Stacy Conradt
The Quick 10: Where 10 Oscar Winners Keep the Little Guy
by Stacy Conradt - March 3, 2010 - 5:03 PM

q10

Don’t you wonder what in the heck you would do with an Oscar if you won it? Does it go in a trophy case? Do you just casually display it as a bookend? Keep it in your office? Give it to your mom? The answer depends on the recipient of the Oscar, of course. Here’s where 10 Academy Award winners keep their little golden guys.

1. In the fridge. This one is my favorite. Timothy Hutton won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Ordinary People in 1981. He recently said he and his sister were having a party at his house a few years ago when she decided to stick his Oscar in the fridge so that people going to grab a beer would be entertained. He enjoyed the joke and has kept it there ever since.

stewart2. At his dad’s hardware store. Patrons of the J.M. Stewart & Co. hardware store in Indiana, Pennsylvania, probably wouldn’t have been that surprised to find an Academy Award hanging out amongst the saws and paintbrushes. When Jimmy Stewart won his Oscar in 1941 for his lead role in The Philadelphia Story, he promptly sent his award to his father, who displayed it in the family store for 25 years.

3. At home, dressed up in Barbie clothes. John Lasseter of Pixar has two Oscars under his belt – Best Animated Short (“Tin Toy” in 1989) and a Special Achievement Award for Toy Story in 1996. “We discovered that Barbie clothes actually fit pretty well,” he once commented. “Oscar’s shoulders are a little broader, so we let them out a little.” I guess that happens when you have five kids.

4. In the underwear drawer. Because that’s where you keep all valuables, isn’t it? After Kevin Costner won Best Director for Dances with Wolves in 1991 (it also won Best Picture), he stashed his award in his underwear drawer for a few years. He has since had a trophy case built and keeps Oscar in there. Do you suppose he keeps his Razzie for The Postman in there as well? I would.

5. On the dresser, used as a hat stand. I suppose when you start racking up the Oscars like Jack Nicholson has, you have to find inventive uses for them. Rumor has it Jack uses one of his three to hold a chapeau or two.

6. At grandma’s house. Until his grandma turned 100, Isaac Hayes’ Oscar (he won in ’72 for the theme song to Shaft) lived at her house. She gave it back to him on her 100th birthday and he displayed it at his restaurant in Memphis after that.

reese7. In the living room. The location isn’t necessarily unusual, but the fact that Reese Witherspoon keeps it accessible so friends can practice their acceptance speeches is pretty fun. She won Best Actress for her role as June Carter Cash in 2005’s Walk the Line.

8. On an “especially constructed shelf in my boudoir.” Olivia de Havilland won a pair of Best Actress Oscars in the ‘40s – one for To Each His Own and one for The Heiress. When a fan wrote her and asked where she was keeping her awards, she replied with a letter that said, “I am looking at them now– they stand upon an especially constructed shelf in my boudoir and behind them, framed, are the five Certificates of Nominations.”

9. At the beach. OK, so Penelope Cruz doesn’t keep her Oscar at the beach, but she definitely took him to the beach. “I have it in my house in Spain and I still haven’t found the right place for it,” she told a reporter on the set of Nine, “but, for the first month after I won it, I was so excited about it that I took it everywhere with me. I took it — this is true — I took it to the beach one day.”

10. In the library. Speaking of Nine, Penelope’s costar in the movie, Sophia Loren, didn’t think much of Oscar taking a trip to the beach. “It’s very heavy, and it doesn’t float,” she commented during the same interview. Sophia prefers to keep hers in the library.

Where would you keep your Oscar? Or if we have any readers who actually have an Oscar, feel free to enlighten us as to where yours is located. I love the idea of keeping it in the fridge, but I’d hate to be a copycat.

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Comments (62)

  1. I like the hat rack idea, but if it were mine I would use it as a paperweight or door stop. Or keep it in the bathroom on the toilet tank like Meryl Streep almost did with hers.

    posted by Mark on 3-3-2010 at 5:20 pm

  2. Great post, Stacy! I’d have a beer with Timothy Hutton’s Oscar any day.

    posted by Adam on 3-3-2010 at 5:20 pm

  3. I’d put it on my bookcase – the special one that swings around to reveal a secret room! I mean, that’s the bookcase I WOULD have after I raked in the post-Oscar dough. I’d probably turn the little guy into the switch for it as well.

