The auction of late actress Joan Fontaine’s 1941 Oscar has been withdrawn after threats of a lawsuit from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, according to Fontaine’s estate. The $200,000 to $300,000 expected selling price for the Oscar was intended to be donated to the Monterey, California SPCA, which her estate believes is consistent with Fontaine’s wishes. The requirement that Oscars must first be offered to the Academy at a sales price of $1 came into effect after Fontaine won her Oscar. The Academy has not confirmed the estate’s claims that they blocked the sale with threats of legal action.
See Chris Michaud, Joan Fontaine Estate Pulls Oscar Sale Under Threat of Lawsuit, Reuters, Dec. 11, 2014.
