Barbra Streisand Receives Jewish Image Award

Posted/Updated: 27 July 2003 19:26

Barbra Streisand has received a Jewish Image Award for co-executive producing the April 2001 Showtime film Varian's War starring William Hurt. She was also one of the financial underwriters of the first awards ceremony in LA on October 30. Read the complete details in the following press release from the National Foundation for Jewish Culture.

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 31 -- Arthur Hiller was honored with the Tisch Lifetime Achievement Award at the first annual Jewish Image Awards, which recognizes outstanding work reflecting the Jewish heritage through film and television, on Tuesday, October 30, 2001 at The Beverly Hilton Hotel. Other honorees included Richard Schiff for The West Wing, Steven Weber for Club Land, Rachel Weisz for Enemy at the Gates, Hannah Taylor Gordon for Anne Frank, and more.

During his five decades in the film industry, Arthur Hiller has been extraordinarily influential with films including Love Story, Man of La Mancha, The Out-of-Towners, The Man in the Glass Booth, Plaza Suite, Outrageous Fortune and also television greats such as Naked City, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Gunsmoke, and more. He has directed Robert Redford, George C. Scott, Julie Andrews, Sophia Loren, Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Richard Pryor, Bette Midler, Dustin Hoffman, Rock Hudson, Warren Beatty, Al Pacino and many more.

Hosted by Jeffrey Tambor, the inaugural awards ceremony was presented by the Los Angeles Entertainment Industry Council of the National Foundation for Jewish Culture. The Awards recognize achievement in creative presentations and portrayals of Jewish characters, values, history, and traditions as seen in film and television.

Howard Bragman and Alan Kannof, both members of the Board of Directors of the National Foundation for Jewish Culture, co-chaired the event. Underwriters Jamie & Steve Tisch and Jonathan Tisch initiated fundraising with an endowment in support of this inaugural event. Other underwriters include Cheryl & Haim Saban and Fox Family Worldwide, Inc. Additional generous supporters include Barbra Streisand, Walt Disney Company, David Geffen Foundation, CBS Entertainment, Showtime Networks, Inc. and Sydney Pollack among others.

The MorningStar Commission, a select group of professionals in the entertainment industry, founded by Hadassah and chaired by Joan Hyler, honored entertainment attorney Patti Felker of Nelson Felker Levine & Dern with their ``Woman of Inspiration'' Award during the ceremony.

The Jewish Image Awards were written by six-time Emmy Award winner Bruce Vilanch, whose credits include the Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, the Emmy Awards and the Tony Awards. The Jewish Image Awards were produced by Scott Mauro.

The National Foundation for Jewish Culture is dedicated to strengthening Jewish continuity and fostering an American Jewish cultural identity. The Jewish Image Awards are dedicated to celebrating the role of the Jewish culture and experience in enhancing the quality of life in America.

During the cocktail ceremony, awards were also presented to productions in film and television that reflect Jewish values and experience. Following is the complete list of winners.

                   First Annual Jewish Image Awards Winners

     Tisch Lifetime Achievement Award
     Arthur Hiller

     Outstanding Achievement Award
     "Rugrats 10th Anniversary" -- Nickelodeon / Klasky-Csupo

     Network Television Film Award
     "Anne Frank" -- ABC / Disney

     Cable Television Film Award
     "Varian's War" -- Showtime

     Documentary Film Award
     "Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport" --
     Warner Bros.

     Television Series Award
     "The West Wing" -- Warner Bros. Television / NBC

     Female Character in Television
     Hannah Taylor Gordon, "Anne Frank" -- ABC / Disney

     Male Character in Television
     Richard Schiff, "The West Wing" -- Warner Bros. Television / NBC

     Female Character in Film
     Rachel Weisz, "Enemy at the Gates" -- Paramount Pictures / Mandalay Films

     Male Character in Film
     Steven Weber, "Club Land" -- Showtime

     Cross-Cultural Production Award
     "Backstory: Gentleman's Agreement" -- AMC / Prometheus Entertainment

     MorningStar Commission's "Woman of Inspiration" Award
     Patti Felker of Nelson Felker Levine & Dern LLP
 

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