    posted by Bert on 3-3-2010 at 5:25 pm

  4. In an audience Q&A skit on SNL’s 25th anniversary special, Tom Hanks jokingly claimed he had a row of them on the back wall of the garage to keep him from pulling the car in too far.

    posted by John Carney on 3-3-2010 at 5:47 pm

  5. A family friend of ours keeps his on the bookshelf. They are way heavier than you would normally think.

    posted by P on 3-3-2010 at 6:21 pm

  6. SO funny about Timothy Hutton’s idea! I LOVE it though. It’s so clever! I would probably keep it on shelf that my parent’s have in their house where other miscellaneous items are kept. It could sit next to the old cough medicine bottle that my dad has(ingredient label attatched, proudly stating it has heroine in it as the main ingredient). I like that idea a lot, an Oscar next to heroine…

    posted by tess on 3-3-2010 at 6:33 pm

  7. I don’t have a comment, but when I read the recaptcha, I had to post something

    compost races

    sing with me now! compost races sing this song doo dah doo dah.
    compost races five miles long all doo dah day!

    LOL

    posted by JOHN THE THIRD on 3-3-2010 at 6:36 pm

  8. I heard Kate Winslet keeps hers in her bathroom so guests can see it when they’re going to the loo.

    posted by singas on 3-3-2010 at 6:43 pm

  9. If I won an Oscar, my mother would make a HAT out of it and wear it every where! She would hire town cryers to walk in front of her to call attention to it.

    posted by Jan D on 3-3-2010 at 7:25 pm

  10. In the bathroom of course!

    Although, I think the fridge would be my next bet.

    posted by MJ on 3-3-2010 at 7:36 pm

  11. I guess I had never really thought about it, but I think Bert’s idea with the revolving bookcase is fabulous!

    Honestly, if I had to put it anywhere, I probably wouldn’t be too creative with its placement. The mantle sounds fine to me. Plus, my friends would have way too much fun practicing their acceptance speeches too.

    posted by Jess on 3-3-2010 at 7:45 pm

  12. @jan
    If I won an Oscar I would do the same as your mother. I especially like the idea of the town criers.

    (has anyone tried out the audio recapicha–it is rather…interesting.
    misplaced eyebrow you stuck on my upper lip)

    posted by veetie on 3-3-2010 at 7:57 pm

  13. First of all, what a nice post!!!

    For second, i´m pretty sure that my local IKEA have some Oscar holder with a fancy Swedish name.

    In case they don´t have it, it could be a nice table center piece.

    posted by omarzarzuela on 3-3-2010 at 8:08 pm

  14. i like the barbie clothes thing =) too cute

    recap no fifth

    posted by karina on 3-3-2010 at 9:09 pm

  15. I’d keep it right next to my Dundie.

    posted by KerriD on 3-3-2010 at 9:14 pm

  16. I’d probably stick it inside my Hogwarts model (in the courtyard)…but not before showing it off at school.

    posted by Em on 3-3-2010 at 9:15 pm

  17. It’s probably a bit heavy to make into a dog toy, huh?

    I bet you could make a nifty clock out of it.

    posted by G on 3-3-2010 at 9:18 pm

  18. I’d put mine in the cereal cabinet. Breakfast of champions.

    J

    posted by Jen on 3-3-2010 at 9:19 pm

  19. I borrowed an Oscar once (no, shut up, I DID) and for the three days I had it with me it was on my kitchen counter. By the end of the third day, I was using it as a paperweight to hold down a small stack of bills.

    I don’t have any Oscars of my own, but I have two Hugos, which are rocket-shaped awards for science fiction writing. One of them I keep in my office, with a stuffed animal(specifically a headcrab from the Half-Life video game) impaled on the tip. The other is in my daughter’s room because she asked if she could have it. I said sure, because why not.

    posted by John Scalzi on 3-3-2010 at 9:20 pm

  20. i have heard about the bathroom… so guests can practice their acceptance speech in the mirror.

    posted by Marty on 3-3-2010 at 9:23 pm

  21. I’d have to go with putting it in that drawer everybody has in their kitchen full of everything, nothing, and exactly what you need at the same time. That way, if I were looking for something and thinking of the last time I saw it, I’d probably remember seeing the Oscar in the background and know exactly where to look.

    For a more entertaining idea, I’d say loan it to, perhaps, a University theatre department and insist that it somehow be included on every single set they make for ten years or something, just for kicks and to entertain the local community.

    posted by Jeff on 3-3-2010 at 10:18 pm

  22. A friend of mine used to have a game the whole family played called Hide the Flamingo. If you found the plastic lawn flamingo, you had to find a new hiding place for it.
    If I had an Oscar, I would probably play that game with it

    posted by james on 3-3-2010 at 10:54 pm

  23. @Jeff

    Every play would find some way to include it with the line “What? This old thing?”

