November 18, 2009

2006 Los Angeles Area Governors Award to be Presented to Freberg

Award to be Presented to Freberg at the Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards

 

 

North Hollywood, CA, June 22, 2006Legendary television performer, satirist, radio and advertising innovator Stan Freberg will be the 2006 recipient of the prestigious Los Angeles Area Governors Award. Television Academy Chairman Dick Askin announced the news today. 

The Governors Award, which honors a lifetime of broadcasting achievement in the Los Angeles market, will be presented at the Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards on Saturday, August 12, 2006, at the Television Academy's Leonard H. Goldenson Theatre.

“Stan Freberg is one of the world’s greatest living satirists. His creativity, innovation, and brilliance have entertained and inspired millions of fans—and other entertainers—for six decades," Askin said. "We are very pleased that the Academy's Board of Governors voted to bestow this honor on him."

About L.A. Area Governors Award Recipient Stan Freberg

An undisputed Los Angeles television pioneer and founding member of the Television Academy, Stan Freberg has channeled his boundless creativity into successful careers as an actor, writer, director, producer, composer, lyricist, humorist, author, advertising visionary and more.

A Legend Develops Alongside Legends

A Los Angeles native, Freberg got his start in show business as a teenager when he auditioned as a voice actor for the world-renowned Warner Bros. animation studios. Within two weeks, Freberg was working alongside voice legends Mel Blanc and Daws Butler.

In 1949, he helped producer Bob Clampett create the groundbreaking puppet series Time for Beany —a precursor to the 1960s animated series Beany and Cecil—for fledgling TV station KTLA. Chronicling the escapades of a boy named Beany and his seasick sea serpent Cecil, Time for Beany was performed live and appealed to all ages. Freberg was the puppeteer and voice of Cecil and villain Dishonest John.

Freberg went on to create numerous voices for Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Walt Disney Productions, including Lady and the Tramp, in which he supplied the voice of the Beaver. Working extensively in radio as well, Freberg is still revered in this arena today for his cult classic Stan Freberg Show, an inspired mix of comedy sketches and song parodies.

Blazing Trails in Recorded Comedy

In the early 1950s, Freberg was one of the first comedians to become a recording artist. In a series of satirical Capitol records, he lampooned all forms of popular entertainment in chart-topping singles and albums—from soap operas (“John and Marsha”) to Dragnet (“St. George and the Dragonet”) to Lawrence Welk (“Wun’erful, Wun’erful!”) and rock & roll (“Heartbreak Hotel,” “The Old Payola Roll Blues”).

Freberg’s gift for mimicry and razor-sharp mind also took on the hyper-commercialization of the holidays in 1958’s Green Chri$tma$ and the 1961 comedy album Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America, Volume One. His landmark 1961 collection is a musical version of the history of America, for which he wrote all words and music.

In 1998, Freberg released Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America, Volume Two, and the four-CD box set Tip of the Freberg.

First to Bring "Funny" and "Effective" to Commercials

A writer and producer of several acclaimed television advertising spots, many of Freberg's commercials have been enshrined in the Museum of Television & Radio and the Smithsonian. He is credited as the first to effectively introduce humor into television advertising.

Freberg's best known spots include: Contadina Tomato Paste; Jeno’s Pizza Rolls, featuring Clayton Moore as the Lone Ranger; Sunsweet Pitted Prunes, featuring longtime friend Ray Bradbury; and Heinz Great American Soups, starring Ann Miller as a tap-dancing housewife whose husband asks, ”Why do you always have to make such a big production out of everything?” The commercial won two Silver Lions at the Cannes Film Festival.

Freberg founded his own advertising firm, Freberg, Ltd.* (but not very), where he and his wife Hunter are active today.

Still Vital in Voice and More After 50 Years

Over the past 50 years, Freberg has remained active in voice-over work for cartoons and made guest appearances on numerous television shows, including The Monkees, Amazing Stories, Roseanne, Today, Good Morning America and Larry King Live.

He also collaborates with his wife on numerous projects, ranging from books and recordings to TV appearances and keynote speaking engagements. The two recently did a show for the BBC and co-keynoted the Las Vegas Book Festival.

Award Winner Freberg Helps to Establish the Television Academy,
the Recording Academy—and Speeds Up Dailies Viewing for Filmmakers

In 1946, Freberg was personally recruited by Syd Cassyd, founder of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, to join him in establishing the new organization. Freberg is also a founding member of National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS), where he coined the term “Grammy.”

Among other prestigious organizations, he is a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and the National Society of Art Directors, which presented him with a Gold Medal.

Freberg was honored with three Emmy® awards for his work on Time for Beany and the Venice Film Festival's Grand Prize for a series of animated commercials he created for Kaiser Aluminum. He is also the recipient of the Writers Guild of America award for Best Comedy Radio Show and has garnered more than 21 Clio Awards.

A technical innovation beyond his roles as media personality, voice actor and advertising pro among others, Freberg was responsible for linking television with motion picture film by creating “video assist”—a viewing tool used by everyone from Arthur Hiller to Steven Spielberg today.

Before Freberg enlisted the help of Samuel Goldwyn Studios' head of sound Gordon Sawyer to help him see instantly what he had just shot, filmmakers had to wait until the next day to see dailies.

Freberg, who authored his autobiography It Only Hurts When I Laugh in 1988, has been inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame and Animation Hall of Fame and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The Los Angeles Area Governors Award, honoring a lifetime of broadcasting achievement in the Los Angeles market, will be presented to Stan Freberg at the Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards on Saturday, August 12, 2006, at Leonard H. Goldenson Theatre in North Hollywood, California.

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