Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto at an event for The Oscars (2014)
Upon seeing it for the first time, Academy librarian (and eventual executive director) Margaret Herrick said it resembled her Uncle Oscar (actually a nickname for her cousin).
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Poll: How the Oscar Got His Name
There have been a few theories/stories floating around about how the Academy Award was nicknamed "The Oscar." Which of these do you think is most plausible?
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"Academy Awards: 8th Annual," Bette Davis. 1936.
Bette Davis named it after her first husband, H. Oscar Nelson, noting that he and the statue had similar heinies. -
M. Monroe & Sidney Skolsky. c. 1952
Columnist Sidney Skolsky coined the term referencing a classic vaudeville joke line, "Will you have a cigar, Oscar?" The joke referred to Oscar Hammerstein II's grandfather, Oscar Hammerstein, who was a cigar manufacturer. -
Louis B. Mayer with his 1926 Packard C. 1926 *M.W.*
Louis B. Mayer's executive secretary, Eleanor Lilleberg, saw the first statuette and exclaimed, "It looks like King Oscar II!" (of Norway and Sweden). At the end of the day she asked, "What should we do with Oscar, put him in the vault?" and the name stuck.
