In 1955 the Board of Directors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted her an honorary Oscar for her
“luminous and unforgettable screen performances.”
Director Jean Negulesco, who produced the show that year; was one of those who had lobbied for giving her the special award. Garbo declined. Next he lobbied for her cooperation. “I knew that Garbo would never make an appearance to accept the Oscar, but would she let me come to New York and make a shot of her in her apartment, on her balcony, or any location she would chose?” he inquired.
Director Jean Negulesco asked Garbo to accept
He offered her a writer to help her prepare a brief thank-you speech and, most important, the right to destroy the film and negative if she didn't like what they shot. “Let me call you in two days,” Greta told him. But her answer was “No.”
Instead, at the end of the March 30 telecast, the industry audience was shown a scene from Camille, after which the award was dedicated to Garbo and accepted by actress Nancy Kelly on her behalf.
All the winners were present except for the winner of the Honorary Award, who at 49 was the youngest ever to receive that Award. It was accepted by the great stage actress Nancy Kelly who said, "In a year where there can be more than one Kelly, there can only be one Garbo". Enough said!
American actress Nancy Kelly accepted the award
Minna Wallis inherited custodianship of the statue after the show. It would be two years before Greta saw the award, which she temporarily gave to George Schlee for safekeeping. It is said that the Oscar was put away in a closet with the rest of her movie memories.
Warner's production chief Hal Wallis sister, Minna, took the award home.
Years later, in conversation with her friend Sam Green, she said she had read in TV Guide that ‘Garbo never got an Oscar' and that it wasn't true. "I have one in a cupboard," she said. "They picked someone I didn't know to receive it for me, and the wife of Mr Wallis [Minna] kept it for two years before sending it on." Green suggested she make a lamp out of it, but she replied, "I have enough lamps."
