Few icons are as instantly identifiable as the shimmering gold statue familiarly referred to worldwide as “Oscar.” Clasping his sword in front of him and perched atop a movie reel, the Academy Award trophy has become synonymous with movie greatness. But the journey to its creation is as intriguing as the films it honors, dating back to the birth of Hollywood and the film industry’s efforts to gain prestige, professionalism and artistic credibility.
By Allan R. Ellenberger
Photo Credit: AD / Dorith Mous
The statuette originated with the establishment of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In 1927, Louis B. Mayer and others united to form the Academy, a union meant to increase cooperation between the different areas of film production and improve the artistic reputation of motion pictures. Among the first concepts discussed by the group was an annual award for outstanding motion picture achievements. Awards would bring recognition to the industry and help gain public acceptance.
After the award was approved, the Academy needed a trophy to give out. Designing the statuette was trusted to one of the Academy's founding members, Cedric Gibbons, head of the art department at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Gibbons decided that the ideal sculpture would be a knight rendered in a stylized fashion standing upright on a crusader's sword that was supported by a reel of motion-picture film. The five spokes on the film reel (integrated with the statue, not the base) upon which the figure stands represented the five branches of the Academy that were created when it was founded: actors, directors, producers, technicians, and writers. The sword and statue were designed with sleek geometric lines favored by the Art Deco movement prominent in architecture and design at the time.
The Academy enlisted the help of Los Angeles sculptor George Stanley to add dimension to the figure. Stanley modeled the statuette and had it ready for casting. In 1928, the first statuettes were cast by the C.W. Shumway & Sons Foundry located in Chicago. Made of bronze and plated in gold, the statuette soon became one of the most recognizable trophies worldwide. Although the base has been modified slightly through the years, the basic statuette design has remained the same since it was unveiled in 1929.
Over the years a colorful story emerged concerning the model for the figure. According to one widely circulated account, Gibbons sought a realistic human form upon which to base the sculpture when he was introduced to Mexican actor and filmmaker Emilio Fernández by his wife, actress Dolores Del Rio, and asked him to pose for the statue. Fernández reportedly agreed on the condition that his identity remain confidential and posed nude while Gibbons refined the design of the sword-bearing knight. Whether entirely accurate or embellished through Hollywood storytelling, the tale has become one of the enduring legends associated with the creation of the Oscar statuette.
Art director, Cedric Gibbons, who designed the Academy Award statuette.
Mexican actor, Emilio Fernández, who is rumored to have been the model for the Academy statue.
Sculptor George Stanley, who modeled the statue that is still used today.
As far as physical characteristics go, the statuette is pretty substantial. Oscar measures around 13½" tall and weighs about 8½ pounds. The figure itself is now made of solid bronze, which is then copper plated, nickel plated and finally has a coating of 24-karat gold applied to it. The Academy spends just north of $500 per statue. With about fifty statues purchased each year for the awards show, it costs around $25,000 just for production.
The first Academy Awards ceremony was held on May 16, 1929, at a dinner in the Blossom Room of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Compared to the highly choreographed televised ceremony today, it was very simple. About 270 people attended the dinner which tickets were five dollars. The ceremony lasted only about fifteen minutes. Winners had been announced to the media many months prior to the event. Despite this, fifteen statuettes were awarded for films that were released in 1927 and 1928. Best Actor went to Emil Jannings for his dual role in The Last Command and The Way of All Flesh. Janet Gaynor won Best Actress for her roles in Seventh Heaven, Street Angel, and Sunrise.
The first Best Actress recipient, Janet Gaynor, with her Academy Award
The first Best Actor Academy Award given to Emil Jannings
While officially known as the Academy Award of Merit, everyone just calls it "Oscar." Where that nickname came from is one of Hollywood's best loved trivia questions. The most commonly told story is that Academy librarian Margaret Herrick said it looked like her Uncle Oscar. Several others have claimed to have named the statuette, including columnist Sidney Skolsky who began using the nickname in newspaper articles in the 1930s, and Bette Davis who said the statues derriere looked like her husband Harmon Oscar Nelson. Regardless of who first nicknamed the award, it was officially changed to Oscar by the Academy in 1939.
Over the decades the statuette has acquired not only prestige but also an elaborate system of identification and security. Each Oscar is engraved with its own identification number and recorded by the Academy to prevent unauthorized sale or duplication. In fact, recipients must sign an agreement stating that neither they nor their heirs may sell the statuette without first offering it back to the Academy for the symbolic price of one dollar. The policy reflects the organization’s determination to preserve the award’s dignity and historical integrity. With modern technology constantly evolving, some have even suggested that future statuettes could incorporate microchips to track them in the unlikely event they are stolen.
The Oscar statuette itself has undergone only minor adjustments throughout its history. During World War II, when metal shortages threatened production, the Academy temporarily issued Oscars made of painted plaster. After the war recipients were invited to exchange these temporary versions for the traditional gold-plated statues. Aside from such practical adaptations, however, the knight designed by Cedric Gibbons has remained remarkably consistent.
Since the first ceremony in 1929, more than three thousand Oscar statuettes have been awarded to filmmakers, actors, writers, technicians, composers, and artists whose work helped shape the art of cinema. Each year new statues are cast in advance of the ceremony and stored securely until the envelopes are opened and the winners announced.
Nearly a century after Cedric Gibbons first conceived his Art Deco knight and George Stanley brought the design to life in metal, the Oscar statuette remains the most coveted symbol of achievement in the motion-picture industry. It is more than a trophy. It represents recognition from one’s peers, the culmination of years of creative effort, and a connection to the long history of Hollywood itself.
Every year the same golden figure appears beneath the bright lights of the Academy Awards ceremony. When winners raise it triumphantly above their heads, they are not merely holding a statue—they are holding a piece of Hollywood history.
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