The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles recently opened its doors to the public.
This museum, a project that has been years in the making by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, is a tribute to the world of film, showcasing artifacts that highlight the history, science, and cultural impact of the industry.
Among the various exhibitions is the Academy Awards History gallery, which made its debut on the opening day.
Visitors are drawn to the gallery's opulent golden rotunda, lined with a semicircle of 20 glass-encased Oscar statuettes.
Each statuette represents a significant win in Academy history, such as Clark Gable's best actor award for “It Happened One Night” in 1934, Sidney Poitier's historic best actor award for “Lilies In the Field” in 1963, and Richard Edlund's 1978 Oscar for the visual effects in “Star Wars.”
However, amidst the grandeur of the room dedicated to cinema lies an empty glass case.
The accompanying placard states that the case is reserved for Hattie McDaniel's Academy Award for her supporting role as Mammy in the 1939 film “Gone With the Wind.”
McDaniel, who spent part of her childhood in Fort Collins, made history as the first Black performer to win an Academy Award.
But for the past half century, the Oscar has been missing.
Hattie McDaniel's Oscar was not the typical tall, gold-plated statuette that comes to mind.
According to a research paper by W. Burlette Carter, a professor at The George Washington University Law School, the award for supporting actors and actresses in 1940 was a plaque fixed to a small base with a molded image of a miniature Oscar and a description of the award.
When McDaniel won her Oscar, she placed it on the lectern in front of her as applause filled the Cocoanut Grove night club.
She declared it to be one of the happiest moments of her life and vowed to hold it as a beacon for her future endeavors.
After her win, McDaniel took the Oscar with her when she moved into a Mediterranean mansion in L.A.'s Sugar Hill neighborhood.
Decades later, the children of McDaniel's secretary recalled seeing the Oscar tucked away in a room where the actress kept important items.
When McDaniel passed away in 1952, she left her Oscar to Howard University, where it eventually found its way to the department of theater arts.
However, there are no official records of its receipt, according to Carter's research.
The exact path of the Oscar remains a mystery, but using probate records and university reports, Carter speculates that it may have been gifted to Howard University by actor Leigh Whipper, who knew McDaniel and had connections to the school.
The Oscar was possibly displayed alongside other donated items in the drama department's “green room.”
There are numerous rumors and theories about the disappearance of Hattie McDaniel's Oscar.
Some suggest that it was stolen or removed for safekeeping during student protests at Howard University in the
