Oscar

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Patricia Neal, the willowy, husky-voiced actress who won an Academy Award for 1963's "Hud" and then survived several strokes to continue acting, died on Sunday. She was 84. Neal had lung cancer and died surrounded by her family at her home in Edgartown, Mass., on Martha's Vineyard. "She faced her final illness as she had all of the many trials she endured: with indomitable grace, good humor and a great deal of her self-described stubbornness," her family said in a statement.

Will Meryl Streep win her third Oscar with her 14th nomination? Will Martin Scorsese earn his first Oscar after eight nominations? Will Oscar rookie Mark Wahlberg win? Movie fans will find out Sunday, Feb. 25, when the 79th annual Academy Awards air on ABC at 8 p.m. But first, take a shot at winning $50 by guessing who you think will win the golden statuettes by participating in The Herald-Mail's fourth Oscar picks contest. The contestant with the most correct picks in the 10 selected categories will win. If there is a tie, a drawing will be held to decide the winner.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Gloria Stuart, the 1930s Hollywood beauty who gave up acting for 30 years and later became the oldest Academy Award acting nominee as the spunky survivor in "Titanic," has died. She was 100. Stuart died in her sleep Sunday night at her Los Angeles home, her grandson Benjamin Stuart Thompson said Monday. In her youth, Stuart was a blond beauty who starred in B pictures as well as some higher-profile ones such as "The Invisible Man," Busby Berkeley's "Gold Diggers of 1935" and two Shirley Temple movies, "Poor Little Rich Girl" and "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.

Last week, I spent the better part of my review for "Zero Dark Thirty" talking about Jessica Chastain's chances of winning an Oscar for Best Actress. I will not need to spend the same amount of time talking about Chastain's chance of winning an Oscar for "Mama. " In fact, not only do I believe that Chastain will not win an Oscar for "Mama," but I believe that "Mama" might hurt her chances of winning an Oscar for "Zero Dark Thirty". Studios love to use January and February as a dumping ground for bad movies starring suddenly relevant nominees.

KEEDYSVILLE - Of the major movies associated with the Academy Awards this year, Karen Adams saw just one - "Little Miss Sunshine. " She loved it so much she picked Alan Arkin to be the upset winner for the supporting actor Oscar. That decision helped her win The Herald-Mail's fourth Oscar picks contest. "Oh, thank you. That's exciting," Adams said upon learning the news Monday. "That's wonderful news, and it's my birthday today so that's even a double whammy. " Adams guessed correctly for nine of the 10 categories.

Thursday, Feb. 10 10:15 p.m. on TCM "Philadelphia" TCM's annual "31 Days of Oscar" continues with this 1993 movie that brought Tom Hanks his first best-actor award; Bruce Springsteen won for best original song, "Streets of Philadelphia. "

Take a shot at winning $50 by guessing who you think will win Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 25, by participating in The Herald-Mail's fourth Oscar picks contest. Pick the winners from 10 categories to win: 1. Picture 2. Director 3. Actor 4. Actress 5. Supporting actor 6. Supporting actress 7. Adapted screenplay 8. Original screenplay 9. Animated film 10. Foreign-language film Contest entry guidelines To be eligible to win, contestants must live in Washington or Frederick counties in Maryland; Franklin or Fulton counties in Pennsylvania; or Berkeley, Jefferson or Morgan counties in West Virginia.

And the Oscar goes to Wanna win $100? Check out the announcement for The Herald-Mail's sixth annual Oscar contest today. Fair is foul and foul is fair Don't say his name, but Maryland Shakespeare Festival presents "MacBeth" at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays through Sunday, Feb. 15. Yeah, yeah, yeah Relive the cultural phenomenon known as The Beatles as the Weinberg Center for the...

NOV. 9, 1948-FEB. 4, 2009 Michael Alan Boyd Sr., 60, of 1806 Winston Drive, Hagerstown, died Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2009, at his home. Born Nov. 9, 1948, in Cincinnati, he was the son of Oscar and Mattie Hampton Boyd of Cincinnati. He retired from Dow Jones. In addition to his parents, he is survived by one daughter, Cassaundra Boyd of Cincinnati; one son, Michael Boyd Jr. of Seattle; two sisters, Lowell Boyd of San Jose, Calif., and Gayle Cordell of Cincinnati; two brothers, Lance Boyd of Cincinnati and Guy Boyd of Atlanta; and two grandchildren.

That's not how it's spelled To the editor: I was reading your newspaper for Thursday, May 22, 2003 on page A3 when I discovered an article with an error. The article is called, 'Person of interest' discovers FBI has no sense of humor. I noticed that "America" has been spelled "Amerika," at least twice. I have highlighted the two that I found. I thought that you may want to inform the writer of this column (Tim Rowland), how to spell our country's name. Kelly M. Akehurst Greencastle, Pa. Great article on Oscar To the editor: I would like to thank Kate Coleman for the article on pampered pets.

By all accounts, Amanda Hann was having a bad Monday. She had broken her toe. But before 5 p.m., Hann's day was looking up because she was $100 richer thanks to her perfect score entry in The Herald-Mail Oscar Picks contest. Of the 106 qualified entries, Hann was the only person to name all 10 categories correct. Hann, 31, of Fayettesville, Pa., said this is the first year she entered the contest. A movie-lover, Hann said she didn't get to many of the nine films that were nominated for Best Picture this year.

It was roughly 8:30 Monday morning in California following the 85th Academy Awards ceremony Sunday night and Antonio “Tony” Mendez had barely been to bed. “I feel numb,” the southern Washington County resident said during a telephone interview from the Four Seasons Hotel in Hollywood, Calif. Mendez, whose life as a CIA agent was portrayed on the big screen by actor-director Ben Affleck in “Argo,” was still feeling the after-effects of the film's Best Picture win. “Argo,” which depicts Mendez's actions in 1979 when he helped six Americans escape from Iran, also won Best Adapted Screenplay for Chris Terrio.

An owner of a Frederick Street restaurant scuffled with a would-be robber Wednesday night, causing him to spill the cash and flee empty-handed, according to charging documents filed in Washington County District Court. The Wednesday night robbery at Dolce restaurant led to the arrest of a man in connection with that and other robberies, including two of three recent robberies at the AC&T gas station a block away from the restaurant, according to the Hagerstown Police Department. Oscar Isaac Lopez, 18, of 607 Hayes Ave., Hagerstown, has been charged with three counts each of robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery and theft, and a single count of second-degree assault, court records said.

Last week, I spent the better part of my review for "Zero Dark Thirty" talking about Jessica Chastain's chances of winning an Oscar for Best Actress. I will not need to spend the same amount of time talking about Chastain's chance of winning an Oscar for "Mama. " In fact, not only do I believe that Chastain will not win an Oscar for "Mama," but I believe that "Mama" might hurt her chances of winning an Oscar for "Zero Dark Thirty". Studios love to use January and February as a dumping ground for bad movies starring suddenly relevant nominees.

Chances are most people won't ever have the chance to hold an Oscar statue, but one Herald-Mail reader will want to get his or her acceptance speech ready on Sunday, Feb. 24. That's when he or she correctly identifies the most winners in the 10 selected categories as part of The Herald-Mail's Oscar Picks Contest. Enter The Herald-Mail's 10th Oscar Picks Contest for a chance to win $100. The contestant with the most correct picks in the 10 selected categories will win. If there is a tie, a drawing will be held to decide the winner.

The decision to grant a wide release to Kathryn Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty" was made before the Academy Award nominations were announced this past Thursday. As expected, the film managed to be one of nine to snag a Best Picture nomination. It was too little too late, however, as any hopes the film might have had at winning Best Picture were in fact dashed a few moments earlier with the announcement of the nominees for Best Director. Bigelow failed to secure herself a nomination, and The Academy can't be very much in love with a film if they don't see fit to honor the individual appointed as its leader.

Antonio Mendez has been busy recently with a recent appearance with Ben Affleck on “Good Morning America,” a Fox News crew coming to his home in southern Washington County and a soon to be published feature article in The Washington Post. That sounds exciting, but it pales next to the reason for which he is now drawing the media's attention - one of his exploits during a 25-year career with the Central Intelligence Agency. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its Academy Award nominees Thursday and seven nominations - including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay - went to “Argo,” based largely the retired agent's role in the rescue of six U.S. embassy officials from Iran in the wake of the 1979 hostage crisis.

Oscar W. Holter Jr. 87, of Linden Boulevard in Middletown, Md., passed away Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012, at Frederick (Md.) Memorial Hospital. Born Nov. 18, 1925, in Middletown, he was the son of the late Oscar W. Holter Sr. and Dorothy Mae (Derr) Holter. He was preceded in death by his wife, Ellen Jane (Lovell) Holter, on Dec. 12, 2006. He was a 1943 graduate of Middletown High School. He was a dairy farmer who raised purebred Holstein cattle. He later was employed by the U.S. Postal Service as a rural mail carrier.

Oscar Eugene "Gene" Peoples, 87, of Williamsport, Md., passed away on Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012, at his home. He was born Oct. 15, 1925, in Pennfield, Pa., to the late Daniel Potter and Maudeline Oakman Peoples. He was a graduate of Clearfield High School, Clearfield, Pa. He was employed with Maryland Correctional Institute Hagerstown, Md., as a supervisor until retiring in 1987. He was a veteran of the U.S. Navy serving during World War II and received the Pacific Theater Ribbon, American Theater Ribbon and Victory Medal.

William Oscar "Bill" Carbaugh Sr., 60, of Berkeley Springs, W.Va., died Friday, May 11, 2012, at Winchester (Va.) Medical Center. The service will be Thursday at 4 p.m. at Helsley-Johnson Funeral Home & Cremation Center, Berkeley Springs. Burial will be private.