BUD GREENSPAN TO RECEIVE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD AT 27TH ANNUAL SPORTS EMMY AWARDS, MAY 1
BUD GREENSPAN TO RECEIVE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
AT 27TH ANNUAL SPORTS EMMY AWARDS, MAY 1
New York, N.Y. – March 23, 2006 — Bud Greenspan, one of the foremost writer/producer/directors of sports films who has impacted decades of Olympic coverage, will receive this year's Lifetime Achievement Award at the 27th Annual Sports Emmy Awards, it was announced today by Peter Price, President/CEO of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The award will be presented on Monday, May 1 at the Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City at the 27th Annual Sports Emmy Awards.
Also that night Sports Emmy Awards in 28 categories will be presented including outstanding live sports special, sports documentary, studio show, play-by-play personality, studio analyst and, for the first time this year, outstanding sports content on non-traditional delivery platforms such as the Internet, cell phones, iPods, PDAs an other devices. Nominations for the Sports Emmy Awards will be announced on Wednesday, March 29 (8:00 AM) at the World Congress of Sports at the Pierre Hotel in New York City.
"Bud Greenspan is a champion among champions," said Price. "He has enlightened us with the touching and inspiring stories of generations of determined young athletes. His humanistic coverage of the events and athletes of the Olympics have brought to life the true intent of the Olympic games – a greater understanding of the peoples and cultures, the triumphs and tragedies, that are part of the Olympic experience for all who enter the Games. This is a very well-deserved honor."
Greenspan established himself as the consummate Olympic storyteller with the production in 1976 of an Emmy Award-winning 22-part series, "The Oympiad," which has been telecast on PBS, ABC, ESPN and in 80 countries around the world. His acclaimed 1968 one-hour special "Jessie Owens Returns to Berlin" was featured as part of that series. Also Greenspan's NBC movie of the week "Wilma," based on the life of Olympic champion Wilma Rudolph and starring Cicely Tyson and Denzel Washington in his first movie role, was one of the highest-rated television films of the 1977 season.
Greenspan has just completed filming for his ninth Official Olympic Film this winter in Torino. A noted sports historian, his most recent works include "The First Miracle" (2006), the story of the 1960 Gold Medal winning ice hockey team from Squaw Valley and "Whirlaway" (2005), celebrating the Calumet owned chestnut colt who was the fifth-winner of horse racing's Triple Crown, both aired on ESPN Classic. "Bud Greenspan Remembers: The 1984 LA Olympics" (2004), premiered on Showtime in July 2004; while "Pound for Pound" (2004), and "The Barrier Breakers" (2004) both aired on ESPN Classic. He is currently working on a documentary about Black baseball legend, Larry Doby, who broke the American League's color barrier in 1947, to be telecast on Showtime this July.
Greenspan was awarded the coveted "Olympic Order" in 1985 by President Juan Antonio Samaranch and the International Olympic Committee for his contribution to furthering the ideals of the Olympic movement — only the 17th American to have been so honored. His films have received seven Emmy Awards, and he was previously recognized for his body of work with the George Foster Peabody Award and the Directors Guild of America Award. In 2000 he was inducted into the Silver Circle of the New York Chapter of the National Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2004, Mr. Greenspan was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame as a "Special Contributor."
Greenspan's first eight Official Olympic films feature stories from the 2004 Athens, 2000 Sydney, 1996 Atlanta, and 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Summer Games and the 2002 Salt Lake City, 1998 Nagano, 1994 Lillehammer, and 1988 Calgary Olympic Winter Games. Among his many other films are "The 1972 Munich Olympic Games: Bud Greenspan Remembers" (2003); "Bud Greenspan's Favorite Stories of Winter Olympic Glory (2002)," "Bud Greenspan's Favorite Stories of Summer Olympic Glory" (2000); "Kings of the Ring: Four Legends of Heavyweight Boxing" (2000); and "Ageless Heroes" (1998) a film which was a departure from the world of sports, but received numerous accolades when it aired on PBS because it celebrated the continued vibrancy of people over the age of 65, an age group that has long been ignored.
In 1996, Bud Greenspan continued to document the Olympic saga producing two highly acclaimed television specials celebrating the centennial of the Modern Olympic Games, which aired on TBS: "100 Years of Olympic Glory" (1996), a three-hour film exploring great international stories of the Olympic Games, and "America's Greatest Olympians" (1996), two-hours that chronicles the inspiring stories of American Olympic athletes.
In 1992 and in 1988, the International Olympic Committee commissioned Bud Greenspan and his company, Cappy Productions, Inc. to produce two films celebrating the Seoul and Barcelona Olympic Games, "16 Days of Glory/Barcelona" (1992) and "16 Days of Glory/Seoul" (1988), both of which premiered on The Disney Channel.
Other Olympic films include "Triumph and Tragedy: The 1972 Munich Olympics" (1992), which was televised worldwide in the summer of 1992, and "The Measure of Greatness" (1992), a film about the history of timing at the Olympic Games, which aired on The Discovery Channel. Greenspan also produced a 36-monitor Multi-Screen visual and musical tribute to the Olympic Games titled "The Spirit of the Olympics" (1993) that is on permanent display at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Another Greenspan production included the HBO Special: "The Golden Age of Sport" (1988), featuring legendary sports heroes from the 1920's including Babe Ruth, Bill Tilden, Bobby Jones, Jack Dempsey and Red Grange, which won a Cable ACE award as the Outstanding Sports Documentary of the Year.
In addition to his award-winning films, Greenspan is a Contributing Editor for PARADE magazine, for which he writes the popular Olympic Preview issue. Greenspan has also written several books, including three on the Olympics: "100 Greatest Moments in Olympic History," "The Olympians Guide to Winning the Game of Life" and "Frozen in Time: The Greatest Moments at the Winter Olympics." Two earlier books, "Play It Again, Bud" and "We Wuz Robbed," dealt with famous controversies in the field of sports. His first spoken-word record album, "Great Moments in Sport," earned Greenspan a Gold Record.
Bud Greenspan began his career as a sports broadcaster. In 1947, at the age of 21, he became Sports Director of radio station WMGM in New York City, then the largest sports station in the country. Greenspan broadcast such programs as "Warm-Up Time" and "Sports Extra," the pre- and post-game coverage of the Brooklyn Dodgers. He also broadcast play by play and "color" for hockey, basketball, track and tennis from Madison Square Garden.
The National Television Academy is a professional service organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and the promotion of creative leadership for artistic, educational and technical achievements within the television industry. It recognizes excellence in television with the coveted Emmy Award for News & Documentary, Sports, Daytime, Creative Arts, Public & Community Service, Technology & Engineering/Advanced Media and Business & Financial Reporting. Excellence in Primetime programming and international programming is recognized by its affiliate, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Regional Emmys are given in 19 regions across the United States. Beyond awards, the National Television Academy has extensive educational programs including National Student Television and its Student Award for Excellence for outstanding journalistic work by high school students, as well as scholarships, publications, and major activities for both industry professionals and the viewing public. For more information, please visit the website at www.emmyonline.tv