Academy to honor Cicely Tyson, Kathleen Kennedy and more at Governors Award

NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 26: Cicely Tyson attends the 2016 American Theatre Wing Gala honoring Cicely Tyson at the Plaza Hotel on September 22, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Walter McBride/WireImage)

LOS ANGELES, CA โ€“The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted Tuesday night (September 4) to present Honorary Awards to publicist Marvin Levy, composer Lalo Schifrin and actress Cicely Tyson, and the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award to producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall. The three Oscarยฎ statuettes and Thalberg Award will be presented at the Academyโ€™s 10th Annual Governors Awards on Sunday, November 18, at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Centerยฎ.

โ€œChoosing the honorees for its awards each year is the happiest of all the Board of Governorsโ€™ work. And this year, its selection of five iconic artists was made with universal acclaim by the Academyโ€™s 54 spirited governors,โ€ said Academy President John Bailey.

Levy began his career in publicity working for MGM in New York City before joining Columbia Pictures in Hollywood, where he guided the advertising for films including โ€œThe Deepโ€ and โ€œKramer vs. Kramer.โ€ His work for the 1977 film โ€œClose Encounters of the Third Kindโ€ marked the beginning of a four-decade-long partnership with Steven Spielberg. Levy has held positions at Amblin Entertainment, DreamWorks Studios and Amblin Partners, and has worked on publicity campaigns for such films as โ€œE.T. The Extra Terrestrial,โ€ โ€œBack to the Future,โ€ โ€œWho Framed Roger Rabbit,โ€ โ€œSchindlerโ€™s List,โ€ โ€œSaving Private Ryan,โ€ โ€œAmerican Beauty,โ€ โ€œGladiatorโ€ and โ€œLincoln.โ€ Levy is the first publicist to receive an honorary Oscar.

Born and raised in Argentina, Schifrin studied classical music and jazz in France before beginning to compose for film in Buenos Aires in the mid-1950s. He has written scores for more than 100 films, including โ€œThe Cincinnati Kid,โ€ โ€œBullitt,โ€ โ€œDirty Harry,โ€ โ€œEnter the Dragonโ€ and โ€œRush Hour.โ€ His memorable theme for the television series โ€œMission: Impossibleโ€ has been a hallmark of the recent film series. He has received six Oscarยฎ nominations, for the original scores for โ€œCool Hand Lukeโ€ (1967), โ€œThe Foxโ€ (1968), โ€œVoyage of the Damnedโ€ (1976) and โ€œThe Amityville Horrorโ€ (1979), the original song โ€œPeople Aloneโ€ from โ€œThe Competitionโ€ (1980) and the adaptation score for โ€œThe Sting IIโ€ (1983).

Raised in Harlem, Tyson began her career as a model and a theater actress, appearing both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. After playing small roles in feature films and television, she was cast as Portia in โ€œThe Heart Is a Lonely Hunterโ€ in 1968. Four years later, she received an Academy Awardยฎ nomination for her leading performance in โ€œSounder.โ€ Her other notable film credits include โ€œThe River Niger,โ€ โ€œFried Green Tomatoes,โ€ โ€œDiary of a Mad Black Woman,โ€ โ€œThe Help,โ€ โ€œAlex Crossโ€ and โ€œLast Flag Flying.โ€

The Kennedy/Marshall producing partnership, formed in 1991, has generated Best Picture nominations for โ€œThe Sixth Senseโ€ (1999), โ€œSeabiscuitโ€ (2003), โ€œMunichโ€ (2005) and โ€œThe Curious Case of Benjamin Buttonโ€ (2008). Kennedy/Marshall Company productions also include โ€œCongo,โ€ all five โ€œBourneโ€ films, and โ€œThe Diving Bell and the Butterfly.โ€ Prior to forming Kennedy/Marshall, the duo co-founded Amblin Productions with Steven Spielberg, sharing a Best Picture nomination for โ€œThe Color Purpleโ€ (1985). Additionally, Marshall received a Best Picture nomination for โ€œRaiders of the Lost Arkโ€ (1981), while Kennedy was nominated in the same category for โ€œE.T. The Extra-Terrestrialโ€ (1982), โ€œWar Horseโ€ (2011) and โ€œLincolnโ€ (2012). Kennedy is the first woman to receive the Thalberg Award.

The Honorary Award, an Oscar statuette, is given โ€œto honor extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or for outstanding service to the Academy.โ€ The Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, a bust of the motion picture executive, is presented to creative producers โ€œwhose body of work reflects a consistently high quality of motion picture production.โ€

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