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From the archives: Oscars get ready for showtime

March 2, 1970: Cleave Sharry plates Oscar statuettes in layers of copper, nickel and gold at Dodge Trophies Inc. The Los Angeles company made the Academy Awards statuettes for decades. They're now made by a New York company.
(Larry Sharkey / Los Angeles Times)
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In 1970, it was all about the western. Actor John Wayne, the consummate cowboy, took an Oscar home for his role in “True Grit,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” earned several nominations and “Midnight Cowboy” won best picture.

The original March 25, 1970, caption reported that the process of creating an Academy Award statuette “is an involved one, including coating with layers of copper, nickel and gold.”

The 40 gold Oscars were given out at the Academy Awards ceremony on April 7,1970, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

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Starting in 1982, the golden statuettes were manufactured by R.S. Owens & Co., a Chicago-based awards company. In 2016 and this year, Polich Tallix Fine Art Foundry of Rock Tavern, N.Y., are making the statuettes.

These two photos by Larry Sharkey appeared in the March 25, 1970, Los Angeles Times.

The top image was original posted on July 16, 2010.

For more history on the Academy Awards, check out this timeline: The Academy Awards through the years.

March 2, 1970: Ralph Cumplido, removes an Oscar statuette from its mold at Dodge Trophies Inc. in Los Angeles.
(Larry Sharkey / Los Angeles Times)
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