How did "Oscar" get it's name?

I think I was reading through the many "Jazz Singer" postings when it
was explained how the Academy Awards trophy got the nickname, "Oscar."

Can anyone save me the trouble of reading through the 100+ postings and
give me the answer to this question?

Thanks,

Rich Wagner

"Old Movie Fan" <BigMovieFan RemoveThis @webtv.net> wrote in message
news:25394-47234CC6-878@storefull-3137.bay.webtv.net...
> I think I was reading through the many "Jazz Singer" postings when it
> was explained how the Academy Awards trophy got the nickname, "Oscar."
>
> Can anyone save me the trouble of reading through the 100+ postings and
> give me the answer to this question?
>
>
Here's a cut-and-paste from Wikipedia:
"The official name of the Oscar statuette is the Academy Award of Merit.
Made of gold-plated britannium on a black metal base, it is 13.5 in (34 cm)
tall, weighs 8.5 lb (3.85 kg) and depicts a knight rendered in Art Deco
style holding a crusader's sword standing on a reel of film with five
spokes. The five spokes each represent the original branches of the Academy:
Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers and Technicians.[3] MGM's art director
Cedric Gibbons, one of the original Academy members, supervised the design
of the award trophy by printing the design on scroll.[4] In need of a model
for his statue Gibbons was introduced by his then wife Dolores del Río to
Emilio "El Indio" Fernández. Reluctant at first, Fernández was finally
convinced to pose naked to create what today it is known as the "Oscar".
Then sculptor George Stanley sculpted Gibbons' design in clay, and Alex
Smith cast the statue in tin and copper and then gold-plated it over a
composition of 92.5 percent tin and 7.5 percent copper. The only addition to
the Oscar since it was created is a minor streamlining of the base.
Approximately 40 Oscars are made each year in Chicago, Illinois by the
manufacturer, R.S. Owens. If they fail to meet strict quality control
standards, the statuettes are cut in half and melted down.[5]

The root of the name "Oscar" is contested. One biography of Bette Davis
claims that she named the Oscar after her first husband, bandleader Harmon
Oscar Nelson.[6] Another claimed origin is that of the Academy's Executive
Secretary, Margaret Herrick, who first saw the award in 1931 and made
reference of the statuette reminding her of her Uncle Oscar. Columnist
Sidney Skolsky was present during Herrick's naming and seized the name in
his byline, "Employees have affectionately dubbed their famous statuette
'Oscar'" (Levy 2003). Both Oscar and Academy Award are registered trademarks
of the Academy, fiercely protected through litigation and threats thereof."

Eric Stott