English Quiz for IBPS PO Prelims – Set 2

The original design of “Oscar” was by MGM art director
Cedric Gibbons. He came up with a statuette of a knight standing on a reel of
film gripping a crusader’s sword.
The Academy commissioned the Los Angeles sculptor George Stanley to create the
design in three dimensions. It was presented for the first time at the initial
awards banquet on May 16, 1929 to Emil Jannings, named Best Actor for his
performances in “The Last Command” and “The Way of All
Flesh”. Since then, 2,701 statuettes have been presented. The new golden
statuettes are cast, moulded, polished and buffed each January by RS Owens
& Company, the Chicago based awards manufacturer retained by the Academy
since 1982. Oscar stands 13½ inches tall and weighs 8½ lbs. The film reel
features five spokes, signifying the five original branches of the Academy:
actors, directors, producers, technicians and writers. Although the statuette
remains true to its original design, the size of the base varied until 1945,
when the current standard was adopted. Officially named the Academy Award of
Merit, the statuette is better known by its nickname, Oscar. While the origins
of the moniker are not clear, a popular story has it that upon seeing the
trophy for the first time, Academy librarian (and eventual executive director)
Margaret Herrick remarked that it resembled her Uncle Oscar. The Academy didn’t
adopt the nickname officially until 1939. The statuettes presented at the
initial ceremonies were gold plated solid bronze. Within a few years the bronze
was abandoned in favour of Britannia metal, a pewter like alloy which is then plated in copper, nickel silver, and finally,
24- carat gold. Due to a metal shortage during the Second World War, Oscars
were made of painted plaster for three years. Following the war, the Academy
invited recipients to redeem the plaster figures for gold plated metal ones.
The Academy is not certain know how many statuettes it will hand out until the
envelopes are opened on the night of the ceremony. Although the number of
categories are known in advance, the possibility of ties and of multiple
recipients sharing the prize in some categories makes it impossible to predict
the exact number of statuettes to be awarded. Any surplus awards are housed in
the Academy’s vault until the
following year’s event.