Carol Burnett Among Recipients of 49th Publicists Awards

The 49th Annual ICG Publicists Awards will be held Friday, February 24, 2012 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The awards, which traditionally takes place the week leading up to the Academy Awards, will be presented in the following categories: Motion Picture Showman of the Year, Television Showman of the Year, Lifetime Achievement Award, Maxwell Weinberg Publicist Showmanship Award for a Television Campaign and separately for a Motion Picture campaign, Press Award, International Media Award, Les Mason Award for Career Achievement in Publicity, Excellence in Still Photography Award for both Television and Motion Picture, and the Bob Yeager Award for Community Service.

Among those who will be honored are David Heyman, Producer of the entire Harry Potter Movie Franchise, who will receive the Motion Picture Showman of the Year Award, David Stapf, President of CBS Television Studios, who will receive the Television Showman of the Year Award, and legendary Actress and Comedian Carol Burnett, who will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award .

In addition to those being honored, Julie Andrews will dedicate the 2012 ICG Publicists Directory to veteran Disney publicist, Arlene Ludwig and “Rove McManus, Australia’s top talk show host and leading producer of entertainment television there, is set to host the Awards.

Among the recipients of this year's awards are:

Carol Burnett

Legendary comedian Carol Burnett will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award. In a career spanning 56 years Burnett has won six Emmys®, two Golden Globes®, a special Tony Award® a Peabody Award and numerous other recognitions, including a Kennedy Center Honor (2003) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom presented to her by President George W. Bush in 2005. Commenting on the selection of Carol Burnett, Bollinger said, “Carol Burnett has had an extraordinary career and a reputation for direct involvement in the promotion of the shows and movies in which she has starred. She has a clear understanding of the role publicity plays in the success of TV shows and movies.

David Heyman

David Heyman, producer of the Harry Potter films, the most successful film franchise of all time, will receive the Motion Picture Showman of the Year award. Heyman is currently producing several upcoming film projects, including Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity, starring Robert Downey Jr., and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, based on the book by Mark Haddon, to be scripted and directed by Steve Kloves.

Apart from the Harry Potter films, Heyman’s recent producing credits include the comedy Yes Man, starring Jim Carrey; Francis Lawrence’s hit science fiction thriller I Am Legend, starring Will Smith; Mark Herman’s acclaimed drama The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, starring Vera Farmiga and David Thewlis; and the independent drama Is Anybody There?, directed by John Crowley and starring Michael Caine. Heyman won ShoWest Producer of the Year Award in 2003, becoming the first British producer to have been presented with this honor. John Lasseter won the Publicists Motion Picture Showman of the Year Award last year. Other recent winners include James Cameron, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall, Judd Apatow and Amy Pascal with Michael Lynton. More than 1,000 industry leaders are expected to attend the awards luncheon. Other awards to be presented include the Lifetime Achievement Award, which this year will go to Carol Burnett; the Television Showman of the Year Award, going to David Stapf, president of CBS Television Studios; the Press and International Media Awards; the Les Mason Award, the highest honor given to a publicist; the Bob Yeager Award, which goes to a publicist in recognition of outstanding community service; the Excellence in Still Photography Award for films and television; and the Maxwell Weinberg Showmanship Awards for outstanding publicity campaigns of 2010 in film and television.

David Stapf

David Stapf, President of CBS Television Studios, will receive the Television Showman of the Year award. Stapf, a former publicist, was named to his present position in 2004 and is responsible for overseeing all of the studio's program development and production for series and television movies for the broadcast, basic cable and premium channel markets. He joined CBS in 1999 as senior vice president, current programming, CBS Entertainment. The studio has the two most watched dramas on television—NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles. CBS broadcasts six of the top 10 drama series, including the CSI franchise and The Good Wife. Prior to joining CBS Stapf was senior vice president of advertising, publicity and promotion for Warner Bros. Television. He began his career in 1985 as a unit publicist for Embassy Television. "The fact that David Stapf began his career as a publicist clearly validates his appreciation of the importance of publicity in the ultimate success of entertainment products,” said Henri Bollinger. “His background in publicity and the inordinate success he has enjoyed as President of CBS Television Studios makes him uniquely qualified to receive this honor.”