The Academy agreed to replace Hattie McDaniel’s missing, historic Oscar from 1940 in an unprecedented move Tuesday.
The award was issued at the 12th Academy Awards, and made McDaniel the first Black person to ever take home an Oscar, according to People. She was honored for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the legendary film “Gone with the Wind,” but the whereabouts of her original trophy have been unknown for years.
McDaniel beat costar Olivia de Havilland in a win for her performance as Scarlett O’Hara’s (Vivien Leigh) maid Mammy in the 1939 Civil War film.
“McDaniel bequeathed her Academy Award to Howard University upon her death in 1952. The award was displayed at the university’s drama department until the late 1960s,” the Academy said in their release.
The award was supposed to be donated to Howard University after death in 1952, at the age of 59, in accordance with her will.
Several theories about what happened to McDaniel’s plaque have surfaced over the years, and multiple investigations were launched in an attempt to locate the historic hardware. At one point it was suggested that student activists tossed it into the Potomac River as part of a protest in the late 1960s, according to People.
Howard University was among the numerous groups that requested a replacement of the Oscar be issued, but this goes against the Academy’s rules.
“The Academy will gift to the Howard University Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts a replacement of actor Hattie McDaniel’s Best Supporting Actress Academy Award,” they wrote in their official release, according to People.
“Howard University will host a ceremony titled ‘Hattie’s Come Home’ at its Ira Aldridge Theater in Washington, D.C., on October 1, 2023,” they said. (RELATED: Richard Dreyfuss Slams Academy Award Diversity Requirements)
“McDaniel’s award stands out in Academy history; it would be 51 years before another Black woman would win an acting Oscar,” the Academy said, according to People.
Jacqueline Stewart, Ph.D., Director and President of the Academy Museum, and Academy CEO Bill Kramer called McDaniel “a groundbreaking artist who changed the course of cinema and impacted generations of performers who followed her,” as they announced the replacement would be issued.