Academy Surprises Former Child Star Hayley Mills By Replacing Her Stolen Oscar
In 1961, actress Hayley Mills won an Academy Award for the title role of “Pollyanna.” She was 14 years old, and the miniature version of ...
Read moreAcademy Surprises Former Child Star Hayley Mills By Replacing Her Stolen Oscar
Posted — UpdatedHowever, Mills didn’t know she had won. Not only did she fail to attend the ceremony, but her parents, actor Sir John Mills and writer Mary Hayley Bell, chose not to tell her at the time.
She didn’t seem to resent her parents for their decision.
Fellow child star Annette Funicello accepted the award on Mills’ behalf, and the young actress only learned about it after it was delivered.
The award spent a quarter of a century on the mantelpiece of her London home. Then, in the late 1980s, the Oscar went missing while Mills was in California filming the TV series, “Good Morning, Miss Bliss,” which later became “Saved by the Bell.” Presumed stolen, the statuette never resurfaced.
However, it would seem that the Academy later chose to make an exception. During a visit Mills made to tour the group’s Beverly Hills headquarters, AMPAS president David Rubin presented her with a full-size replacement Oscar, as shown in the Twitter post below from @TheAcademy.
The organization also shared a follow-up tweet with stills of the film for which Mills won the award.
“Hayley Mills as Pollyanna in @DisneyStudios “Pollyanna” (1960),” The Academy tweeted. “Mills won the Juvenile Oscar for her performance as Pollyanna. She was the last person and one of only 12 young actors to receive this award, a group that included Shirley Temple, Judy Garland, and Mickey Rooney.”
In the pictures, you can see how surprised and pleased Mills is to receive the replacement. Looks like her mantelpiece will be occupied by an Oscar statuette once again!
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