.
4. The Show Must Go On: The Oscars have only been postponed three times. In 1938, they were put off a week due to flooding. The 1968 ceremony was postponed for two days for Martin Luther King Jr.'s funeral. The final postponement came in 1981 when the Academy waited a day after an assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan.
5. And No Janet Jacksons, Either: After Midwesterners complained about excessively visible cleavage at the 1957 Oscars, producer Jerry Wald decided to raise morale by raising necklines. He issued a memo to all people attending the event that there was to be no cleavage at the 1958 awards. Included in the memo was the promise that last-minute alterations would be made if necessary. It read: "If you need any help, a wardrobe mistress backstage is equipped with enough lace to make a mummy."
6. Top Secret: PricewaterhouseCoopers, which manages the balloting for the Oscars, has come up with a highly effective technique for keeping the results secret. The final ballots are not counted until two days before the event when two accountants meet in a locked room to begin the tally. To avoid tipping anyone off, two winning cards are printed with each nominee's name on them. The cards bearing the name of losers are destroyed. Accompanied by an armed guard, each of the two accountants transports a set of winning cards to the awards in a separate car.
Sources Used
"How the Academy Awards Flourished." BBC News 2005. Accessed 22 Feb. 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4202545.stm
"The Academy Awards and PricewaterhouseCoopers: 70 Years Together and Going Strong." PricewaterhouseCoopers. 2004. Accessed 22 Feb 2006.
Spaulding, Jake. "Feuds, Frauds, Cleavage and Curtain Rods...the Secret Life of Oscar." E!Online. 2006. Accessed Feb 22, 2006.
"Best Pics and Greatest Hits." E! Online. Accessed Feb. 22, 2007.
"Oscars History and Trivia." About.com. Accessed Feb. 22, 2007. http://oscars.about.com/od/historytrivia/History_Trivia.htm
Usually gold-plated, the Oscar statue was made from plaster during World War II to conserve materials.
