AFI Life Achievement Award

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AFI Life Achievement Award
Logo of AFI
Awarded for	Honoring an individual whose career in motion pictures or television has greatly contributed to the enrichment of American culture.
Location	Los Angeles
Presented by	American Film Institute
Reward(s)	Trophy
First awarded	1973; 48 years ago (1973)[1]
Currently held by	Julie Andrews
Website	www.afi.com/laa/
Television/radio coverage
Network	TNT

The AFI Life Achievement Award was established by the board of directors of the American Film Institute on February 26, 1973, to honor a single individual for his or her lifetime contribution to enriching American culture through motion pictures and television.^[2] The recipient is selected and honored at a ceremony annually, with the award presented by a master of ceremonies and recently, the prior year's recipient, who usually gives a brief synopsis of the awarded individual and career background including highlights and achievements.

The trustees initially specified that the recipient must be one who fundamentally advanced the art of film and whose achievements had been acknowledged by the general public as well as by film scholars and critics and the individual's peers. The trustees also specified that the work of the recipient must have withstood the test of time.

History of the award[]

Director John Ford was the unanimous choice of the board of trustees for the first award as he "clearly stands preeminent in the history of motion pictures."

President Richard Nixon attended the gala dinner at which Ford was presented the award on March 31, 1973.^[2]

The board of trustees later amended the "test of time" requirement to enable the AFI Life Achievement Award to be presented to individuals with active careers, such as Steven Spielberg.^[2]

Trivia[]

Actress Lillian Gish was awarded the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1984, aged 90, becoming the oldest recipient of the prize, whilst Mel Brooks was the oldest male, awarded aged 86 in 2013.

Actor Tom Hanks was awarded the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2002, aged 46, becoming the youngest recipient of the prize.

Out of the 48 honorees ten have been women: Bette Davis (the first female recipient), Lillian Gish, Barbara Stanwyck, Elizabeth Taylor, Barbra Streisand, Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, and Julie Andrews.

Composer John Williams was the first recipient of the award to have not come predominantly from the acting or directing fields.

Televised broadcast[]

All Life Achievement Award ceremonies have been televised on major TV networks and cable channels: CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, USA, TV Land, TNT and TBS. Agreeing to appear at the televised ceremony apparently is part of the AFI's criteria for selecting the award. The televised ceremony generates income for the AFI, which is no longer funded by the US government.

Recipients[]

The American Film Institute has awarded the AFI Life Achievement Award to one person each year since 1973. The 48th Award will be presented to Julie Andrews in Los Angeles on June 9, 2022.^[3] The event was originally scheduled for April 25, 2020, with a broadcast on May 7 on TNT, but the event was postponed for 2021, due to concerns of 'the rapidly evolving nature of current events' regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. This marks the first time an AFI Life Achievement Award event was delayed.^[4][5] The event was rescheduled for November 11th, 2021, before it was postponed a second time on October 5th, 2021. ^[6]

#	Year	Honoree	image	Age	Date of Ceremony	Network	Award Presenter/Host
1	1973	John Ford		79	March 31, 1973	CBS	Danny Kaye (host)
2	1974	James Cagney		74	March 31, 1974	CBS	Frank Sinatra (host)
3	1975	Orson Welles		59	February 9, 1975	CBS	Frank Sinatra (host)
4	1976	William Wyler		73	March 9, 1976	CBS	Gregory Peck (host)
5	1977	Bette Davis		68	March 1, 1977	CBS	Jane Fonda (host)
6	1978	Henry Fonda		72	March 15, 1978	CBS	N/A
7	1979	Alfred Hitchcock		79	March 7, 1979	CBS	Ingrid Bergman (host)
8	1980	James Stewart		71	March 16, 1980	CBS	Henry Fonda (host)
9	1981	Fred Astaire		81	April 10, 1981	CBS	David Niven (host)
10	1982	Frank Capra		84	March 4, 1982	CBS	James Stewart (host)
11	1983	John Huston		76	March 3, 1983	CBS	Lauren Bacall (host)
12	1984	Lillian Gish		90	March 1, 1984	CBS	Douglas Fairbanks Jr. (host)
13	1985	Gene Kelly		72	March 7, 1985	CBS	Shirley MacLaine (host)
14	1986	Billy Wilder		79	March 6, 1986	NBC	Jack Lemmon (host)
15	1987	Barbara Stanwyck		79	April 9, 1987	ABC	Jane Fonda (host)
16	1988	Jack Lemmon		63	March 10, 1988	CBS	Julie Andrews (host)
17	1989	Gregory Peck		72	March 9, 1989	NBC	Audrey Hepburn (host)
18	1990	David Lean		82	March 8, 1990	ABC	Gregory Peck (host)
19	1991	Kirk Douglas		74	March 7, 1991	CBS	Michael Douglas (host)
20	1992	Sidney Poitier		65	March 12, 1992	NBC	Harry Belafonte (host)
21	1993	Elizabeth Taylor		61	March 11, 1993	ABC	Carol Burnett (host)
22	1994	Jack Nicholson		56	March 3, 1994	CBS	Mike Nichols
23	1995	Steven Spielberg		48	March 2, 1995	NBC	Sidney Sheinberg
24	1996	Clint Eastwood		65	February 29, 1996	ABC	Steven Spielberg
25	1997	Martin Scorsese		54	February 20, 1997	CBS	Gregory Peck
26	1998	Robert Wise		83	February 19, 1998	NBC	Julie Andrews
27	1999	Dustin Hoffman		61	February 18, 1999	ABC	Jack Nicholson
28	2000	Harrison Ford		57	February 17, 2000	CBS	George Lucas & Steven Spielberg
29	2001	Barbra Streisand		58	February 22, 2001[7]	Fox	Sidney Poitier
30	2002	Tom Hanks		46	June 24, 2002	USA Network	Steven Spielberg
31	2003	Robert De Niro		59	June 12, 2003	USA Network	Martin Scorsese
32	2004	Meryl Streep		54	June 21, 2004	USA Network	Mike Nichols
33	2005	George Lucas		61	June 9, 2005	USA Network	Steven Spielberg
34	2006	Sean Connery		75	June 8, 2006	USA Network	Harrison Ford
35	2007	Al Pacino		67	June 7, 2007	USA Network	Sean Penn
36	2008	Warren Beatty		71	June 12, 2008	USA Network	Al Pacino
37	2009	Michael Douglas		64	June 11, 2009	TV Land	Jack Nicholson
38	2010	Mike Nichols		78	June 10, 2010	TV Land	Meryl Streep
39	2011	Morgan Freeman		74	June 9, 2011	TV Land	Clint Eastwood
40	2012	Shirley MacLaine		78	June 7, 2012	TV Land	Meryl Streep
41	2013	Mel Brooks		86	June 15, 2013	TNT	Martin Scorsese
42	2014	Jane Fonda		76	June 13, 2014	TNT	Michael Douglas
43	2015	Steve Martin		69	June 4, 2015	TBS	Mel Brooks
44	2016	John Williams		84	June 9, 2016	TNT	Steven Spielberg
45	2017	Diane Keaton		71	June 8, 2017	TNT	Woody Allen
46	2018	George Clooney		57	June 7, 2018	TNT	Shirley MacLaine
47	2019	Denzel Washington		64	June 6, 2019	TNT	Spike Lee
2020	NOT AWARDED
2021	NOT AWARDED
48	2022	Julie Andrews		86	June 9, 2022	TNT	TBA[8]

See also[]

• Cecil B. DeMille Award

Notes[]

External links[]

• Official website