In 1929, during the first academy awards, the cost of a ticket was $5, and only 270 people attended. The entire ceremony lasted 15 minutes, including any small speeches from the 15 recipients. It wasn’t until 1939 that these little gold statues actually received their own name, “Oscar,” because some librarian starting spreading rumors that the guy looked a lot like her Uncle Oscar.
A few of the biggest winners in Oscars history are Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997), and Lord of The Rings (2003), all of which all received a total of 11 Oscar’s each. The films The Turning Point (1978) and The Color Purple (1986) are the only two to have received a total of 11 nominations, and then be sent home without a single Oscar to celebrate with.
And while these awards are pretty coveted, they have been known to be passed around in auctions much like a pair of used underwear on eBay. However, in 1950 the Academy would put a stop to this by requiring every recipient to sign an agreement. It stipulated that any recipient could not sell their Oscar to anyone but the Academy, and to throw salt on injury to any actor or actress who was in that desperate need for money, Oscar would only be worth $1.
This did not stop over five dozen Oscar’s from being stolen and sold through the black market in 2000, with one actually turning up at a Miami drug raid just three years later. Speaking of loses, the gift bag for this years Oscar losers is said to be valued at close to $60,000, including a certificate for hair transplants, weight loss gummy bears, and a $9,000 trip to Las Vegas. The majority of these bags will end up in the hands of overworked assistants, so in other words, they will be truly deserved.
About Dr. Eric J. Leech
Eric has written for over a decade. Then one day he created Urbasm.com, a site for every guy.
About Dr. Eric J. Leech