It is considered by most to be the most coveted award an entertainer can receive. Because of that, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences asks its winners to sign a contract stating the award will remain in their possession. If an entertainer dies and his or her heirs wish to sell the Oscar, they must first offer it to the Academy for $1.00. The Academy always buys the statue and locks it away in a vault. However, the Academy did not instigate this contract until 1951, making all Oscars received before 1951 eligible for sale. When these Oscars do come up for sale, they are highly desirable. Steven Spielberg bought Bette Davis’ Best Actress statue (for the film Jezebel) for $578,000 then generously returned it to the Academy. Spielberg also did the same thing with Clark Gable’s Best Actor award – this time paying $607,500 before returning it to the Academy. Michael Jackson purchased David o. Selznick’s Best Picture award for “Gone with the Wind” for $1.5 million in 1999 but kept it in his possession.
So I guess my point is, being the owner of an Oscar, unless you are the recipient, is almost impossible. However, the online auction house Mastro Auctions, planned to offer the 1944 Best Director Oscar won by Leo McCarey. Because of the rarity of this item, it caused quite a buzz with collectors and the media. The opening bid was set at $25,000, but the Oscar statue was expected to fetch over $100,000. There was only one problem…it was counterfeit.
Mastro Auctions was not entirely at fault though. They contacted the Academy for authentication after the current owner brought it to them for sale. A problem arose when McCarey’s daughter Mary claimed to have all three of his Oscars in her possession.
The Academy found the statue was actually made up of two mismatched parts. The base was authentic, but the original plate was removed and replaced with a newer plate. The top weighed a pound more than real statues do. This was considered a high quality counterfeit by the Academy and they plan to launch an investigation.
The sale of the statue, slated for August 6th, has been cancelled.