Despite the Oscars’ ups and downs over the years, the Academy Award remains the most prestigious prize in entertainment. The one-foot tall, eight-pound golden statuette means a lot in the film industry as arguably the most recognizable trophy in the world. While the Academy never said that the knight holding a sword over a film reel was modeled after someone, one actor boldly claimed it was. That person was the famous Mexican movie star and filmmaker Emilio Fernandez.
Before entering the movie business, Fernandez fought in the Mexican Revolution but was captured and imprisoned, escaping to America in exile. There he began working in films as an extra before being allowed back into Mexico where he became a legendary cinema figure for his home country.
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In an interview on the radio show Day 6 with Brent Bambury, a film historian, Dolores Tierney, explained the story about Fernandez allegedly posing for the Oscar statue. The tale began in 1928 when Fernandez “bumped” into Mexican actress Delore del Rio on a movie set, who then introduced him to art designer Cedric Gibbons. Gibbons later invited Fernandez to model for the Oscar statuette and the rest, as they say, is history.
Tierney also revealed that while Fernandez physically resembled the trophy, he likely made up the story. She said, “[Fernandez] likes to tell the story that he was the model for the Oscar statuette, but he’s also a notorious mythomaniac, like a lot of directors.” Evidence suggests that he loved to make up “tall tales,” such as claiming to have killed his mother and lover at the age of nine, which turned out to not be true at all.
Whether Fernandez was telling the truth or not, it’s unlikely the Academy will change its story as to how the award was created from an abstract drawing. No one may know for sure, but the fact that a Mexican actor potentially modeled for an award that has struggled to incorporate diversity throughout its history is fascinating.
Regardless of the Oscar trophy origins, it is still the most iconic award in entertainment. The simple design of a man holding down a sword, which in 1931 reminded Academy secretary Margaret Herrick of her “Uncle Oscar,” will remain a part of cinema lore for generations. However, there are also several other memorable coveted trophies in entertainment.
The most celebrated award in music is the Grammy. The trophy was designed as a gramophone because the award show was originally named The Gramophone Awards in 1959. Even though the gramophone has since gone out of style, it’s unlikely the famous trophy design will ever change. There is also the Emmy, which TV engineer Louis McManus designed as a winged woman holding an atom and used his wife as the model. The statuette represents the goal of “uplifting the art and science of television,” with the wings symbolizing art, and the atom as science.
The fourth and final award of the EGOT collection is the Tony award, the theater’s most coveted prize. In an attempt to go against the grain of other popular awards, art director Herman Rosse created a medallion with the ancient comedy and tragedy masks engraved on it. A black base was later added below the medallion, so the winner could hold and raise the award more easily.
One last beloved award in entertainment is the Eisner, which may not be a part of the EGOT group but is the most distinguished accolade in the American comic book business. Named after comic book pioneer Will Eisner, the award appears to have a similar design to the Tony, with a rotating globe on a black platform. The font of Will Eisner’s name on the trophy is curiously based on the famous font used for Disney’s logo. It turns out that’s actually “brush script” used by artists from Disney and Eisner’s generation.
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