A night at the Oscars

Most movie lovers refer to the Academy Awards as "the Oscars." Each year the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presents awards (Oscars) to recognize excellence in various categories of film making. Some categories have been included in the Academy Awards from the first awards given in 1929. Other categories have been added over the years, and some categories have been eliminated altogether. Other award ceremonies have also been added over the years, but none are as prestigious as the Oscars.

The Hotel Roosevelt in Hollywood was the site of the first Academy Awards ceremony on May 16, 1929. The awards that were given were for movies that had been released in 1927 and 1928. Douglas Fairbanks and William DeMille hosted the event. The last Academy Awards (the 83rd annual) were held at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. They were hosted by Anne Hatheway and James Franco on February 27th, 2011. The next Academy Awards ceremony will be held on February 26th, 2012, also at the Kodak Theater, however the host has not yet been announced.

The Oscar statuette is officially known as the Academy Award of Merit. An art deco style knight stands holding a crusader's sword on a reel of film that has five spokes. The five spokes represent the original branches of the Academy: actors, writers, directors, producers, and technicians. The statuette stands 13½ inches tall on a black metal base. The statuette itself is made of gold-plated britannium.

How the statuette came to be called "Oscar" is a matter of debate. Some claim that Bette Davis named the statuette after her first husband, bandleader Harmon Oscar Nelson. Others claim that the Academy's executive secretary, Margaret Herrick saw the statuette in 1931 and said that it reminded her of her Uncle Oscar. But however the name came about, Oscar it is, and Oscar it will always be!

Read more on the subject - 80 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards