This is what I found:MGM’s art director Cedric Gibbons, one of the original Academy members, supervised the design of the award trophy by printing the design on scroll. Then sculptor George Stanley sculpted Gibbons' design in clay, and Alex Smith cast the statue in tin and copper and then gold-plated it.It is rumored that Emilio Fernandez was the model, but I haven't heard that verified yet. I've heard various other actors rumored. Remember how far back the Academy Awards and Oscars go!I found this at IMDb, so I guess this might verify that rumor though I must say that I never heard that Chaplin posed and definitely would doubt that:He served as the model for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences First Award of Merit statuette (later called the Academy Award). While in exile in Los Angeles after a failed military revolt back in his native Mexico, actress Dolores del Rio -- a native of Mexico -- thought his physique would be perfect for the Crusader Knight her husband, the art designer Cedric Gibbons, had sketched out as the basis of the award he had been tasked with creating. Del Rio introduced Fernández to Gibbons with the idea of him being the model for the Knight, whom Gibbons envisioned as being totally in the buff. Though reluctant at first, Fernández finally was convinced to pose naked to create what today it is known as the "Oscar".
