September 12, 2001

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Leslie Unger - (310) 247-3000

Beverly Hills, CA - Academy Award^®-winning actor Kevin Spacey has purchased at auction an Oscar statuette presented in 1945 to composer George Stoll for "Anchors Aweigh" and will be returning it to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Academy Foundation.

Spacey was an anonymous bidder in the Butterfields auction held Monday (Sept. 10) in Los Angeles. "I respect the Academy and the integrity of the Awards it presents," said Spacey. "And I feel strongly that Academy Awards should belong to those who have earned them -- not those who simply have the financial means to acquire them."

Academy President Frank Pierson, himself an Oscar winner, said he was surprised and touched by Spacey's generous act. "It's a regrettable fact that some statuettes find their way to auction blocks," said Pierson. "It's heartening to know, though, that there are people in the film community, like Kevin, who value what the Oscar statuette symbolizes and are willing to take action to keep them from becoming 'collectibles'."

Only Academy Awards distributed prior to 1950 generally reach the auction block. Since 1950, recipients have signed standard agreements that neither they nor their heirs will sell the statuette.