a thick covering of 24 carat gold.
The first Academy Awards ceremony was held on May 16, 1929.
The famous gold statue is believed to have been designed by Cedric Gibbons, who was Art Director at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).
The award's 'Oscar' nickname is said to have come about after actress Bette Davis remarked that the statue resembled her then husband, Harmon Oscar Nelson. Cynics have since said that this is unlikely as Nelson was more commonly known as 'Ham' rather than 'Oscar'.
Vivien Leigh is one of the more famous names to have had her Oscar sold. The award the actress won for her 1939 performance in Gone With The Wind was auctioned for $563,000 at Sotheby's in New York in 1993. Winners since 1950 have been made to pledge not to sell their statue.
Titanic (1997) holds the record for most film nominations. From its 17 nods, it took home 14 statuettes.
Composer John Williams has a record 45 nominations for his work on such classic films as Jaws (1975), Star Wars (1977) and Schindler's List (1993).
Bob Hope was the most frequent anchorman, having hosted the Academy Awards a record 19 times.
In 1942, actress Greer Garson broke the record for the longest acceptance speech. Her address went on for well over an hour.
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