Gay Today: Entertainment

GLAAD's Star-Bedecked
Media Awards on May 12th

Compiled By GayToday

Harvey Fierstein will receive an award from GLAAD May 12th

Washington, D.C.--The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) announced its honorees for the 12th Annual GLAAD Media Awards presented by ABSOLUT VODKA. The Washington, D.C. awards ceremony will take place on May 12, 2001, at George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium, at 8:00 p.m. Comedian Margaret Cho will host the event.

At the ceremony, GLAAD will honor award-winning Actor and Playwright Harvey Fierstein with the Capitol Award. Special Recognition Awards will go to NBC's The West Wing and the Human Rights Campaign's (HRC) concert Equality Rocks, which showcased many openly gay and lesbian musicians and performers in April, 2000. The Washington, D.C. Theater Award and Outstanding Advertising Award will be presented at the event and a new award category, the Barbara Gittings Award, honoring the life and four-decade long career of activist Barbara Gittings, will be introduced.

Award presenters and recipients scheduled to attend include The West Wingcreator Aaron Sorkin, actors Margot Kidder, Judith Light, Mitchell Anderson and Law and Order's Epatha Merkerson, Michael Kahn of the Shakespeare Theater, comedian and musician Lea Delaria and a cast member from Showtime's Queer as Folk. The '80s synth-pop band Book of Love, which has just released its greatest hits collection I Touch Roses - The Best of Book of Love, will perform.

"These nominees and award winners exemplify the impact that LGBT people and our allies have on society through their visibility, integrity and unrelenting commitment to fairness," said Joan M. Garry, GLAAD's executive director. "It is a privilege to honor their efforts on behalf of our community."

The GLAAD Media Awards were created to honor individuals and projects in the media and entertainment industries for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives. GLAAD is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of individuals and events in all media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

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Related Sites:
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Harvey Fierstein
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For ticket information: www.glaad.org.

Award Descriptions:

The Capitol Award
This award is presented to a member of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community who has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for LGBT people. Harvey Fierstein has been on the front lines of fighting discrimination and prejudice for more than 20 years. He is an award-winning playwright, actor and for Torch Song Trilogy, he won a Tony Award for both his starring role and for Best Play. Fierstein won a third Tony for his book on the musical La Cage Aux Folles. His other plays include Safe Sex, Spookhouse and Forget Him. Through the media and his powerful use of his celebrity, he has told stories that have helped change people's hearts and minds. Last year, Fierstein was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for his work on an HBO special for children, The Sissy Duckling, which he both wrote and starred in along with Dionne Warwick, Sharon Stone, Melissa Ethridge, Ed Asner and Andy Dick.

Special Recognition Awards

The cast of The West Wing

Special Recognition awards will be given to NBC's The West Wing and HRC's Equality Rocks for their role in bringing LGBT issues to the public. This year, The West Wing featured five outstanding episodes that addressed the political and civil rights issues that affect LGBT people in the U.S.

President Bartlett's staff tackled the issues of gays in the military, anti-gay hate crimes, same-sex marriage and a certain abusive, defamatory radio talk show host. By presenting articulate, detailed arguments in favor of equal rights for the LGBT community, The West Wing is helping to create a culture where all people are treated with dignity and respect.

During the Millennium March on Washington in April 2000, HRC produced an unprecedented gathering of artists to promote equal rights for LGBT people. The event included performances by Melissa Etheridge, George Michael, Garth Brooks and k.d. lang, among others - and also aired as a special on VH-1. This highly visible media event brought LGBT issues to the attention of people all across the U.S.

The Barbara Gittings Award

Barbara Gittings

GLAAD inaugurates the Barbara Gittings Award at this year's D.C. ceremonies. Barbara Gittings has spent more than four decades walking picket lines, speaking out in the media or at meetings of national professional organizations and marching in parades for LGBT causes and issues.

Recognized as a true pioneer, Gittings insisted that LGBT people be seen with a human face at a time when lesbians and gays were represented negatively, if at all, in the media. In the mid-1960s she was among the handful of picketers brave enough to march outside the White House, the Pentagon and Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Gittings has been featured in the documentaries Before Stonewall, After Stonewall, Out of the Past and the forthcoming PBS documentary Gay Pioneers. She is the first recipient of this annual award named in her honor. The Barbara Gittings Award will be presented to a pioneering individual, group or community media outlet that has made a significant contribution to the development of LGBT media.

The Washington, D.C. Theater Award
Recognizing the breadth of theater productions featuring LGBT content, one of five nominees will walk away with the first-ever Outstanding Washington, D.C. Award. Nominated for their fair and accurate portrayal of LGBT people, the theater award can include one-person shows, performance art and revivals, but not readings, improvisational shows or one-night only performances. This year's nominees for the D.C. award include Marc Wolf's Another American, Asking & Telling produced at The Studio Theater, Mart Crowley's The Boys in the Band, produced at The American Century Theater, Craig Lucas's The Dying Gaul, produced at Source Theater Company, Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, produced at Source Theater Company, and Daphne Scholinksi's The Last Time I Wore a Dress, produced at Source Theater Company.

The Outstanding Advertising Campaign Award
This award is given to a print or television advertisement that features LGBT people in the ad, or addresses LGBT issues. Ads created for mainstream media outlets are given strong consideration, while ads appearing in LGBT media may be considered if they are particularly noteworthy or groundbreaking. Among this year's award finalists for Outstanding Advertising Campaign are a print ad for Propecia, entitled, "Committed Couple," a TV and print ad for the San Francisco Department of Public Health, entitled, "HIV Stops with Me," a TV spot for John Hancock Financial Services, called, "Immigration," a print ad for Subaru, called, "It's Not a Choice, It's the Way we're Built," and a TV promotional ad for MTV, entitled, "The Language of Love."

About the GLAAD Media Awards With almost 100 corporate sponsors (including more than 15 Fortune 500 companies) the GLAAD Media Awards corporate sponsorship program will surpass a record-breaking $1.5 million mark. Total revenue for the 4 events will exceed $2.5 million. Presenting Sponsor ABSOLUT VODKA is celebrating its 12th year with the GLAAD Media Awards and its 20th year in the LGBT community. Other corporate sponsors showing their support include the David Bohnett Foundation, Coors Brewing Company and the Michael Palm Foundation as Platinum Underwriters. American Airlines (GLAAD's official airline), AT&T, Cahners, Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Mediapolis, Motorola and Terry Watanabe join the Media Awards as the event's Underwriters. Anheuser-Busch, AOL Time Warner, Entertainment Weekly Magazine, IBM, Jaguar, Marlo Thomas & Phil Donahue, Showtime, Touchstone Television and Wells Fargo Bank also are major sponsors of the events.