Goldberg, Klein and Flanagan to Present 2012 AMEE Awards

Posted January 25, 2012

LOS ANGELES and NEW YORK  --- The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) – a national union of more than 70,000 performers, recording artists and broadcast professionals – today announced award presenters for the AFTRA Foundation’s 2012 AFTRA Media and Entertainment Excellence Awards (The AMEES). Presenting awards at the AMEES benefit gala will be comedian Robert Klein, actress and host Whoopi Goldberg and MTV executive Bill Flanagan.

The AMEES will be held Feb. 6, 2012 at The Plaza Hotel in New York. Receiving honors will be broadcaster and rock historian Pete Fornatale, actress Phylicia Rashad and singer Rosanne Cash.

Award-winning radio host (“Bob Edwards Show” on Sirius XM Radio) and AFTRA National First Vice President Bob Edwards will host the awards.

Robert Klein, presenting for Pete Fornatale, AMEE Award in Broadcasting
For more than 40 years, Robert Klein has entertained on stage, television and in film, getting his start as a member of Chicago’s famed “Second City” theatrical troupe. In 1975, Klein was the first comedian to appear in a live concert on the then-new cable network Home Box Office. He has gone on to do nine one-man shows for HBO. He received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical and won a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award in 1979 for his performance in the hit Neil Simon musical, “They’re Playing Our Song.” In 1993, Klein won an Obie and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor for Wendy Wasserstein’s “The Sisters Rosensweig.” A member of AFTRA since 1966, Klein has earned two Grammy nominations, in 1973 for his album “Child of the Fifties” and in 1974 for “Mind over Matter.”  Among dozens of starring and guest-starring roles on television, he co-starred in the hit NBC series “Sisters” and recently appeared as a recurring guest-star on “Law and Order.” A popular talk show guest, he has made more than 100 appearances on a host of programs, including the AFTRA-covered late night programs “The Tonight Show” and “Late Show with David Letterman.” Klein’s films include “Hooper,” “The Owl and the Pussycat,” “Primary Colors,” “People I Know,” “Two Weeks’ Notice,” “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” and “The Back-Up Plan” with Jennifer Lopez.  An author, Klein’s 2005 memoir, “The Amorous Busboy of Decatur Avenue,” focuses on his growing up in the ‘50s and ‘60s and his early years embarking on a show business career. Born in the Bronx and a lifelong New Yorker, Klein makes his home in Westchester and New York City.

Whoopi Goldberg, presenting for Phylicia Rashad, AMEE Award in Entertainment
Whoopi Goldberg is among an elite group of artists who have won a Grammy (“Whoopi Goldberg,” 1985), an Academy Award (“Ghost,” 1991), a Golden Globe (“The Color Purple,” 1985 and “Ghost,” 1991), an Emmy (as host of AMC’s “Beyond Tara:  The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel,” in 2002 and then in 2009 a Daytime Emmy for “The View”) and a Tony Award (Producer of “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” 2002). She is equally well-known for her humanitarian efforts on behalf of children, the homeless, human rights, education, substance abuse and the battle against AIDS, as well as many other causes and charities. Goldberg is a Goodwill Ambassador to the United Nations, but among her many charitable endeavors, she is possibly best known for her appearances with Billy Crystal and Robin Williams on the nine AFTRA-covered “Comic Relief” comedy specials that raised money for and awareness of the homeless. On television, Goldberg can currently be seen as one of the hosts of the Emmy-winning AFTRA daytime program “The View.” In addition, Goldberg has appeared on many television series and specials, including her own HBO specials, and as a three-time host of ABC’s “A Gala for the President at Ford’s Theatre.” Goldberg received Emmy Award nominations for hosting the 66th, 68th and 71st “Academy Awards” telecasts and returned to host the 2002 telecast at the new Kodak Theatre. In 2008, Whoopi hosted the Tony Awards for the first time. For five seasons, she starred on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and also hosted her own syndicated late-night talk show. In film, Goldberg made her film debut in Steven Spielberg’s version of Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple.” It was the first of many motion-picture roles in both dramas and comedies that has won her critical acclaim for her performances. In addition to “Ghost,” she has appeared in “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “Soapdish,” “Sarafina!” and “Sister Act.” She is a producer of the Broadway musical, “White Noise.”

