The Publicists of the International Cinematographers Guild (ICG, IATSE Local 600) have named Cheryl Boone Isaacs, president of the Motion Picture Academy, as recipient of the Presidentโs Award, and comedian Bob Newhart recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, to be presented at the 52nd Annual Publicists Luncheon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on February 20.
Isaacs will receive the award from Ava DuVernay, director of Paramount Picturesโ current hit film Selma, nominated for Best Picture and Best Original Song, just three days before the Oscars. Isaacs is the first African-American to be Academy president, the third woman (after Bette Davis and Fay Kanin) and the third member of the Public Relations branch to serve in that position. She has been on the AMPAS board for 21 years and is currently serving her second term as president. DuVernay is also a former publicist. They will be introduced by ICG national president, Steven Poster, ASC.
โCheryl represents the finest qualities of our profession,โ said Awards Committee chairman Henri Bollinger. โShe has an extraordinary track record as a marketing executive, while at the same time devoting her talents and influence to improving the public perception of all who contribute to the cinematic arts.โ
Newhart, the comedian known for his deadpan delivery and slight stammer, and recipient of the Publicistsโ Lifetime Achievement Award, has been beloved since the โ60s when his album The Button Down Mind of Bob Newhart received the 1961 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. That same year he was offered his own television show, The Bob Newhart Show which lasted just one season but came back strongly in 1972, running until 1978. He also had numerous appearances on television shows such as The Dean Martin Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and many others. His Newhart TV series, in which he played a Vermont innkeeper, ran from 1982 to 1990. He remains active with an appearance in current TV series The Big Bang Theory. He won a Golden Globe for Best TV Star in 1962 and a Primetime Emmy as guest actor on The Big Bang Theory in 2013.
Poster noted, โWe are delighted to honor two such extraordinary people. Cheryl Boone Isaacs has carved her own path to success, and Bob Newhart has been part of all our lives for more than 50 years.โ
Previous Lifetime Achievement recipients include Arnold Schwarzenegger, Clint Eastwood, Peter Bart, Robert Zemeckis, Julie Andrews, Army Archerd, Sylvester Stallone, Sid Ganis, Harrison Ford, Carol Burnett, Kirk Douglas and last yearโs recipient, Jerry Lewis.
The recipients of the Television Showmanship Award and the Motion Picture Showmanship Award will be announced shortly. Other awards to be handed out are the Les Mason Award, the highest honor bestowed on a publicist, the Excellence in Still Photography Awards, the Press Award, the International Media Award and the Maxwell Weinberg Publicist Showmanship Awards for Television and Motion Pictures.