Alabama Stage and Screen Hall of Fame
Encyclopedia
The Alabama Stage and Screen Hall of Fame was founded in 1998 for the purpose of honoring Alabamians who have made significant contributions to film, television or theatre. The organization is sponsored jointly by Theatre Tuscaloosa and Shelton State Community College
in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
.
, actress and author Fannie Flagg
and philanthropists Mr. and Mrs. Winton M. Blount
, who contributed over $21 million dollars for a new home for the Alabama Shakespeare Festival
.
2000 honorees included the late actress Lois Wilson who appeared in more than 130 films from 1917 to 1965 as well as numerous Broadway and television appearances; Polly Holliday, perhaps best known for her role as "Flo" on the television show Alice, she has a long and distinguished career in movies and on stage; director John Badham
whose movie Saturday Night Fever
defined the disco era; and actress / singer Nell Carter
, who won a Tony Award
for her performance in Ain't Misbehavin'.
; (for 2004) actress / comedienne Brett Butler
and actor Johnny Mack Brown
; (for 2003) director / producer Tom Cherones
and singer / actor Nat King Cole
; (for 2002) actor George "Goober" Lindsey, actor Dean Jones
, composer / lyricist Hugh Martin
; (for 2001) author Truman Capote
, singer / actress Rebecca Luker
and the film To Kill a Mockingbird
; (for 2000) actress Lois Wilson, singer / actress Nell Carter
, actress Polly Holliday and film director John Badham
; (for 1999) actress Tallulah Bankhead
, actress / comedienne / author Fannie Flagg
and philanthropists and patrons of the arts Mr. and Mrs. Winton M. Blount
.
Each year, a new group of inductees are honored at the annual gala, featuring a cast of dancers and singers from the roster of Theatre Tuscaloosa, accompanied by the Steve Sample Orchestra, with arrangements by Steve Sample, Sr
. and Ray Reach
.
Shelton State Community College
Shelton State Community College is a two-year community college located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Operated by the Alabama State Department of Postsecondary Education, Shelton is one of the largest two-year colleges in the state. Approximately 7,000 students are enrolled in some form of coursework,...
in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west central Alabama . Located on the Black Warrior River, it is the fifth-largest city in Alabama, with a population of 90,468 in 2010...
.
First inductees
The Alabama Stage and Screen Hall of Fame inducted its first class of honorees In April 1999, including the late actress Tallulah BankheadTallulah Bankhead
Tallulah Brockman Bankhead was an award-winning American actress of the stage and screen, talk-show host, and bonne vivante...
, actress and author Fannie Flagg
Fannie Flagg
Patricia Neal , known professionally as Fannie Flagg, is an American actress, comedienne and author. She is perhaps best-known for the 1988 novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, which was adapted into the 1991 movie Fried Green Tomatoes; Flagg was nominated for an Academy Award for...
and philanthropists Mr. and Mrs. Winton M. Blount
Winton M. Blount
Winton Malcolm "Red" Blount, Jr. was the United States Postmaster General from 1969-1972. He is also known as the founder and former Chief Executive Officer of the large construction company Blount International....
, who contributed over $21 million dollars for a new home for the Alabama Shakespeare Festival
Alabama Shakespeare Festival
The Alabama Shakespeare Festival is the seventh largest Shakespeare festival in the world. Each year, it attracts more than 300,000 visitors from throughout the United States and more than 60 countries, to its home in Montgomery, Alabama....
.
2000 honorees included the late actress Lois Wilson who appeared in more than 130 films from 1917 to 1965 as well as numerous Broadway and television appearances; Polly Holliday, perhaps best known for her role as "Flo" on the television show Alice, she has a long and distinguished career in movies and on stage; director John Badham
John Badham
- External links :...
whose movie Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever is a 1977 drama film directed by John Badham and starring: John Travolta as Tony Manero, an immature young man whose weekends are spent visiting a local Brooklyn discothèque; Karen Lynn Gorney as his dance partner and eventual friend; and Donna Pescow as Tony's former dance...
defined the disco era; and actress / singer Nell Carter
Nell Carter
Nell Carter was an American singer, and film, stage, and television actress. She won a Tony Award for her performance in the Broadway musical Ain't Misbehavin, as well as an Emmy Award for her reprisal of the role on television...
, who won a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for her performance in Ain't Misbehavin'.
