Kahalu'u resident treasures 'Gone With the Wind' Oscar

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Editor

The statuette that signifies Vivien Leigh's 1939 Best Actress Oscar, earned for her performance as Scarlett O'Hara, lives in Kahalu'u.

Jim Tumblin of Kahalu'u owns an extensive collection of "Gone With the Wind" items including the Oscar Vivian Leigh won, right. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

"It's in better condition that I am," said Tumblin. "We're both a little tarnished, and if you dusted me, you'd probably find more fingerprints on me than on the Oscar."

Tumblin, 58, acquired the golden figurine in a Christie's auction eight years ago in New York, coughing up $500,000 for it. Not surprisingly, it remains one of the most cherished collectibles in his "GWTW" library that includes more than 30 costumes (Leigh's, Clark Gable's, Leslie Howard's) and more.

"Eventually, I will have to let go of it," he said. "After all, all I am is a custodian."

The statuette doesn't bear Leigh's name. In those days, only the category and year were inscribed.

"I keep it in a safe when it's here," said Tumblin of his sleek favorite. "When I hold it, I wear gloves. And I keep it in socks. They don't scratch."

The Oscar, along with other pieces of Academy Awards-related memorabilia, is insured, and Tumblin keeps the items in secure locations.

He also maintains a warehouse in Los Angeles, where a valuable costume collection is stored. He said the cost and time involved in taking care of the pieces is no burden.

"It's a privilege to own the Oscar," he said.

The Oscar is here between gigs.

Tumblin loaned it to Stone Mountain Park in Georgia last year, from February until Sept. 3, 2001, drawing record crowds even in the dead of winter. In June, it will journey to Marietta, Ga., where it will find a place of honor at a new Gone With the Wind Museum opening there.

Leigh's Oscar is one of three "Gone With The Wind" statuettes owned by Tumblin; the others were awarded to camera operator Arthur Arling and film editor James Newcomb.

Tumblin doesn't know why or how the prestigious statuette made it to the auction block. "Probably because the family or survivors needed the money," he speculated. Christie's couldn't put together the puzzle, either, though the statuette's authenticity is verified.

He has great fun with it, hand-carrying the statue on flights. "Security people see the silhouette and recognize the Oscar," he said. "I take it out and show them."

In exhibitions, it often has its own security guard, adding to the mystique.

"It's silly to steal," he said, "because it's easily identifiable. (Child actress) Margaret O'Brien had one stolen years ago and it showed up at a flea market, and she got it back."

The Leigh award has a smaller base than current Oscars. Styles for the base change every few years, said Tumblin.

But Oscar generally tips the scale at about 8 1/2 pounds.

Tumblin was head of the make-up department at Universal Studios for 22 years, from 1961 to 1982.

He moved to Hawai'i after retiring from show biz, having first fallen for the Islands on a job worked when he was 18. "I came over for location work on Universal's 'Sanford and Son,' which was to be a six-day shoot, but we stayed 6 1/2 weeks," he said. "Redd Foxx kept flushing his hair appliance down the toilet, delaying production."

When Tumblin retired in 1982, he came here for good.

He has been asked by the Margaret Mitchell House, a museum in Atlanta honoring the author of "Gone With the Wind," for some of his many artifacts to exhibit, but Tumblin said he's at odds at the management.

"Some day, I will leave the Oscar and my collection to a worthy museum," said Tumblin.

For now, Leigh's Oscar sleeps in a locked vault.

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com, phone 525-8067 or fax 525-8055.