    I might go with a display table with a small village of huts built around it and the villagers bowing and bringing sacrifices to it.

    posted by Dunkelfester on 3-3-2010 at 11:09 pm

  24. i read kate winslet keeps hers in the bathroom, so people don’t have to be embarrassed by asking her to see it.

    posted by mikey on 3-4-2010 at 12:55 am

  25. I like James’ hide the flamingo idea.

    Me, I have a decent sized collection of Nutcrackers on a high shelf you can’t get to without a ladder. I’d stick it dead center and let people wonder.

    posted by Sam on 3-4-2010 at 1:12 am

  26. I love the idea of having an Oscar in an odd place. I think if I had one I would put it in a cabinet or dresser drawer of some sort.

    I think it would be a cool thing to look at when I am getting ready in the morning! Like, “hey I have an Oscar, and I am brushing my teeth.”

    posted by Kassie on 3-4-2010 at 2:11 am

  27. I put my oscar of the front of my grandma’s walker…it would be a Walker Oscar, Oscar Walker?

    posted by Alicia on 3-4-2010 at 2:21 am

  28. John Scalzi I clicked on the link on your name. Your Oscar story made me smile. I think your right, EVERYONE has an Oscar speech. Sometimes I practice mine in the shower before embarking on a particularly taxing day.

    posted by kat on 3-4-2010 at 3:01 am

  29. Oh, next to the coffee pot, so my mother would be reminded of it when she goes to get her morning cup of joe.

    posted by Aya on 3-4-2010 at 4:41 am

  30. I always thought they’d make a nice hood ornament.

    posted by Rod on 3-4-2010 at 6:58 am

  31. I’d turn it into a portkey

    posted by A Nerd on 3-4-2010 at 7:49 am

  32. Like Rod said earlier. Turn it into a hood ornament. But it would be coolest if you bought a really junky, crappy car all rusted out and banged up. Then cruise through Hollywood in it with the Oscar attached as a hood ornament. That would be pretty sweet.

    posted by Eric on 3-4-2010 at 8:15 am

  33. i’d keep mine in my kitchen on top of my fridge between my 2 knife blocks.

    recaptcha: committee yuck (lolz)

    posted by jen on 3-4-2010 at 8:38 am

  34. If I won an Oscar then I would keep it in the microwave because I love to eat and eventually I would eat it! I would make love to it beforehand though, with some whip cream, because Oscar deserves some loving!!! Over and out!

    posted by Lulu Rutherford on 3-4-2010 at 9:17 am

  35. Drill a hole in the bottom and use it as a gearshift knob. That would be sweet!

    posted by Ben on 3-4-2010 at 9:26 am

  36. Ben, Excellent idea. I was thinking hood ornament myself, but that would probably make it a target for theft.

    posted by Bubba on 3-4-2010 at 9:40 am

  37. In keeping with Bert’s idea of post-Oscar royalties… I’d probably keep mine in the fridge. In the bathroom.

    posted by Roger on 3-4-2010 at 9:43 am

  38. I would use it as a paperweight, but only for my stack of rejection letters.

    posted by EMStoveken on 3-4-2010 at 9:44 am

  39. What about Tom Hanks?! He said he keeps one in the bathroom I think.

    posted by don on 3-4-2010 at 10:10 am

  40. come on, a nerd. Portkeys are made from common everyday items. An oscar is horcrux material! ; )

    posted by a bigger nerd on 3-4-2010 at 10:20 am

  41. Bob Dylan won an Oscar for the song “Things Have Changed,” which was written for the movie WONDER BOYS. He takes his on tour with him and always puts it on one of the speakers up front.

    posted by Jenny on 3-4-2010 at 10:24 am

  42. I’d weld mine to the hood of my car. :-D

    posted by Kate on 3-4-2010 at 10:33 am

  43. Wear it on a gold chain, ala an 80′s rapper.

    posted by geo on 3-4-2010 at 11:02 am

  44. I have a china closet that’s been handed down generations. On the top of it are things that are too tall to fit in, but are precious (candle sticks, vase or 2, a figurine of a fiddler). I’d put it up there with the fiddler standing next to it.

