Who Were Oscar, Tony and Emmy?

at the little known history behind these famous monikers. Oscar may be the most recognizable man in the world, but no one's really sure where this iconic gold plate statuettes name originated. Originally called the Academy Award of Merit, we mostly now know them as the Oscars. Oscars have been awarded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

annually since. And there's an equally persistent story about his nickname. Supposedly, not long after the statuette was sculpted Academy Library in Margaret Herrick equipped that he reminded her of her uncle Oscar. Harrick went on to become the Academy's executive director, carrying the nickname with her. By ninety nine, the Academy made Oscar's nickname official. Meanwhile, the Tony Award has been presented since nineteen forty seven by the American Theater Wing to

honor excellence in theater, and for nearly as long. Many have assumed that Tony is named for a guy, but the Tony Award is short for the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theater. In the early twentieth century, American theater production was dominated by men with money. Then along came Antoinette Perry, a born actress. Perry left finishing school in the early nineteen hundreds, rose from bit parts to leading lady, and eventually became the American theater industry's first

notable independent female producer and director. Until the nineteen seventies, Perry was the only female director with a track record of theatrical successes spanning five hundred or more performances, and her name lives on with the Tony Awards. Since nineteen forty nine, the Emmy Awards have been an annual tradition that recognizes excellence in television and more recently, emerging media.

The Emmy Awards are symbolized by gilded statuette depicting the feminine muse of art uplifting the electron of science that's according to the Academy of Television, Arts and Sciences and organization behind the awards. Originally, then Academy president Harry Lubka proposed Emmy as the award's name as a nod to a technical development that made television a household device. The image Orthocon camera tube, nicknamed the Emmy, was an integral

part of TVs at the time. But after seeing the spelt statuette, the Academy decided to call the award a more feminine Emmy. But what about the Grammys. In the late nineteen forties, handful of record company executives took part in a Hollywood beautification campaign that included selecting honorees for the Hollywood Walk of Fame. As the music executives talked, they bemoaned the fact that the Motion Picture Academy and Television Academy had Oscar and Emmy Awards, but they had

nothing to show for their efforts. Soon after, the Grammy was born as a way to honor excellence in the recording industry. The Grammy Awards is a gold plated replica of a gramophone, one of the earliest recording and record playing devices, a top of basse affixed with a personalized plate. Grammy spent her early years being called Eddie as a nod to Thomas Edison, who invented the gramophone. Eventually, however, she grew into her own nickname and is still called

Grammy today. Today's episode is based on the article Who were Oscar, Tony and Emmy? The Stories behind Entertainment Award Names on how stuff works dot Com written by Laurie l. Do. Brainstuff is production of I Heart Radio in partnership with how stuff Works dot Com, and it's produced by Tyler Clang. Four more podcasts from my heart Radio visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite show