November 4, 2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: John Pavlik   

Beverly Hills, CA - Gilbert Cates' 11th assignment as producer of an Academy Awards^® telecast will be for the 75th Anniversary edition scheduled for Sunday, March 23, 2003, Academy President Frank Pierson announced today.

Cates, who has ten telecasts to his credit since 1990, has produced more Oscar shows than any other producer.

"With ten shows under his belt, no other living producer even comes close to the depth of his experience," Pierson said. "Gil practically invented the awards show as a stylistic genre. We're privileged to have him present a very special event to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Oscars."

Cates' previous outings as producer have garnered 76 Emmy nominations and 18 Emmy Awards. Cates won the Emmy himself in 1991 for producing the 63rd Annual Academy Awards telecast.

"Who could pass up the chance to tackle the 75th Anniversary telecast?" Cates asked. "I'm delighted that Frank has asked me to take on this very special occasion. Dozens of ideas have been whirling through my head since he did and a few of them will coalesce to make a fun, fast-paced, exciting show."

The 75th Anniversary Academy Awards will be preceded by the telecast of the Academy's official arrivals pre-show from 5 to 5:30 p.m. Cates also will serve as executive producer of that show.

A member of the Academy's Board of Governors representing the directors branch (a position he previously held for nine years from 1984 to 1993), Cates also served as dean of UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television for seven years and is a former two-term president of the Directors Guild of America. For the past five years Cates has served as producing director of UCLA's Geffen Playhouse, for which he received the Jimmy Doolittle Award for Outstanding Contribution to Los Angeles Theater.

Cates has had a distinguished career in both motion pictures and television. He produced and directed "I Never Sang for My Father" (1970), a film which earned three Academy Award nominations, and directed "Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams" (1973), which collected two more Oscar nominations.

Cates' accolades as Oscar Show producer are among a long roster of television credits. He earned an Emmy nomination as director of the 1991 television movie, "Absolute Strangers," starring Henry Winkler. His credits, under his Cates/Doty Productions banner, also include "A Death in the Family" (2002), "Collected Stories" (2002), "Innocent Victims" (1996); 1990's critically-acclaimed "Call Me Anna," the telefilm based on Patty Duke's autobiography; the Emmy-nominated "Do You Know the Muffin Man?" (1990); "Confessions: Two Faces of Evil" (1993); "Fatal Judgment" (1988); "Consenting Adult" (1984), for which he earned an Emmy nomination; and "Hobson's Choice" (1983).

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2002 will be presented on March 23, 2003, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland. Sunday at the Oscars will be televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m. (PST), with a half-hour arrivals segment preceding the presentation ceremony.

Editors: Please note that downloadable photos are available at http://photos.oscars.org

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