WASHINGTON, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- The Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences has notified Washington's Howard University that it's not going to replace Hattie McDaniel's Oscar.
McDaniel won her award for supporting actress in "Gone with the Wind" and left it to the university in her will, Daily Variety reported. The statuette disappeared in the 1960s.
The school asked the academy for a replacement, but received a letter late last week stating it "rarely reissues statuettes when the actual recipient asks for a replacement. We have never replaced a statuette that has fallen out of the care of an inheriting individual or institution."
In his letter, academy executive director Bruce Davis told the school if the award "should crop up on eBay," the academy will use "the available legal means" to return it to Howard.
Howard Theater Arts Department Chairman Joe Selmon told Variety Davis' letter was "fair and sensitive," but added "there are no leads" to the Oscar's whereabouts.
