Tag Archives: Ken Burns

Television Academy Names Rita Moreno to This Year’s Hall of Fame Class

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Rita Moreno is entering a special hall…

The Television Academy has announced its 26th Hall of Fame class, with the 90-year-old Puerto Rican entertainer among the honorees.

Rita Moreno,Moreno will be joined by choreographer and actress Debbie Allen, documentarian Ken Burns, BET founder Robert L. Johnson, CBS executive Bob Daly and cinematographer Donald A. Morgan.

Moreno, an EGOT winner (Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, Tony Awards), is a two-time Emmy winner for The Muppet Show and The Rockford Files.

She has starred in series including The Electric Company, Sesame Street, Nine to Five, Oz, Cane, Happily Divorced, Jane the Virgin, and the Latinx reimagining of Norman Lear’s One Day at a Time.

Moreno’s many accolades also include the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Medal of Arts, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, the Kennedy Center Honors and the Peabody Award.

Moreno is among two of the honorees who’ve already received honorary awards from the Television Academy. She was awarded a “Televisionary Award” in 2008. Allen received a Governors Award last year.

The Hall of Fame event will take place on Wednesday, November 16, at the Television Academy’s Saban Media Center in North Hollywood, California.

In addition to the induction of the 2022 Hall of Fame recipients, the event will include the presentation of the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award to actor/director/activist Sean Penn and the unveiling of new busts of four previous inductees.

“These legendary performers, creators, craftspeople and television executives are luminaries in our industry,” Frank Scherma, chairman and CEO of the Television Academy, said in a statement. “Their work has influenced and immeasurably elevated the current television landscape and culture. We are proud to induct these trailblazers into the Hall of Fame and honored to celebrate their extraordinary contributions to our industry.”

“This year’s honorees have told the American story through television in ways that will forever shape our history and culture,” said Rick Rosen, Hall of Fame selection committee chair (who is also WME co-founder and head of television). “Whether they reshaped the industry itself through visionary leadership or created pieces of work that have had a lasting legacy, these individuals will forever be remembered for the impact they’ve had on the medium.”

The 2022 Hall of Fame honorees join more than 150 individuals previously inducted into the Hall of Fame since its inception in 1984. The honors were presented every year from 1984 to 1993, but the Academy has skipped 13 years since then for various reasons. This is the first induction class since 2019.

In addition to Rosen, this year’s Hall of Fame selection committee included Marcy Carsey, Emmy-winning producer; Pearlena Igbokwe, chairman of Universal Studio Group; Peter Roth, former chairman of Warner Bros. Television Group; Nina Tassler, co-chief executive officer of PatMa Productions; and Dana Walden, chairman of Disney General Entertainment Content.

Rosario Dawson to Take Part in This Year’s The Atlantic Festival

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Rosario Dawson is preparing to talk about students and their future in the workforce…

The 42-year-old Puerto Rican and Cuban American actress, activist will take part in this year’s The Atlantic Festival, the signature event held each fall in Washington D.C. by The Atlantic.

Rosario Dawson

Returning as a virtual gathering, the event will run longer this year, from September 22-24 and September 27-30.

While this year has seen some return to in-person conferences and conventions, the summer uptick in cases due to the Delta variant has scrambled plans of some organizations.

Dawson is scheduled to take part in a panel discussion entitled “Preparing Students for the Future Workforce” on Tuesday, September 28. During the talk, Dawson will join higher-education leaders and workforce developers to explore solutions to ensure that students receive equitable education and preparation for the future workforce.

Other participants include Dr. Anthony Fauci; filmmaker Ken Burns and Rasheda Ali, talking about Burns’ new documentary on her father, Muhammad Ali; Sen. Ben Sasse; Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control; and Hilary Rodham Clinton. The full lineup is here.

The festival also is partnering with NBCUniversal News Group for the second week of the festival, with coverage on network platforms and some of the NBCU journalists moderating events along with journalists for The Atlantic, including editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg.

Today co-host Al Roker will interview EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan; White House correspondent Kelly O’Donnell will interview Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL); Today co-anchor Hoda Kotb will interview Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynthia “Cynt” Marshall; and Today news anchor and MSNBC anchor Craig Melvin will interview Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla. NBC News correspondent Harry Smith will lead a conversation about the Showtime series American Rust with Jeff Daniels, Maura Tierney and Dan Futterman.

The theme for the festival is “Visions of What America Can Be.” Executive editor Adrienne LaFrance said that it reflects coverage in The Atlantic of “the health of democracy and trajectory of our country. It just felt like the right to double down on those themes.” Also being planned are ways for the online audience to virtually network and ask questions of participants.

One of the reasons for extending the length of the festival has to do with  “how much people are bombarded with information everywhere,” Montgomery said. The event will offer “smaller doses over a longer period of time.” Participants also can filter their own schedule tied to  interest areas, like business and tech, and race/identity/politics.