Steve Martin Receives AFI Life Achievement Award on TBS Tonight

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. has extended its deal to present the American Film Institute's annual AFI Life Achievement Award gala tribute. The Emmy(R)-winning television event, which this year will celebrate the career of actor, comedian, author, playwright, screenwriter, producer and musician Steve Martin, will continue premiering on TNT or TBS through 2018, with encores each year on sister network Turner Classic Movies (TCM).

This year's ceremony took place in Los Angeles on Thursday, June 4, and will premiere tonight, June 13, at 10 p.m. (ET/PT) on TBS, with an encore at 11:30 p.m. (ET/PT). Sister network TCM will present an encore of the special on Thursday, July 30, at 8 p.m. (ET) during a night of movies starring Martin.

The highest honor given for a career in film, the AFI Life Achievement Award was established by the AFI Board of Trustees in 1973. It is presented to a single honoree each year based on the following criteria as mandated through a resolution passed by the AFI Board of Trustees: "The recipient should be one whose talent has in a fundamental way advanced the film art; whose accomplishment has been acknowledged by scholars, critics, professional peers and the general public; and whose work has stood the test of time."

Most recently, the 42nd AFI Life Achievement Award tribute brought together the film community to honor Jane Fonda. AFI Life Achievement Award recipient Michael Douglas (2009) presented the award, while past honorees Robert De Niro (2003), Morgan Freeman (2011) and Meryl Streep (2004) paid tribute to Fonda and her diverse talent. Among Fonda's family, friends and collaborators who participated were Sandra Bullock, Cameron Diaz, Sally Field, Peter Fonda, Robert Redford and Lily Tomlin.

AFI Life Achievement Award Recipients

Steve Martin joins an esteemed group of individuals who have been chosen for this distinguished honor since its inception in 1973.

1973 John Ford
1974 James Cagney
1975 Orson Welles
1976 William Wyler
1977 Bette Davis
1978 Henry Fonda
1979 Alfred Hitchcock
1980 James Stewart
1981 Fred Astaire
1982 Frank Capra
1983 John Huston
1984 Lillian Gish
1985 Gene Kelly
1986 Billy Wilder
1987 Barbara Stanwyck
1988 Jack Lemmon
1989 Gregory Peck
1990 David Lean
1991 Kirk Douglas
1992 Sidney Poitier
1993 Elizabeth Taylor 1994 Jack Nicholson
1995 Steven Spielberg
1996 Clint Eastwood
1997 Martin Scorsese
1998 Robert Wise
1999 Dustin Hoffman
2000 Harrison Ford
2001 Barbra Streisand
2002 Tom Hanks
2003 Robert De Niro
2004 Meryl Streep
2005 George Lucas
2006 Sean Connery
2007 Al Pacino
2008 Warren Beatty
2009 Michael Douglas
2010 Mike Nichols
2011 Morgan Freeman
2012 Shirley MacLaine
2013 Mel Brooks
2014 Jane Fonda

About the American Film Institute

AFI is America's promise to preserve the heritage of the motion picture, to honor the artists and their work and to educate the next generation of storytellers. AFI programs include the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and AFI Archive, which preserve film heritage for future generations; the AFI Life Achievement Award, the highest honor for a career in film; AFI Awards, honoring the most outstanding motion pictures and television programs of the year; AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies television events and movie reference lists, which have introduced and reintroduced classic American movies to millions of film lovers; year-round and special event exhibition through AFI FEST presented by Audi, AFI DOCS and the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center; and educating the next generation of storytellers at the world-renowned AFI Conservatory.

About Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news; entertainment; animation and young adult; and sports media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos

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