    posted by hannah on 3-4-2010 at 11:03 am

  45. I would fasten some sort of stroller like rich people do for dogs and I would walk it everyday.

    posted by random person on 3-4-2010 at 11:21 am

  46. My friend’s father has won both an Emmy and an Oscar… he keeps the Emmy in the basement on a shelf, but the Oscar is is on their toilet tank! I’ve been at his house twice, and both times I’ve gone to the bathroom just to get a look at it and hold it; it’s REALLY heavy! The second time I made sure to take a picture, haha. I think it’s far and away the coolest place I’ve heard of to keep an Academy Award.

    posted by Jenna on 3-4-2010 at 11:54 am

  47. Right now I would stick it on my dresser and surround it with the American Girl dolls I have.

    When I finally move to Seattle I would put it on the coffee table next to the giant pet rock.

    posted by Anne on 3-4-2010 at 11:54 am

  48. You know all those stories about people who steal garden gnomes and take them to various places around the world and take pictures…I would totally do that with my Oscar. I would send it traveling with friends and family and get it’s picture taken in front of every two-bit tourist trap and scenic overview that exists.

    posted by Geo on 3-4-2010 at 12:10 pm

  49. It would probably end up as a paperweight, or “travel” through various locations in my office it constantly gets in my way.

    posted by Heather on 3-4-2010 at 12:20 pm

  50. @ Lulu Rutherford: I actually read a book a couple of years ago in which a character…um…pleasured herself with her Oscar. I think she also used it as a doorstop.

    posted by Shannon on 3-4-2010 at 1:07 pm

  51. I once heard that the Oscar on display in Jimmy Stewart’s dad’s hardware store had ‘Philadelphia’ misspelled. The hardware store was also located on Philadelphia Street.

    posted by Allison on 3-4-2010 at 1:50 pm

  52. Since Julia Roberts won an Oscar, I wouldn’t need a place for one if I won because I’d just give it back. Somehow it’s lost all meaning.

    posted by Max on 3-4-2010 at 2:01 pm

  53. I’d probably put it under the sheets in the guest room. That way, when guests wonder why the bed’s all lumpy, I could pull it out and be like, “Yeah, sorry, that’s my Oscar” and then just walk away.

    posted by Megan on 3-4-2010 at 2:26 pm

  54. I’d probably make like the Pixar dude and dress it up in a sassy little outfit. Something tells me that the clothes from my old Jem and the Holograms dolls (which were quite a bit broader in the shoulders than Barbie) would be a perfect fit! It would be an incentive to win at least 5 Oscars so I could dress each one in a different Hologram’s outfit, complete with awesome plastic guitar, and display the “band” on my mantel or coffee table.

    posted by FizzyGurrl on 3-4-2010 at 2:31 pm

  55. @FizzyGurrl:

    Truly Outrageous!

    You are my new hero. :-)

    posted by rayvensmoon on 3-4-2010 at 4:42 pm

  56. I would mount it on my closet door to use as a door handle….to give a little bit of good luck every morning.

    posted by justcallmejo on 3-4-2010 at 4:45 pm

  57. @Fizzy Girl

    Wouldn’t you be worried that Jem’s rivals, The Misfits would try to steal it out of jealousy?

    “We are The Misfits. Our songs are better!”

    Railroad Decisive

    posted by Andrew on 3-4-2010 at 6:28 pm

  58. I probably use it as a door stopper.
    Or as a book holder upper.

    posted by Ellie on 3-4-2010 at 7:12 pm

  59. I can’t believe no one has suggested this. I would keep mine in the bathroom, but I would put it in the bathroom cabinet. You know how people use your bathroom and ALWAYS look in the bathroom cabinet (‘fess up, you know you do it)? That way, when people came over and used the bathroom, and poked their noses in, they’d get a surprise. Preferably they wouldn’t have known I’d won it, so I could tell by their flabbergasted expressions when they’d been snooping.

    posted by Kate H on 3-4-2010 at 11:54 pm

  60. Somewhere in the bathroom… coz even every guest goes to the bathroom, but maybe doesn’t drink a beer from the fridge.

    –

    Also: My diploma hangs in the bathroom. True story. Where else? ^^

    posted by Jim on 3-7-2010 at 8:11 am

  61. I wonder how many actresses use them as sex toys?

    posted by Brent on 3-7-2010 at 11:02 am

  62. Should I ever get an Oscar, or any other trophy-type award, I will probably mount it in my bedroom, upside down on the ceiling.

    posted by Jae on 3-7-2010 at 6:31 pm

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