Why Oscar?

Officially named the Academy  Award of Merit, the statuette is better known by a nickmane, Oscar, the origins of which aren't clear.

A popular story has been that Margaret Herrick, an Academy librarian and eventual executive director, thought it resembled her Uncle Oscar. After she said so, the Academy staff began calling it Oscar.

By the sixth Awards Presentation in 1934, Hollywood columnist Sidney Skolsky used the name in his column when  he referred to Katharine Hepburn's first Best Actress win. The Academy didn't use the nickname officially until 1939.

The Academy won't know how many statuettes it will actually hand out until the envelopes are opened on Oscar Night. Even though the number of categories and special awards is known  prior   to the ceremony, the possibility of ties and of multiple winners sharing the prize in some categories, makes the exact number of Oscars to be awarded unpredictable.

The Oscar is one of the most recognized  award  in the world. Its success as a symbol of achievement in filmmaking would probably amaze its creators, Cedric Gibbons an George Stanley. As matter of fact, they are so prized that in 2000, only a few weeks before the Academy Awards, The Oscars were stolen while the were being shipped from Chicago. They were recovered  a week later, but not before some nervewracking days had passed.