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Academy Award
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Academy Award Article

Why is the Academy Award called “Oscar”?

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The Academy Award statuette’s nickname, “Oscar,” has three possible sources. Actress Bette Davis claimed that the name derived from her observation that the backside of the statuette looked like that of her husband Harmon Oscar Nelson. Columnist Sidney Skolsky maintained that he gave the award its nickname. The name has also been attributed to academy librarian Margaret Herrick, who declared that the statuette looked like her Uncle Oscar.

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