Academy Awards: Fun Facts

My grandmother was a true lady, always perfectly dressed, often sporting pearls on an average Tuesday afternoon at the Piggly Wiggly. So it always seemed a bit incongruous to see her stocking up on The Enquirer and People magazine at the check out counter, but she adored gossip about Hollywood. She was a true movie buff and couldn't wait for the Oscar nominations to come out every year. She could probably tell you about each and every one of the nominees over the years. This year's nominations most were mostly expected, but there are a few that would have surprised her – and a few shockers that were left off the list, too.

Maybe that's why I'm so excited about the American Association's Oscar watch party. I love the idea of having breakfast and mimosas with a bunch of others as we ogle the gorgeous gowns, scoff at the speeches and try on a few jewels of our own.

And yes, we'll play an Oscar trivia game, too. I'm guessing my grandmother could have told you each and every one of these tidbits below. How many did you already know?

First Ceremony

The inaugural Academy Awards ceremony took place on May 16, 1929, at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. It was a private dinner event attended by around 270 guests, and tickets cost a whopping USD$5 (about USD$90 in today's money).

Oscar Statuette's Origin:

The iconic Oscar statuette was designed by Cedric Gibbons, chief art director at MGM Studios, and sculpted by George Stanley. It stands 13.5 inches tall and weighs 8.5 pounds. Nobody really knows where the name "Oscar"came from ... some say it was named after either actress Bette Davis's husband, Harmon Oscar Nelson, or the Academy's executive secretary, Margaret Herrick, who remarked that the statuette resembled her Uncle Oscar.

Multiple Awards

Walt Disney holds the record for the most Oscar wins by an individual, with 26 awards. He won 22 competitive Oscars and four honorary ones. Wow, right?

Youngest and Oldest Winners

The youngest person to ever win an Oscar is Tatum O'Neal, who won the Best Supporting Actress award for her role in "Paper Moon" (1973) at the age of 10. The oldest Oscar winner? Christopher Plummer, who won the Best Supporting Actor award for "Beginners" (2011) at the age of 82. I'm not sure which is cooler.

Most Nominated Films

"All About Eve" (1950), "Titanic" (1997), and "La La Land" (2016) hold the record for the most nominations received by a single film, with 14 nominations each. This year's "Oppenheimer" comes close, racking up 13 nods, joining a list of eight others with 13 nomination each.

Most Awards Won by a Film

As of October 2022, three films tied for most Academy Award wins of all time. "Ben-Hur" (1959), "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (2003), and "Titanic" (1997) each received 11 Oscars.

Hosts

Jimmy Kimmel is again hosting this year, but before the days of television, the president of the Academy usually emceed. Comedian Bob Hope took the first crack at hosting in 1940 and set the standard for how a popular entertainer would emcee the show. Hope wound up hosting or co-hosting the ceremony a whopping 19 times between 1940 and 1978, 14 times solo and 5 times with a co-host. All told, there have been more than 60 hosts over the .years. In 1985, they had 11 hosts at once. Good gosh! But the Oscars don't always have a host, first tried at the 91st Academy Awards in 2019, after comedian Kevin Hart stepped down from hosting due to controversy over some tweets.

Foreign Language Films

"Parasite" (2019) made history by becoming the first non-English language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. It also won Best International Feature Film, making it a rare instance of a foreign language film winning both awards.

Lost Statues

There have been at least a dozen times that an Oscar statue was stolen or misplaced. My personal favorite was what happened to Bing Crosby's Oscar for the film "Going My Way." It was given to Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington where it was proudly displayed in a case in the school's library. One day in 1972, visitors noticed that the Oscar had disappeared, replaced with a statue of Mickey Mouse.