George Stevens

The George Stevens Lecture, established by the Academy in 1981 as a means of drawing attention to the collection of George Stevens' personal papers gifted to the Margaret Herrick Library by George Stevens Jr., is a departure from the norm for Academy Foundation Lectures. It is the only lecture that is now about aspects of the career of a single individual. The inaugural lecture, on September 14, was delivered by Richard Jewell, assistant professor of cinema at the University of Southern California and concluded with a screening of "A Place in the Sun" in its entirety. Subsequent lectures have generally followed the same format. It was Stevens Jr.'s intention that the lectures would provoke reexamination of the Stevens oeuvre, and more specifically encourage serious students to burrow into the collection of papers in the Herrick Library. George Stevens was the recipient of nine Academy Award nominations and two Oscars for best directing, and he was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1953. Stevens was a longtime member of the Academy's Board of Governors and served as the organization's 14th president. He started in the film business in 1921 as an assistant cameraman, joining Hal Roach in 1927 as cameraman on Laurel and Hardy shorts. His first major success was "Alice Adams," starring Katharine Hepburn. Among his films were "Gunga Din," "I Remember Mama," "A Place in the Sun," "Shane," "Giant," "The Diary of Anne Frank," and "The Greatest Story Ever Told." Stevens died in 1975.

The George Stevens Lectures:

Richard Jewell, 1981
Robert Benton, 1982
Mark Rydell, 1984
Premiere screening of "George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey"
Rudy Behlmer, 1986
Gene Phillips, 1987
Tony Thomas, 1989
Tom Schatz, 1990
Ron Haver, 1991
Robert Sklar, 1993
Douglas Day Stewart, 1995
40th Anniversary Screening of "Giant," 1996
John Landis, 1997
Dr. Michael Berenbaum / Road Show Restoration of Anne Frank, 2003
George Stevens Centennial Tribute, 2004