This photo, taken February 27, 1935, shows Paducah native Irvin S. Cobb handing an honorary Oscar to a six-year-old Shirley Temple, the youngest Oscar recipient ever. Cobb, a famous writer, humorist and columnist in the1920s, 30s and 40s, served as Host for the 6th Academy Awards at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles.
This photo, taken February 27, 1935, shows Paducah native Irvin S. Cobb handing an honorary Oscar to a six-year-old Shirley Temple, the youngest Oscar recipient ever. Cobb, a famous writer, humorist and columnist in the1920s, 30s and 40s, served as Host for the 6th Academy Awards at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles.
Cobb was born in Paducah, and many of his novels and short stories were based on people and situations he grew up with in Paducah. In the mid-1930s, director John Ford made two films based on Cobb’s Judge Priest stories: Judge Priest starring Will Rogers and also The Sun Shines Bright. Cobb also starred in the movie Steamboat Round the Bend with Rogers, playing the captain of a riverboat named Pride of Paducah. Cobb made 10 other films between 1932 and 1938.
Photo Credit: The Academy Awards: The Complete Unofficial History