Congratulations to Katie Grimm, Matinee Madam of the year! Katie selected the most winning categories at Connie Lowry’s Academy Awards Brunch for the Matinee Madams on Feb. 19. Everyone attending brought a breakfast dish to share and there was some wonderful Food enjoyed by all.
As the group entered Connie’s home they were given a silver necklace and walked down a red carpet with a strobe light; a taste of Hollywood in Charlotte.
Ballots were distributed and all voted for the following categories; Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Motion Picture, Best Original Song and Best Foreign Film. Connie collected the ballots and after the Academy Awards the following Sunday night she tallied the votes and announced our winner: Katie Grimm! She will receive and Oscar, donated by Janet Lyall.
Following the brunch, Connie organized a game to test everyone’s knowledge of movies. It was great fun and everyone learned a lot. Perhaps, most interesting was a bit of history about “the Oscar.”
It has been said that Academy librarian and eventual executive director Margaret Herrick thought the Statue resembled her Uncle Oscar. In 1934, Sidney Skolsky used the name in his Hollywood column to describe Katherine Hepburn’s first Best Actress win. The name caught on and the Academy made the name official in 1939.
The Oscar was first officially named the Academy Award of Merit. It stands 13.5 inches tall and weighs 8.5 pounds.
This group sees a movie together once a month and takes turns selecting the movie. The Academy Award Brunch will become an annual event. If you would like to join the Matinee Madams, contact Kathleen Juhl at mkjuhl@cs.com or 704.390.6644.