02/28/2001

SACRAMENTO – Legendary child actress Margaret O'Brien has pulled her Oscar from a charity auction, officials at the Sacramento AIDS Foundation said Wednesday.

The award was taken off the online auction at the request of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

"Out of respect for the Academy and all my fellow Oscar winners, I am removing my Oscar from the auction,'' O'Brien said in a written statement.

O'Brien won a special child-actor Oscar in 1945 for her role as Tootie in the musical "Meet Me in St. Louis'' with Judy Garland.

It was stolen from her in 1954 and didn't surface until 31 years later, when two sports memorabilia collectors found it at a Pasadena swap meet and returned it to her.

The Academy gave O'Brien a replacement after she signed an agreement that stated she would offer the Oscar to the Academy if she decided to sell it, said Academy spokesman John Pavlik.

"We realize it was a good cause but we can't open the door to one good cause and slam it in the face of others,'' Pavlik said.

"We struggle to maintain the Oscar as a symbol of excellence in film making and not how much money someone has to pay for one,'' he said.

The statuette was to be auctioned at www.fineartsbrokerage.com March 9-23. Other celebrity items – including a bathing suit signed by Esther Williams – will be included in the auction.

Proceeds will pay for prevention commercials and perhaps an after-school special, foundation officials said.