In anticipation of the announcement of 2011's Academy Award winners this month, let's warm up with some Oscar trivia. (Some of the listed achievements below have become obsolete after 2012 Academy Awards.)
General Oscar trivia
- The Oscars have been rewarded since 1929. The current "sealed envelope" method for the announcements is used since 1941.
- The Oscar statuette was modelled after actor Emilio Fernandez.
- The Oscar statuette weighs 8.5 lb (3.85 kg), and is 13.5 inches (34 cm) tall.
- The origin of the name "Oscar" is unclear with several versions circulating for many years but it has been around since the 1930's.
- Since 1950, the winners and their heirs have been legally prohibited from selling the Oscar statuettes without initially offering them back to the Academy for $1.
- Since 2002 the award ceremony is held at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.
Personal Oscar trivia - the oldest and youngest Oscar winners
- The youngest Oscar winner ever was 6-year-old Shirley Temple although her 1935's Academy Award was an honorary one.
- The youngest Oscar winner of a standard Academy Award was Tatum O'Neal at age 10. She won in 1974 for her role in Paper Moon in the category of Best Supporting Actress. This also makes her the youngest woman/girl to win for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. And she is also the youngest Oscar nominee in the category.
- The oldest actress to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress was Peggy Ashcroft at age 77. The oldest Oscar nominee for Best Actress in a Supporting Role was Gloria Stuart at age 87 for Titanic which also makes her the oldest Oscar nominee ever.
- The youngest Oscar Winner in the Best Supporting Actor category was Timothy Hutton at age 20. He won for Ordinary People in 1981. The previous year Justin Henry at age 8 became the youngest nominee in the category for Kramer vs. Kramer and the youngest Oscar nominee ever.
- George Burns was the oldest winner for Best Supporting Actor at age 80. Hal Holbrook was the oldest nominee in the category of Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He was 82 years old when nominated for Into the Wild.
- Marlee Matlin was the youngest Oscar winner in the Best Actress category. She was 21 years old when winning for her role in Children of a Lesser God. Keisha Castle-Hughes was the youngest nominee in the category at age 13.
- Jessica Tandy was the oldest Oscar winner in the Best Actress category. She was 80 when she won for Driving Miss Daisy. Thus she is also the oldest Academy Award winner ever. She is also the oldest Oscar nominee in the category of Best Actress in a Leading Role.
- The youngest Oscar winner in the Best Actor category was Adrien Brody at age 29 for The Pianist. The youngest Oscar nominee in this category was Jackie Cooper at age 9.
- The oldest Oscar winner in the Best Actor category was Henry Fonda at age 76. The oldest Academy Award nominee in the category of Best Actor in a Leading Role was Richard Farnsworth at age 79.
- The youngest individual to win the Best Director award was Norman Taurog at age 32. The youngest person to be nominated for Best Director was John Singleton at age 24 for Boyz n the Hood. Orson Welles was 26 years old when nominated for Citizen Kane.
- The oldest person to win the Best Director award was Clint Eastwood at age 74 for Million Dollar Baby. The oldest Oscar nominee in the Best Director category was John Huston at age 79 for Prizzi's Honor.
- The first woman to win the Best Director Academy Award was Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker last year.
Read Oscar Trivia, Part 2 to learn who has the most Oscars won and some movie-related Oscar trivia.
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