Steven Spielberg was the anonymous bidder who paid ,000 for Bette Davis' best-actress Oscar for 1938's“Jezebel,”marking the second time in five years he has“rescued”one of the statuettes for posterity, it was announced on Friday.

　　The Oscar, the second won by the actress during a career that spanned six decades, was the highlight of the sale at Christie''s auction house in New York on Thursday.

　　After making the purchase by a telephone bid, Spielberg returned the prize to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization said in a statement.

　　In December 1996, Spielberg paid ,500 at auction for Clark Gable's best actor Oscar for“It Happened One Night”and presented it to the academy to protect it from further commercial exploitation.

　　The top price for any piece of Hollywood memorabilia was .54 million for the 1939 best picture Oscar that went to producer David O. Selznick for“Gone With the Wind.”It was acquired by pop star Michael Jackson at Sotheby's in 1999.