Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of I Heart Radio. Hey, Brainstuff.
Speaker 1: Floren Vogelbaum here, Oscar, Emmy, Tony. These are familiar names
Speaker 1: in the entertainment industry, especially when it comes to prestigious awards.
Speaker 1: The origin stories behind these names, however, can be uncharted
Speaker 1: territory for even their biggest fans. So today let's look
Speaker 1: at the little known history behind these famous monikers. Oscar
Speaker 1: may be the most recognizable man in the world, but
Speaker 1: no one's really sure where this iconic gold plate statuettes
Speaker 1: name originated. Originally called the Academy Award of Merit, we
Speaker 1: mostly now know them as the Oscars. Oscars have been
Speaker 1: awarded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Speaker 1: annually since. And there's an equally persistent story about his nickname. Supposedly,
Speaker 1: not long after the statuette was sculpted Academy Library in
Speaker 1: Margaret Herrick equipped that he reminded her of her uncle Oscar.
Speaker 1: Harrick went on to become the Academy's executive director, carrying
Speaker 1: the nickname with her. By ninety nine, the Academy made
Speaker 1: Oscar's nickname official. Meanwhile, the Tony Award has been presented
Speaker 1: since nineteen forty seven by the American Theater Wing to
Speaker 1: honor excellence in theater, and for nearly as long. Many
Speaker 1: have assumed that Tony is named for a guy, but
Speaker 1: the Tony Award is short for the Antoinette Perry Award
Speaker 1: for Excellence in Theater. In the early twentieth century, American
Speaker 1: theater production was dominated by men with money. Then along
Speaker 1: came Antoinette Perry, a born actress. Perry left finishing school
Speaker 1: in the early nineteen hundreds, rose from bit parts to
Speaker 1: leading lady, and eventually became the American theater industry's first
Speaker 1: notable independent female producer and director. Until the nineteen seventies,
Speaker 1: Perry was the only female director with a track record
Speaker 1: of theatrical successes spanning five hundred or more performances, and
Speaker 1: her name lives on with the Tony Awards. Since nineteen
Speaker 1: forty nine, the Emmy Awards have been an annual tradition
Speaker 1: that recognizes excellence in television and more recently, emerging media.
Speaker 1: The Emmy Awards are symbolized by gilded statuette depicting the
Speaker 1: feminine muse of art uplifting the electron of science that's
Speaker 1: according to the Academy of Television, Arts and Sciences and
Speaker 1: organization behind the awards. Originally, then Academy president Harry Lubka
Speaker 1: proposed Emmy as the award's name as a nod to
Speaker 1: a technical development that made television a household device. The
Speaker 1: image Orthocon camera tube, nicknamed the Emmy, was an integral
Speaker 1: part of TVs at the time. But after seeing the
Speaker 1: spelt statuette, the Academy decided to call the award a
Speaker 1: more feminine Emmy. But what about the Grammys. In the
Speaker 1: late nineteen forties, handful of record company executives took part
Speaker 1: in a Hollywood beautification campaign that included selecting honorees for
Speaker 1: the Hollywood Walk of Fame. As the music executives talked,
Speaker 1: they bemoaned the fact that the Motion Picture Academy and
Speaker 1: Television Academy had Oscar and Emmy Awards, but they had
Speaker 1: nothing to show for their efforts. Soon after, the Grammy
Speaker 1: was born as a way to honor excellence in the
Speaker 1: recording industry. The Grammy Awards is a gold plated replica
Speaker 1: of a gramophone, one of the earliest recording and record
Speaker 1: playing devices, a top of basse affixed with a personalized plate.
Speaker 1: Grammy spent her early years being called Eddie as a
Speaker 1: nod to Thomas Edison, who invented the gramophone. Eventually, however,
Speaker 1: she grew into her own nickname and is still called
Speaker 1: Grammy today. Today's episode is based on the article Who
Speaker 1: were Oscar, Tony and Emmy? The Stories behind Entertainment Award
Speaker 1: Names on how stuff works dot Com written by Laurie l. Do.
Speaker 1: Brainstuff is production of I Heart Radio in partnership with
Speaker 1: how stuff Works dot Com, and it's produced by Tyler Clang.
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