Ocar is the most celebrated night of Hollywood and the most anticipated awards of the season, started in 1929 and since then its iconic Oscar statues have become a high-water mark in terms of pageantry and the movies they honour.Did you know due to metal shortages during World War II, the Oscar statuettes were made of plaster for three years? Well, now you do. here’s looking at the lesser-known facts about the Oscars.

Intro

The name 'Oscar': The statuette of the Academy Awards is better known as 'Oscar'. However, the origin of the name is uncertain. Among the couple of stories explaining the origin of the nickname, one popular story goes that the librarian and eventual executive director of the Academy, Margaret Herrick, remarked that the statuette resembled her Uncle Oscar. The nickname was officially adopted by the Academy only in 1939, though Hollywood columnist Sidney Skolsky used it in a piece referring to Katharine Hepburn’s first Best Actress win in 1934.

1. The first Oscars ceremony lasted for 15 minutes only

The first-ever Academy Awards, which took place in 1929, lasted only 15 minutes. The ceremony honoured films released from August 1, 1927 till July 31, 1928. The award ceremony, which was attended by only 270 guests, was not broadcast on any platform. Interestingly, 'Oscar' was adopted as the official term for the trophy ten years after the inaugural ceremony.

2. The statuette has an official name

It's been said that Academy librarian and eventual executive director Margaret Herrick thought the statue resembled her Uncle Oscar. In 1934, Sidney Skolsky used the name in his Hollywood column to describe Katharine Hepburn’s first best actress win. The name caught on and the Academy made the name official in 1939. The Oscar was first officially named the Academy Award of Merit. It stands 13.5 inches tall and weighs 8.5 pounds.

3. NASA's satellite and Oscars are made up of same gold

While @TheAcademy honors the brightest stars in Hollywood, our satellites & telescopes glimpse the brightest stars in the galaxy. Both have something in common though. Our telescopes & the #Oscars trophies are both plated with the same gold!

4. A naked photographer arrived on the stage in 1974

A photographer Robert Opel ran naked across the stage at the Oscars 1974. Actor David Niven was on the stage at that time, and he hilariously marked this moment with an epic statement, "Isn't it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings?"

5. Neil Patrick Harris in his underwear

During Sunday's Academy Awards, host NPH basically lived your worst nightmare by appearing on stage, in front of Hollywood royalty, in his very revealing tighty-whities.Harris was recreating the underwear scene from Birdman — with a quick nod to Whiplash — but the Internet was a little distracted to notice the parody part of the sketch.

6. The youngest Oscar winner

Tatum O'Neal, who won best supporting actress at age 10 in 1974 for her role in Paper Moon, which she starred in alongside her father Ryan O'Neal.

7. First hand-painted film nominated for an Oscar

Loving Vincent" is the world's first animated feature film painted by hand -- all 65,000 frames -- in the distinct style of Vincent van Gogh. Centered on a probe into his untimely death, the film was shot on a shoestring budget of $5.5 million. That is 30 times less than Disney's "Coco," one of the film's four Oscar rivals.For director Dorota Kobiela, "Loving Vincent" has been a seven-year labor of love combining her twin passions of cinema and painting.

8. Oldest Oscar winner

The big win of the night went to the 89-year-old James Ivory, who won the Best Adapted Screenplay award for his work on Call Me by Your Name, which he adapted from André Aciman’s 2007 novel.

9. Oscar family

In the year 1972 when Liza Minnelli won the Academy Awards for her film Cabaret, she became the only Oscar recipient whose parents were Oscars winners too.

10. The first woman to win the Best Director award

In the year 2009, Kathryn Bigelow became the first female to win the Academy Awards in the Best Director category for her film, The Hurt Locker.

11. First X-rated film to win a Best Picture Oscar

Midnight Cowboy (1969) is the first X-Rated film to win an Oscar.

12. Longest film to win an Oscars

Gone with the Wind is the longest Academy Award winner for Best Picture, only two minutes shy of four hours length in duration. It is the first film to boast an Oscar winner who gave the longest performance on screen. At 2 hours and 23 minutes, Vivien Leigh’s portrayal of the film’s heroine, Scarlett O’Hara, earned her the Best Actress Oscar in 1940.

13. First deaf winner of the Academy Awards

Marlee Beth Matlin won the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for Children of a Lesser God (1986) and to date is the only deaf performer to have won the award.

14. Most wins by any film oscar

There are three most successful films in history for most Oscars wins. Titanic (1997)Awards Won: 11 of 14 nominations, Ben-Hur (1959)Awards Won: 11 of 12 nominations and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) Awards Won: 11 of 11 nominations.

15. Longest Oscars show

The most extended Oscars show ran for four hours and 26 minutes to be precise. Whoopi Goldberg hosted the event in the year 2002.

16. Most Oscars won and most nominations

Walt Disney won 22 competitive Academy Awards and a further four honoraries, beginning with the short Flowers and Trees in 1932 and ending with the posthumous Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day in 1969. He also received the most nominations – a whopping 59.

Reference: Cluebees