[Daily Mail] A mystery Hollywood star has offered their Oscar as collateral in a bid to secure a $70,000 loan.
The film industry heartland has been abuzz with speculation as to who the hard-up headliner could be; the only clue being that he or she won the golden statuette before 1951.
It could mean the secret borrower is simply the relative of a famous actor or director who has since died after winning the gong during the Golden Age of cinema.
Despite costing just £250 ($400) to make, the gold pewter prizes handed out during the Academy Awards have far greater value on the rare occasions they come to auction, with Michael Jackson famously paying $1.5million for the 1939 Best Picture Oscar awarded to Gone with the Wind.
And one winner, or their family, has sought to make use of their valuable possession to get credit from ‘posh pawnbroker’ Borro.
WHO COULD IT BE? SOME FAMOUS OSCAR WINNERS BEFORE 1951
Katharine Hepburn (Best Actress, Morning Glory – 1934)
Clark Gable (Best Actor, It Happened One Night – 1935)
Victor Fleming (Best Director, Gone with the Wind – 1940)
Vivien Leigh (Best Actress, Gone with the Wind – 1940)
John Ford (Best Director, The Grapes of Wrath – 1941)
Ginger Rogers (Best Actress, Kitty Foyle – 1941)
James Stewart (Best Actor, The Philadelphia Story – 1941)
Joan Fontaine (Best Actress, Suspicion – 1942)
James Cagney (Best Actor, Yankee Doodle Dandy – 1943)
Bing Crosby (Best Actor, Going My Way – 1945)
Ingrid Bergman (Best Actress, pictured above right, Gaslight – 1945)
Joan Crawford (Best Actress, Mildred Pierce – 1946)
Olivia De Havilland (Best Actress, The Heiress – 1949)
The Oscar winner in this instance remains secret, with Borro unable to reveal their identity, but it can be narrowed down to someone based in America who got their award prior to 1951.
Only Oscars won before 1951 can actually be sold without the approval of the Academy as they belong to the individual winner. Awards won after this date technically belong to the Academy and winners must offer the Academy the chance to buy it back for just $1 before they can cash in.
Star who is pawning Oscar: