The in-house curator for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Harrington managed to find 11 of the 15 original Oscars given out in 1929, which are now part of a special exhibit commemorating the award’s 75th birthday. For the first time, 102 historically significant, interesting or otherwise odd Oscars–at least one from each award ceremony since 1929–have been collected in one place. Cineastes can catch them all in an exhibit called “And the Oscar Went to …”, at the Academy’s Beverly Hills headquarters through April 17.
Standouts include Orson Welles’s 1941 screenwriting award for “Citizen Kane,” Jimmy Stewart’s best actor statuette for “The Philadelphia Story” (which Stewart’s father displayed for 20 years in his hardware store) and Halle Berry’s year-old best actress award, the first-ever for an African-American.
Of course, she couldn’t get them all. David Gest–Liza Minelli’s husband–owns and refuses to part with one of the missing four from 1928: the best actress award, won by Janet Gaynor. Although he’s interested in getting rid of it–he’s even tried to auction it off–he didn’t respond to Harrington’s inquiries. NEWSWEEK’s Brian Braiker spoke with the curator about her worldwide manhunt, which found Oscar buried in basements, perched on top of TV sets and stashed away in other unlikely places. Excerpts:
NEWSWEEK: Anyone else refuse to part with his or her Oscar?
Ellen Harrington: Very few people. I would say 99 percent said “yes.” The trick was getting to those people. If the person is living, that was easy. We were lucky because if we didn’t know where they were, we had access to Academy members who did know. We had to approach a lot of different people bring the Oscars from a variety of different locations from Canada to Europe to Asia.
Who wouldn’t give theirs up?
Two people said they just have too emotional of an attachment. One was a somewhat recent Oscar-winner, one was slightly older.
Frances Marion, who won the 1930 writing award used her Oscar as a doorstop. Whose was in the worst shape?
Most of them were in pretty good shape. Some have been kept near the ocean and have some corrosion. Some have been kept in the basement. The gold is flaking off some of the Oscars from the ’80s. If you put the brand-new ones next to Katharine Hepburn’s first Oscar from 1932-33, that one looks really old, with a coppery finish. Some of them look like they’ve been handled a lot, maybe from the oils on people’s hands, like for example Tom Hanks’s Oscar for “Philadelphia.” You can really see these things have been lived with and have been in people’s homes.
Which Oscar gave you the wildest goose chase?
One Oscar we had a very hard time tracking down was the only wooden Oscar. It is a miniature, wood-carved Oscar with a moveable head that was presented to [ventriloquist] Edgar Bergen for [his wooden dummy] Charlie McCarthy. That one took us a while to find, even though it still belongs to the Bergen family. It was in the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago.
Was that the funkiest Oscar you found?
We have a couple special items. We have a miniature Oscar that was presented to Judy Garland in 1939. One pretty unique item we have is from 1938. Walt Disney was presented with an Oscar for “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” that was one normal-sized Oscar and seven miniatures all on one base. Shirley Temple was the presenter.
Describe the first Oscars for us. How were they physically different than today’s?
They are all actually still made from the same mold design. Literally, Oscar has not changed at all. The chemistry of the metal, and the base has changed. But Oscar himself is still pretty much the same guy. They weigh eight pounds–that’s why when you see people win them, they end up cradling it in their arms. It weighs as much as a healthy newborn baby.
At one point the Oscars were made of plaster, to save on metal during World War II.
Yes, from 1942 to 1945. We have a photo of Barry Fitzgerald, who won in 1944, showing that the head broke off, that it was a piece of crap [laughs]. They gave him a metal one later.
What’s your favorite thing in the exhibit?
It’s hard to say exactly. I think my favorite item isn’t an Oscar, it’s a gold charm bracelet. Walt Disney has the record for the individual with the most Oscar wins. As an Oscar-winner you can request a one-inch miniature for each award you win. He had this dangly charm bracelet made up of 20 one-inch charms representing his Oscars.
Did you try it on?
I have to confess I held it across my wrist.
What’s your favorite movie?
My favorite movie? [Laughs.] That’s like my most hated question.
