Acclaimed primetime host and anchor of Turner Classic Movies (TCM), Robert Osborne, has been selected to receive the first-ever Art Directors Guild William Cameron Menzies Award, recognizing his 35 years as a film historian, columnist, critic and trade reporter championing visual entertainment. Osborne will be honored at the 20th Annual ADG Excellence in Production Design Awards ceremony on January 31, 2016, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Today's announcement was made by ADG President Mimi Gramatky, Council Chair Marcia Hinds and Award's Executive Producer James Pearse Connelly.
The newly created ADG's William Cameron Menzies Award will occasionally honor an industry recipient, selected by the Art Directors Council Chair and members, who has demonstrated such excellence in visual arts and entertainment to merit special acknowledgement. The award is named after William Cameron Menzies, the first Art Director to be bestowed with the title of Production Designer. He had the singular distinction of receiving the first-ever Oscar® for Art Direction for The Dove (1927) as well as the first-ever Oscar®for Production Design in Gone With the Wind (1939), among his numerous other awards. The William Cameron Menzies Award will be bestowed on a discretionary basis.
Osborne has served as the primetime host and anchor of Turner Classic Movies (TCM) since its launch in 1994 and brings viewers out of their living rooms and into the world of classic Hollywood, providing insider information, facts and trivia on TCM movie presentations. He also co-hosts TCM's The Essentials series and was joined by new co-host Sally Field in March 2015. In addition, Osborne serves as the official host for the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood and the TCM Classic Cruise.
Osborne is well known as a Hollywood columnist and critic and is the official biographer of The Oscars®. His book, 85 Years of the Oscar, was written at the request of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, has been called the most comprehensive and definitive book ever done on the subject.
He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and he received a special award from the National Board of Review for his contributions as a film historian.
Osborne was a reporter and columnist for The Hollywood Reporter for more than 25 years, covering all aspects of the movie and television business. In 1982, he also began as the on-air entertainment reporter for the nightly news on Los Angeles' KTTV. In 1987, he was signed by CBS to make daily appearances on the CBS Morning Program, and from 1986-1993, he was also a regular host of The Movie Channel cable network prior to joining Turner Classic Movies in 1994.
From 1981-83, Osborne served as president of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA). He has been a frequent guest on Good Morning America and other network shows; was twice a CableACE nominee for his "Osborne Report" segments for The Movie Channel; and was nominated for an Emmy® as Best Host Moderator.
Co-Producers of this year's ADG Awards are Judy Cosgrove and Tom Wilkins. Submissions for the 20th Annual ADG Excellence in Production Design Awards will open on October 6, 2015, and nominations will be announced on January 5, 2016. Final balloting will begin on January 7, 2016 and end on January 28, 2016. Winners will be announced at the dinner ceremony in 11 competitive categories for theatrical films, television productions, commercials and music videos. A recipient of the Guild's Outstanding Contribution to Cinematic Imagery Award and four new Lifetime Achievement Award recipients will also be announced in upcoming months.
About the Art Directors Guild
The Art Directors Guild (IATSE Local 800) represents 2,300 members who work throughout the United States, Canada and the rest of the world in film, television and theater as Production Designers, Art Directors, Assistant Art Directors; Scenic, Title and Graphic Artists; Illustrators and Matte Artists; Set Designers and Model Makers; and Previs Artists. Established in 1937, the ADG's ongoing activities include a Film Society, an annual Awards Banquet, a creative/technology community (5D: The Future of Immersive Design), a bimonthly craft magazine (Perspective); and extensive technology-training programs, figure drawing and other creative workshops and year-round Gallery 800 art exhibitions. The Guild's Online Directory/Website Resource is at www.adg.org.
