Among
the lesser important topics currently under discussion are
the meaning of the ground hog who surfaced yesterday on
the future of our weather and the current writer’s
strike effect on the future Academy Awards, scheduled for
the25th of this month.
As I understand it, the writers
are on strike to obtain residuals for their work which is,
more and more, used on the internet with no payment to them.
As a paid (although, not much) writer myself, I certainly
sympathize with their position but I also harbor a secret
hope that the strike won’t be settled until after
the Oscars.It could be very refreshing to have no guest
host interjecting time-worn gags, almost no commercial interruptions,and
hopefully no pre-show with gushing Joan and Melinda Rivers
stalking stars, asking, “Who are you wearing?”
There would, of course, be the usual film clips from the
nominated films, the acceptance speeches thanking“fellow
actors, producers and my 3rd grade teacher who inspired
and encouraged me” but the entire show could finish
in an hour, permitting us all to be in bed at a decent time.
Maybe my memory goes back
too far but I think some of the earlier award shows had
more class. Joanne Woodward accepted her Oscar in 1957 for
Three Faces of Eve, wearing a dress she had made, herself.
Who can forget the young newcomer, so composed and elegant
despite her age….. the lovely Audrey Hepburn as she
graciously accepted for “Roman Holiday”.Her
equal in graciousness and beauty was the 1954 winner, Grace
Kelly. Some of the truly great timeless films from the forties
and fifties that remain a pleasure to this day: “The
African Queen”, “A Streetcar Named Desire”,
“High Noon”, “Rebecca”, “Born
Yesterday”,“The Heiress”, “All About
Eve”, “The Bridge on the River Kwai” and
“Casablanca”.
In 1929 “The Jazz Singer”,
the first talking picture, revolutionized the industry and
won a special award.
At that time, the award statuette had no name and the big
night was like a private party. The only person to make
a speech was Zanuck, production head at Warners. Although
now, the winner is kept a deep, dark secret, previously
everyone knew beforehand who the winners would be. In 1931,the
Academy, realizing the promotional benefits of the evening,
arranged a national radio broadcast but to make sure there
were no windbags on the bill, they adopted a no speech-making
policy. That year, Walt Disney received a special award
for the creation of Mickey Mouse. It was not until 1953
that the show was televised.
There are several stories
regarding the naming of the statuette. One popular one is
that the Academy librarian, Margaret Herrick, said the statuette
looked like her Uncle Oscar. Although that nickname was
used informally, the Academy itself did not use it officially
until 1939. Oscar is the figure of a knight standing on
a reel of film, holding a sword. He is 13 ½ inches
tall and weighs a hefty 8 ½ lbs. Each January, new
golden statuettes are cast, polished and buffed by a Chicago
based company and then delivered to Hollywood on a special
United Airlines flight.The fun of the Oscars is the un-expected.
From Jane Fonda’s long winded acceptance ramble, Marlon
Brando’s un-acceptance speech given by Sacheen Littlefeather,
Cher in her uniquely revealing outfit to the streaker that
appeared as David Niven was speaking, in 1973. There were
also delightful surprises in the comebacks of Frank Sinatra,
Mickey Rooney and Patricia Neal and of course, the first
African American to win for best actor, Sidney Poitier’s
performance for “Lillies of the Field”.
Jon Stewart is set to host
this year’s show if all goes well. Whatever happens,
I will most certainly,
be watching once again. It may be the only show (outside
of those dreadful reality
types) where writers really aren’t necessary. As Robert
Benton put it, “I always thought the actors were hired
to ruin the writer’s lines”.
Jean Cherni
is founder of Senior Living Solutions, a retirement advisory
service. Contact her at jeancherni@sbcglobal.net or
15 The Ponds, Branford 06405.
H. Pearce Company REALTORS®
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