Alan Alda to Receive SAG Life Achievement Award
By Dave McNary
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Alan Alda has been named the 55th recipient of the SAG Life Achievement Award for career achievement and humanitarian accomplishment.
Alda will be presented the performers union’s top accolade at the 25th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Jan. 27 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The award is given annually to an actor who fosters the “finest ideals of the acting profession.”
Alda is a member of the Television Hall of Fame and has won six Emmys, six Golden Globes, four DGA Awards (including the D. W. Griffith Award) and the WGA’s Valentine Davis Award. He’s also received three Tony Award nominations and an Oscar nod.
“It is an honor and privilege to announce that our SAG Life Achievement Award will be presented to the fabulous ,” said SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris. “He is an artist whose body of work is a testament to the craft and the magic of our business. His ability to make us laugh, to think and to feel is extraordinary. From theater to television, movies, and new media Alan’s dedication and talent are exceeded only by his contributions to a just and caring society.”
Alda is best known for portraying Dr. Hawkeye Pierce on “M*A*S*H,” for which he received five Emmys and 21 nominations for acting, writing and directing. He also won an Emmy for “The West Wing” for his work in playing Senator Arnold Vinick. Alda’s extensive credits also include “Scientific American Frontiers,” “ER,” “30 Rock,” “The Blacklist,” and “Ray Donovan.” He was invited to take over as the host of “Scientific American Frontiers” in 1993 and continued with what became “Alan Alda in Scientific American Frontiers” until the PBS show ended in 2005.
He received an Oscar nomination in the supporting actor category for “The Aviator.” Other feature film credits include “Bridge of Spies,” “The Longest Ride,” “Crimes and Misdemeanors,” and “The Four Seasons.”
Past recipients of SAG’s Life Achievement Award include Lily Tomlin, Carol Burnett, Debbie Reynolds, and Betty White. Morgan Freeman won the award this year.
