Sidney Skolsky (2 May 1905 – 3 May 1983) was an American writer best known as a Hollywood
gossip columnist. He ranked with
Hedda Hopper (with whom he shared a birthday) and
Louella Parsons as the premier Hollywood gossip columnists of the first three decades of the sound picture era. A radio personality in addition to having his own syndicated newspaper column, Skolsky also was a
screenwriter and
movie producer who occasionally acted in the radio and in the movies. Skolsky claimed to be the person who gave the nickname "Oscar" to the
Academy Award and was credited for the introduction of the use of the word
beefcake.