# The Origin of "the Oscar"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-origin-of-the-oscar/44733>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [December 9, 2000, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-origin-of-the-oscar/44733 "2000-12-09T04:58:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Devotchka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d78d45/32.png) [@Devotchka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Devotchka)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2000, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-origin-of-the-oscar/44733/1 "2000-12-09T04:58:56Z")

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I’ve read that Bette Davis nicknamed the award “Oscar” because its backside reminded her of that of Ham Oscar Nelson, who was her husband at the time. Where did I obtain this wacky info? Why, James Spada’s book, “More Than a Woman”, that’s where. Was he completely wrong here?

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**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2000, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-origin-of-the-oscar/44733/2 "2000-12-09T13:26:35Z")

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A link to the Mailbag item is appreciated. [Why is the Oscar called the Oscar?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/moscar.html)

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**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2000, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-origin-of-the-oscar/44733/3 "2000-12-09T15:56:12Z")

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From the web site [Oscar.com](http://www.oscar.com):

> [@](#):
>
> Q. Why are Academy Awards called Oscar?  
> A. How the statuette got the nickname Oscar isn’t clear. A popular story has been that an Academy librarian and eventual executive director, Margaret Herrick, thought it resembled her Uncle Oscar and said so. A reporter standing conveniently nearby is alleged to have overheard her and helped brand the golden guy.
> 
> In any case, by the sixth Awards Presentation in 1934, Hollywood columnist Sidney Skolsky used the name in his column in reference to Katharine Hepburn’s first Best Actress win. The Academy itself didn’t use the nickname officially until 1939.

So, I guess from this we can divine that the statuette received the nickname among those ‘in the know’ sometime before it got usage widespread enough to get into print in 1934 through a gossip columnist. When this happens, you end up with everyone under the sun making the claim they thought of the name first, much as many people will try to claim the creation of popular jokes, cultural icons, etc.

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**Author:** ![Devotchka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d78d45/32.png) [@Devotchka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Devotchka)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2000, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-origin-of-the-oscar/44733/4 "2000-12-09T20:15:37Z")

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Oops. Thank ye, Bibliophage.