Latin Pride Swells For Mystery Model Behind Oscar Statuette : Code Switch : NPR: The 8-pound, 24-carat-gold-plated statuette that will be handed out at the Academy Awards Sunday night is said to be modeled after a real man.
That man's name is not Oscar.
It might be Emilio, Emilio "El Indio" Fernandez. He was a famous Mexican director and actor who used to live in Hollywood in the 1920s. His nickname, "The Indian," came from the Kickapoo side of his family.
Ask old folks in Mexico City about him, and they'll tell you they love his movies. Especially Maria Candelaria,
the movie Fernandez wrote and directed that won the top prize at the
1946 Cannes Film Festival and put Mexican films on the world stage.
Ask them about Fernandez's stint as a model for the Oscar statuette and the answers vary.