The 2017 edition of the Academy Awards (better known as The Oscars) holds on Sunday, February 26. It is regarded as the highest level of reward for film excellence and is highly coveted by actors, movie directors and every participant in that industry.
But did you know that the trophy is named after an actual person? Below are 12 things you didn’t know about the Oscars.
1. It started in 1929 and this year’s Oscars is the 89th edition.
2. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences which gives out the awards is made of up nearly 7,000 members.
3. The design of the statuette is a knight holding a sword and standing on a reel of film.
4. The Oscar was originally called the Academy Award of Merit but the librarian of the board said it looked like her uncle ‘Oscar’.
The new name was adopted in 1939.
5. The statuette is made of bronze and plated with 24 karat gold.
6. Walt Disney has won the most Oscars (26) and has the most nominations (59).
7. The youngest ever winner of the Oscar was Tatum O’Neal who won Best Supporting Actress award for Paper Moon in 1974.
8. In 2010, 82-year-old Christopher Plummer became the oldest person to win as Best Actor in a Supporting role for the film Beginners.
9. Tom Cruise has never won an Oscar.
10. Neither has Harrison Ford.
11. The documentary ‘O.J.: Made in America’ is 7 hours and 47 minutes long, making it the longest-ever Oscar nominated film.