Richard Wilson, 46; Keeper of the Oscars for Movie Academy

Richard Wilson, 46, an administrator for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences who was keeper of the Oscar statuettes, died April 23 of an apparent heart attack at his home in West Hollywood, the academy announced.

An employee of the academy since 1988, Wilson opened the organization’s first New York office in 1998 and ran it for two years before returning to Beverly Hills, where he served as executive assistant to academy President and Executive Director Bruce Davis.

As keeper of the statuettes, Wilson logged the whereabouts of previously awarded statuettes, ordered and maintained the inventory of new Oscars and managed their distribution backstage at each year’s awards show. He also coordinated the personalization of the blank statuettes for each year’s winners.

Wilson was born in Chicago and graduated from Northwestern University’s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences with a degree in chemistry. He earned a master of arts degree in radio, television and film from Northwestern’s School of Communication.