Lake Bluff Oscar Party Hooks Attendees With Guessing Game

Tim Haskett has never had his name inscribed on an Oscar trophy, but that may change tonight.

For the past 22 years, the Lake Forest High School choral director has attended his former teaching colleague’s Academy Awards viewing party. Each of those years Haskett has competed in Jim Benton’s Oscar guessing game for award winners, but has never claimed victory. The prize for guessing the most categories correctly is the winner’s name inscribed on an Oscar statue Benton carved from Balsa wood. 

“I kind of kid around with [Benton] to say, ‘Before I die, I want my name on that trophy,'” Haskett said.

Benton, a Lake Bluff resident, has been hosting an Academy Awards viewing party since 1976, when he offered to have a small gathering in his living room if his friends provided a potluck dinner. Thirty-five years later, Benton is still hosting and friends are still bringing their favorite dishes.

Although the group has changed over the years, Benton said the guest list stays around 15 attendees due to his family’s small living room. The small guest list has given the party an almost VIP status.

“Nobody wants to miss this party. There’s even a waiting list,” Benton said.

According to Haskett, Benton is ‘very competitive’ and beating him at his own Oscar guessing game isn’t easy. Benton has won the competition eight times while Barb Silber owns the most wins with 12.

“A lot of us try to beat Jim and now that you can get a lot of information on the Internet we try to look it all up. Husbands and wives will be like, ‘You choose that, I’ll choose this so we can beat Jim,'” Haskett said.

Detlef Koska is one of the lucky few who does have his name inscribed on Benton’s Oscar replica. Koska, a self-proclaimed active movie-goer, has his name on the Oscar statue for 1999, the year "American Beauty" won Best Picture.

Koska and his wife, Melissa, have attended Benton’s party for five years. He said Benton’s gatherings have become such a tradition because they have built “camaraderie” with attendees.

“It’s a good way to have a party, a good reason to come together with friends and to celebrate the movie world,” Koska said.

According to Koska, the way Benton puts together the party is part of the fun.

“I like the way Jim organizes the whole thing. He gives you a little brochure and provides you with background. He really gets into it quite a bit,” Koska said.

Anne Grant has attended twice as many of Benton’s Academy Awards parties as the Koskas, although she was disappointed to admit she has never won the guessing game.

“It’s a big contest. It’s like a sporting event,” Grant said. “People get really into it.”

Even though she has never won the big contest, Grant said she and her husband have won a smaller contest Benton holds at each party. For the smaller competition, guests write down their guess at the beginning of the evening for what time they think a certain award will be announced. It costs $1 to enter the small contest, and the winner takes all.

But for Grant, watching the Academy Awards is about more than the competitions; they’re a reflection of her childhood.

“As a child, that’s what we did. We went to the movies. We didn’t have television,” Grant said.

Although Grant said she has always been a big movie fan, watching the celebrities has always been fun for her, too.

“When I was a child, I would have pictures of the movies stars all over my walls. We would write to them and get their autographs. I still have them,” Grant said.

Now, she said, she loves to watch the reactions of winners as different Oscar categories are announced.

“It's fun to see the reactions of the actors sitting in their seats as they’re waiting for awards, and I love to watch the clothes,” she said.

Benton said it seems like most viewers share Grant’s love for the glamorous clothing. He said in 35 years, the only thing that has really changed about the award ceremony is the emphasis on the clothes, especially during the pre-Oscar show.

“We watch some of the pre-Oscar show. It’s all about enjoying the glitz and glamour, the Hollywood standards,” he said.

This year’s Academy Awards start with the Red Carpet walk at 6 p.m. followed by the Oscar telecast at 7:30 p.m. on ABC.