Bill Flanagan, presenting for Rosanne Cash, AMEE Award in Sound Recordings
Bill Flanagan is executive vice president of the MTV Networks Music Group. He is the creator and producer of the original musical programs “VH1 Storytellers” and “CMT Crossroads.” He produced “The Beatles Revolution” for ABC, “Elvis Lives” for NBC and was one of the producers for “The Concert for New York City,” a nationally televised concert that raised money for the victims of the 9-11 attacks. Flanagan has written for “Spy,” “Esquire,” “Vanity Fair,” “Rolling Stone,” “GQ” and many other magazines and media outlets. He has also written album notes for the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Sam Cooke, Charles Mingus, Van Morrison, Jeff Buckley, U2, the Replacements, James Taylor and Carole King. An accomplished author, Flanagan writes both fiction and nonfiction, including “Written in my Soul,” a collection of conversations with songwriters from Chuck Berry to Bob Dylan to Bruce Springsteen, “Last of the Moe Haircuts,” “U2 at the End of the World” and the novels “A&R,”  “New Bedlam” and “Evening’s Empire.” Flanagan has also appeared as an on-air essayist for the AFTRA program “CBS News Sunday Morning.”

Tickets can be purchased online at www.aftra.com/amees2012.htm.

 

Press & Awards Night Coverage: Leslie Simmons 323.634.8115 lsimmons@aftra.com

AMEE Awards Coordinator: Lynda Rivers 323.634.8296 lrivers@aftra.com

About the AMEES
The AMEES were created in 2003 to honor AFTRA members for excellence in their craft and their contributions to the fields of media and entertainment. Proceeds from the 2012 AMEE Awards go to benefit the AFTRA Foundation, an independent non-profit organization separate from AFTRA that provides support to charitable and educational endeavors critical to AFTRA members, including the George Heller Memorial Scholarship which provides scholarships to AFTRA members and their dependents for academic study and the International News Safety Institute, the only global organization solely dedicated to the safety of journalists and other news professionals.

Past AMEE recipients include David Crosby, John Walsh, Jaime Jarrin, Robin Roberts, Charles Osgood, Bob Edwards, Smokey Robinson, Vin Scully, Jeanne Cooper and Sam Moore. Other past honorees include the late "60 Minutes" producer Don Hewitt and his team of CBS on-air journalists including the late Ed Bradley, Steve Kroft, Dan Rather, Andy Rooney, Morley Safer, Bob Simon, Lesley Stahl and Mike Wallace.

About the AFTRA Foundation
Founded by the AFTRA National Board of Directors in 1997 as a separate legal entity from the union, the AFTRA Foundation is a charitable and educational organization funded through tax-deductible voluntary contributions, grants and bequests—not AFTRA member dues—to support projects outside the scope of normal activities at AFTRA, including charitable endeavors, special conferences, studies, seminars and other events. For more information, visit http://www.aftra.com/AFTRAFoundation.htm.

About AFTRA
The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, AFL-CIO, are the people who entertain and inform America. In 32 Locals across the country, AFTRA members work as actors, broadcasters, singers, dancers, announcers, hosts, comedians, disc jockeys and other performers across the media industries including television, radio, cable, sound recordings, music videos, commercials, audio books, non-broadcast industrials, interactive games, the Internet and other digital media. The 70,000 professional performers, broadcasters and recording artists of AFTRA are working together to protect and improve their jobs, lives and communities in the 21st century. From new art forms to new technology, AFTRA members embrace change in their work and craft to enhance American culture and society. Visit AFTRA online at www.aftra.com.

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