FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Christopher Chen
or Mirjana Van Blaricom
(818) 989-1589
info@pressacademy.com
www.pressacademy.com
The International Press Academy announces Louis Gossett, Jr. will receive the 2008 Mary Pickford Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Entertainment Industry at this year’s 13th Annual Satellite AwardsTM to be held on Sunday, December 14, 2008 at the InterContinental Hotel in Century City, California.
Mr. Gossett is a star of stage and screen whose career began in 1958 and covers more than 50 years, continuing to this day. He is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades, including the 1983 Academy Award® for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his portrayal of the tough gunnery sergeant Emil Foley in An Officer and a Gentleman, which was directed by Taylor Hackford. This film also featured memorable
performances by a young Richard Gere and Debra Winger.
Over the years, Mr. Gossett’s career has reflected the dignity and grace of a true scholar of his craft, from the 1961 production of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, to his Emmy Award-winning role in the groundbreaking television mini-series Roots (1977), to his portrayal of Anwar Sadat in the 1983 television movie, Sadat, and hosts of other performances, Louis Gossett, Jr. has exemplified the quintessential thespian. At present, Mr. Gossett has taken a leading role on the popular science fiction series Stargate SG-1introducing him to yet a new generation of fans worldwide.
As a philanthropist and humanitarian, Mr. Gossett’s achievements have been equally impressive. Mr. Gossett is the founder of the nonprofit Eracism Foundation aimed at creating entertainment that helps bring awareness and education to issues such as racism, ignorance, and societal apathy.
The International Press Academy gives recognition to veteran artists and personalities who have become pioneers and institutions in the entertainment industry by bestowing their coveted Satellite Award in a number of distinctive categories, as well as its lifetime achievement honors, the Nikola Tesla Award and the Mary Pickford Award. Mr. Gossett will be the thirteenth recipient of the Mary Pickford Award.
Past recipients of the International Press Academy’s Mary Pickford Award for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to the Entertainment Industry include: Kathy Bates, Martin Landau, Gena Rowlands, Susan Sarandon, Arnon Milchan, Robert Evans, Karl Malden, Francis Ford Coppola, Maximilian Schell, Alan J. Pakula, Jodie Foster, and Rod Steiger.
Via the Muncie Free Press:
The Family and Social Services Administration’s (FSSA) Indiana Commission on the Social Status of Black Males (ICSSBM) began its 14th Annual Black Male State Conference. The two-day event at the new Indianapolis central library started this morning with a new theme to focus on the “Total Education of the Black Male”.
…
Today’s keynote address was presented by Emmy-winning actor Louis Gossett, Jr. Gossett’s Broadway theatre credits include A Raisin in the Sun, Golden Boy, and Chicago. Gossett also earned an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in An Officer and a Gentleman. The format for this year’s conference has changed slightly enabling the ICSSBM to focus solely on adults on the first day and turn to the African-American youth on the second day.
Read the full article.
Ashford and Simpson, Lou Gossett Jr.and Colette Phillips on The Red Carpet at The Opening Gala of Tyler Perry's new Motion Picture & Television Studio on October 4, 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images North America)
Mr. Gossett and publicist Colette Phillips helped friend and film-maker Tyler Perry celebrate a historical and momentous event – the opening of his new movie and TV studio complex in Atlanta, Georgia. Its opening marks the first state of the art Black owned movie studio in the United States.
Perry says he will film House of Payne at the facility as well as his other ongoing TV show, Meet The Browns. With a string of cinema successes to his credit, Perry has stated that he will also use the complex for his film projects.
The event was star studded with guests such as Oprah, Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee; Cecily Tyson, Danny Glover; Will Smith, Patti La Belle, Gladys Knight, John Legend, Andrew Young, Hank Aaron, and a host of other celebrities. R&B singer Mary J Blige performed at the event.
The weekend celebration culminated with a Gospel brunch at Perry’s home, a property which is rich in its own history. The home was once owned by a southern segregationist who sued to revoke the sale of the property once he found out that it had been purchased by a Black man.
Congratulations Tyler!
Academy Award-winning actor Louis Gossett Jr. (left) joined Colette Phillips, president and CEO of Colette Phillips Communications (center) and Boston City Council President Maureen Feeney. Photo Courtesy Don West
From the Malibu Times:
Academy award winning actor Louis Gossett Jr. is seen here with Boston City Council President Maureen Feeney (far right) and his publicist Colette Phillips, president and CEO of Colette Phillips Communications Inc. Gossett, a Malibu resident, was the guest of honor at Get Konnected, a monthly multicultural professional and social networking event founded by Phillips.
From Bay State Banner:
With an acting career spanning over five decades in film, television and theater, Gossett is perhaps best known for his roles as Fiddler in the groundbreaking television miniseries “Roots” and as Gunnery Sgt. Emil Foley in the 1982 film “An Officer and a Gentleman.” The former earned him an Emmy; the latter, an Oscar.
In 2006, Gossett decided to focus his energies on fighting social ills when he founded The Eracism Foundation, a nonprofit organization designed to create a “conscious offensive against racism, violence and ignorance.” Toward that end, the foundation has created programs focused on youth mentoring, anti-gang violence initiatives and diversity sensitivity training sessions known as “Shamba Centers.”
While the Eracism organization’s work is part of the solution, Gossett said, there is much more work to be done — and he thinks the classroom is a good place to start.
