The Oscar statuette weighs 6 3/4 pounds, and stands 13 1/2 inches high. It was named by Margaret Herrick, the Academy librarian, who remarked in 1931 (upon seeing the statuettes), "Why it looks like my Uncle Oscar!" Her uncle's full name, by the way, was Oscar Pierce.
Most embarrassing Oscar Moment has to go to Frank Capra. When the presenter announced 'Come and get it Frank!' as he opened the Best Picture envelope, Capra jumped up before realising the address had been meant for Cavalcade (1934) director Frank Lloyd. Capra vowed to never go back to the Oscars but returned the next year when It Happened One Night (1935) won Best Picture.
In 1958 cleavage was banned from the red carpet after record complaints about low cut dresses from viewers of the 1957 awards.
During WWII Oscars were made of plaster to conserve materials. Winners including Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman were belatedly presented with the real thing.
When the first Academy Awards were handed out on May 16, 1929, movies had just begun to talk. That first ceremony took place during a banquet held in the Blossom Room of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The attendance was 270 and tickets cost $5.
The youngest person to ever receive an Oscar was 5-year-old Shirley Temple - in 1934. (However, Shirley's Oscar was an honorary one.)
The youngest actress to win a standard Oscar was Tatum O'Neal, who was 10 years old when she won the Best Supporting Actress award for "Paper Moon" in 1974.)
George Burns was the oldest Oscar winner when he won as Best Supporting Actor for "The Sunshine Boys." at age 80 (in 1976).
But that mark was later surpassed by Jessica Tandy, who won her Best Actress Oscar at age 81 for "Driving Miss Daisy."
The oldest actor to win the Oscar for Best Actor was Henry Fonda, for "On Golden Pond". He was 76.
The three movies that won the most Oscars were "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" (2003),
"Titanic" (1997) and "Ben-Hur" (1959). All three movies won 11 statuettes. Second place is held by "West Side Story," which won ten Oscars.
The actress with the most Academy Awards for "Best Actress" is Katharine Hepburn, who won four of the golden statuettes (in 1932, 1967, 1968 & 1981.)
The title for the most "Best Actor." awards, though, is shared by seven different actors (Spencer Tracy, Gary Cooper, Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson, Fredric March, Dustin Hoffman and Tom Hanks) who each won two Oscars.
The actor with the most total Oscar nominations is Jack Nicholson, who was nominated 11 times (winning three times - twice for Best Actor and once for Best Supporting Actor.)
Meryl Streep now holds the record for the most total Oscar nominations, with 13 noms (passing Katharine Hepburn, who has 12, in 2003).
The individual who was awarded the most total Oscars was none other than Walt Disney, who walked away with 26 Academy Awards over his lifetime and 64 total Oscar nominations.
The longest acceptance speech ever given at an Academy Awards ceremony was given by Greer Garson, when she accepted her award for Best Actress in 1942's "Mrs. Miniver." It's uncertain exactly how long she spoke - most sources agree it was somewhere between 5 1/2 and 7 minutes.
indya.com >> The 80th Annual Academy Awards
George Clooney
