UCLA Jack Benny Award presented to Judd Apatow | 6/12

UCLA Jack Benny Award presented to Judd Apatow
Date:Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
Time: 12 p.m.
Location: Royce Hall

The UCLA Jack Benny award was created in order to recognize individuals who have contributed significantly to the field of comedy, whether in film, television or in stand-up, in honor of Mr. Jack Benny’s legacy. The award was first presented to Johnny Carson in 1977 and since then many prominent figures in entertainment have been recognized with this award. Previous recipients include Steve Martin, Conan O’Brien, Adam Sandler and Bill Murray. The last recipient was Kevin Smith in 2006.

Judd Apatow was a natural choice for the award considering his substantial body of work and its profound influence on comedy today. He wrote, produced, and directed Funny People, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and Knocked Up, and has also produced works such as Superbad, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and Anchorman.  Regarding the award, Judd Apatow said, “I am honored to receive this award from UCLA even though I am a former USC student. I am torn, but since I never graduated from USC, I shall accept it.”

The ceremony will be followed by a Q&A session with Mr. Apatow, moderated by Jason Segel from Forgetting Sarah Marshall and How I met your Mother.

Jack Benny was a comedian, vaudeville performer and radio, television and film actor. He did it all. In fact, some comedic scholars say that Mr. Benny may have been the first “stand-up comedian” as the term is known as well as the originator of what became the situation comedy or “sitcom.”

** Admission is free. UCLA students, faculty, and staff will be able to pick up tickets from CTO on Monday, May 24th (one ticket per Bruincard). You must present a valid Bruincard for entrance. There will be a standby line. **

Media/press are welcome to attend the event. For credentialing please contact JoanneLin@ucla.edu

Full event poster: