The Casts of “The Cosby Show” and “The Facts of Life,” John Travolta and the Cast of “Welcome Back, Kotter,” Michael J. Fox and the Cast of “Family Ties,” Regis Philbin, and Daryl Hall and John Oates Are Honored by Barbara Walters, Stevie Wonder, Ben Stiller, Jane Lynch, Paul Reiser and the “Hot in Cleveland” Cast.
Celebrity icons from television, film and music joined TV Land last night for the “TV Land Awards 2011,” which, for the first time in the award show’s nine-year history, was held in New York. The show, which premieres on TV Land on Sunday, April 17 at 9pm ET/PT , kicked off with a surprise performance by legendary entertainer Liza Minnelli , who performed her rendition of the classic tune “New York, New York.”
Barbara Walters, Stevie Wonder, Ben Stiller, Jane Lynch, Paul Reiser, Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick and the cast of “The Real Housewives of New York“ joined in on the extravaganza at the Jacob Javits Center to honor: entertainment icon Regis Philbin (Legend Award), platinum recording artists Daryl Hall and John Oates (Music Icon Award), and the beloved casts of “The Cosby Show” (Impact Award), “Family Ties” (Fan Favorite Award), “Welcome Back, Kotter” (35th Anniversary Award) and “The Facts of Life” (Pop Culture Award).
Other memorable moments in the evening included an impromptu performance of “Higher Ground” by music legend Stevie Wonder, famed singer Billy Vera singing “At This Moment,” “Alex” and “Ellen’s” (real life husband and wife Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan) “song” from “Family Ties” and a hilarious parody of the Oscar-winning film “The King’s Speech” starring Cindy Brady, which played on the memorable episode of “The Brady Bunch” in which Cindy deals with her lisp. “The Real Housewives of New York City” Cindy Barshop, Kelly Bensimon, LuAnn De Lesseps, Alex McCord, Sonja Morgan, Ramona Singer and Jill Zarin presented a tribute to television housewives throughout the years, which ended with a shot of Joyce Randolph (who played Trixie on “The Honeymooners”) in the audience.
The tribute awards included the following:
35 th ANNIVERSARY AWARD
Emmy Award-winner Jane Lynch, whose own hit show “Glee” takes place at a high school, presented the cast of “Welcome Back, Kotter” with the 35th Anniversary Award. Golden Globe-winner and two-time Academy Award nominee John Travolta reunited with co-stars Gabe Kaplan, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Robert Hegyes, Ellen Travolta and Marcia Strassman to accept the award for the popular edgy sitcom which ran from 1975-1979.
THE IMPACT AWARD
Presented by musical prodigy Stevie Wonder, The Impact Award is given to a show that offered both entertainment and enlightenment, with comedy that reflected reality. “The Cosby Show” cast Bill Cosby, Phylicia Rashad, Tempestt Bledsoe, Sabrina LeBeauf, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Raven Symone, Geoffrey Owens and Malcolm-Jamal Warner accepted the award.
THE LEGEND AWARD
A legend herself, Barbara Walters presented this award to Regis Philbin (“LIVE! with Regis and Kelly,” “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?”), whose career in television has spanned over 50 years and two Emmy Awards.
THE MUSIC ICON AWARD
Popular television star Paul Reiser presented this award to “Rock ‘N Soul” pioneers and platinum recording artists Daryl Hall and John Oates. The duo received the award for their contribution to music, having sold over 60 million albums worldwide and eight number one singles throughout their long and successful careers. Daryl Hall and John Oates also performed three of their number one singles “Rich Girl,” “Kiss on My List” and “You Make My Dreams.”
THE POP CULTURE AWARD
Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves and Wendie Malick the stars of TV Land’s “Hot in Cleveland” presented “The Facts of Life” cast, including Charlotte Rae, Mindy Cohn, Kim Fields, Nancy McKeon, Lisa Whelchel, Cloris Leachman and Geri Jewell, with The Pop Culture Award. Their memorable characters along with that catchy theme song made “The Facts of Life” soar to pop culture status in the 1980s.
THE FAN FAVORITE AWARD
The Fan Favorite Award was presented to the “Family Ties” cast by comedian extraordinaire Ben Stiller. The show won the hearts of viewers everywhere as the fictional Keaton family humorously struggled to deal with a new generation gap and political differences in the 1980s. Cast members Michael J. Fox, Michael Gross, Meredith Baxter, Justine Bateman, Tina Yothers, Tracy Pollan and Marc Price accepted, and singer Billy Vera gave a moving performance of “At This Moment.”
Now in its ninth year, the “TV Land Awards 2011” pays tribute to classic and contemporary luminaries of television, music and movies. The ninety-minute telecast will feature exhilarating tributes to some of the most iconic television casts and musical performers.
Michael Levitt (“Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D List,” “Ask Oprah’s All Stars,” “Scream Awards”) is executive producer, Glen Weiss is director (“The 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards,” “BET Awards,” “The 64th Annual Tony Awards”), Greg Sills is supervising producer (“VH1 Rock Honors,” “The Teen Choice Awards,” “Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards”) and TV Land’s Larry W. Jones and Casey Patterson are executive producers. Tim Bruno is executive in charge of production for TV Land.
