All Sections
When presenters opened the envelopes on stage at the 2024 Academy Awards to announce who will get the Oscar, they used a nickname that has been around nearly as long as the trophy itself.
The trophy handed to victors is officially known as the Academy Award of Merit. Cedric Gibbons, MGM's art director at the time the award was created, designed it. According to the Academy, he sketched a knight clutching a sword while standing in front of a film reel. In 1928, they began the process of turning that concept into a statue.
No one is sure when or why the Academy Award of Merit became known as an Oscar. According to the Academy Awards, one common idea is that Margaret Herrick, the Academy's former librarian in the 1930s and 1940s and later executive director, felt the statuette looked like her Uncle Oscar. After hearing this, Academy staff began referring to the award as Oscar.
Foster Hirsch, the author of "Hollywood and the Movies of the Fifties," believes another idea is more feasible. He stated that others believe the term Oscar originated with Hollywood reporter Sidney Skolsky, who attended the Academy Awards in 1934.
The first known newspaper mention of the Academy Award as an Oscar occurred that year, when Skolsky used it in his column to allude to Katharine Hepburn's maiden triumph as best actress.
"He thought that the ceremonies were pompous and self-important and he wanted to deflate them in his column," Hirsch told me. So Skolsky referred to the trophy as an Oscar, alluding to Oscar Hammerstein I, a theater owner who became the target of ridicule in vaudeville circles.
Oscar 2024
This awards season had it all: Bradley Cooper spending six years conducting school for a six-minute sequence that people pretended to care about; Cillian Murphy losing his title as Ireland's Sweetheart to Ayo Edebiri; and Barbie snubs probably heard around the ghost offices of the gaslight, gatekeeper, girlboss co-working space, the Wing. All of the fawning, excitement, and rage of the previous cinematic calendar year will come to a conclusion on March 10 with the 2024 Academy Awards ceremony. The ceremony recognizes achievements in film arts and technology, rather than whose film had the most spineless husband, with Oppenheimer receiving 13 nominations and Poor Things receiving 11 nods. In the end, the Oppenhomies won seven awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, while Poor Things' Emma Stone won Best Actress, taking Killers of the Flower Moon's only chance at a win after ten nominations. Billie Eilish won her second Oscar for her song "Barbie," joining Cillian Murphy as the first Irish-born winner of Best Actor.
List of Oscar Winners
Building trust online is essential for digital branding success. From consistent brand identity and transparency to customer reviews, secure websites, and authentic engagement, trust grows through every interaction. Discover key digital branding tips that strengthen credibility, build lasting relationships, and help your business thrive online.
Want to grow your small business online? 🚀 Build a strong digital presence with a professional website, social media marketing, SEO, and quality content. Use email marketing, online ads, and collaborations to reach more customers. Stay consistent, offer great service, and track results to turn your small business into a successful online brand.
Want to go viral on YouTube Shorts fast? This guide shares top tips to grab attention in seconds, use trending sounds, boost watch time, and master the algorithm. Learn how to craft short, punchy videos, add captions, use smart hashtags, and post consistently to explode your reach. Start creating Shorts that get noticed and shared!