Subsequent inductees
The list of inductees includes: (for 2006) actor Jim NaborsJim Nabors
James Thurston "Jim" Nabors is an American actor and singer. Born and raised in Sylacauga, Alabama, Nabors moved to Southern California because of his asthma. While working at a Santa Monica nightclub, The Horn, he was discovered by Andy Griffith and later joined The Andy Griffith Show, playing...
; (for 2004) actress / comedienne Brett Butler
Brett Butler (comedian)
Brett Butler is an American actress, writer, and stand-up comedian, best known for playing the title role in the comedy series Grace Under Fire.-Early life:...
and actor Johnny Mack Brown
Johnny Mack Brown
Johnny Mack Brown was an All-American college football player and film actor originally billed as John Mack Brown at the height of his screen career.-Early life:...
; (for 2003) director / producer Tom Cherones
Tom Cherones
Tom Cherones is an American director and producer of several TV series.-Early life:He grew up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where his father operated a radio and TV repair shop. His grandfather was a Greek immigrant. From 1961 to 1965, he was a lieutenant in the United States Navy...
and singer / actor Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
; (for 2002) actor George "Goober" Lindsey, actor Dean Jones
Dean Jones (actor)
Dean Carroll Jones is an American actor. Jones is best known for his light-hearted leading roles in several Walt Disney movies between 1965 and 1977, most notably The Love Bug.-Early years:...
, composer / lyricist Hugh Martin
Hugh Martin
Hugh Martin was an American musical theater and film composer, arranger, vocal coach, and playwright. He is best known for his score for the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me In St...
; (for 2001) author Truman Capote
Truman Capote
Truman Streckfus Persons , known as Truman Capote , was an American author, many of whose short stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and the true crime novel In Cold Blood , which he labeled a "nonfiction novel." At...
, singer / actress Rebecca Luker
Rebecca Luker
Rebecca Luker is an American musical theatre actress and soprano who has appeared in several prominent Broadway productions.-Life and career:...
and the film To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee published in 1960. It was instantly successful, winning the Pulitzer Prize, and has become a classic of modern American literature...
; (for 2000) actress Lois Wilson, singer / actress Nell Carter
Nell Carter
Nell Carter was an American singer, and film, stage, and television actress. She won a Tony Award for her performance in the Broadway musical Ain't Misbehavin, as well as an Emmy Award for her reprisal of the role on television...
, actress Polly Holliday and film director John Badham
John Badham
- External links :...
; (for 1999) actress Tallulah Bankhead
Tallulah Bankhead
Tallulah Brockman Bankhead was an award-winning American actress of the stage and screen, talk-show host, and bonne vivante...
, actress / comedienne / author Fannie Flagg
Fannie Flagg
Patricia Neal , known professionally as Fannie Flagg, is an American actress, comedienne and author. She is perhaps best-known for the 1988 novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, which was adapted into the 1991 movie Fried Green Tomatoes; Flagg was nominated for an Academy Award for...
and philanthropists and patrons of the arts Mr. and Mrs. Winton M. Blount
Winton M. Blount
Winton Malcolm "Red" Blount, Jr. was the United States Postmaster General from 1969-1972. He is also known as the founder and former Chief Executive Officer of the large construction company Blount International....
.
Each year, a new group of inductees are honored at the annual gala, featuring a cast of dancers and singers from the roster of Theatre Tuscaloosa, accompanied by the Steve Sample Orchestra, with arrangements by Steve Sample, Sr
Steve Sample, Sr
Steve Sample, Sr is a renowned bandleader, arranger, composer and jazz educator now residing in Bellingham, Washington. For more than 30 years, Sample was a professor in the Music Department of the University of Alabama, where he directed the Jazz Ensembles and taught music theory, arranging and...
. and Ray Reach
Ray Reach
Raymond Everett Reach, Jr. is an American pianist, vocalist and educator residing in Birmingham, Alabama, now serving as Director of Student Jazz Programs for the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, director of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame All-Stars and President and CEO of Ray Reach Music and Magic City...
.
External references and links
- Alabama Stage and Screen Hall of Fame at Theatre Tuscaloosa website
- "Alabama Stage and Screen Hall of Fame honors Jim Nabors" from MSNBC.com
- "Jim Nabors Honored in Home State," from the Washington Post