MT&R Taps Spike Jones, Jr. To Produce The Upcoming Annual Los Angeles Gala
Monday, October 3, 2005
Los Angeles, CA—The Museum of Television & Radio announced today that Spike Jones, Jr., will again produce its upcoming annual gala in Los Angeles on Monday, November 7, 2005, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills. As recently announced, the Museum will honor Peter Chernin, president and chief operating officer of News Corporation, and award-winning creator/executive producer John Wells. Chernin is being recognized for his outstanding contributions to the television industry and Wells for his prolific achievements and remarkable storytelling as ER enters its twelfth season and The West Wing is in its seventh season. Emmy-nominated actress Jane Kaczmarek of Malcolm in the Middle and Emmy-winning actor Bradley Whitford of The West Wing will host this year’s gala. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Museum’s ongoing efforts to collect and preserve television and radio programs and advertisements and make them available to the public.
“We are delighted to have Spike back to produce this year’s Los Angeles gala,” commented Barbara Dixon, vice president and director of The Museum of Television & Radio in Los Angeles. “His creative vision greatly contributed to the success of last year’s event, and we are looking forward to an even more innovative and entertaining gala evening this year.”
Spike Jones, Jr., president of SJ2 Productions, is a leading producer/director of award shows and live television variety shows. His most recent credits include producing the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, as he has done for the past eleven years, and last year’s Writers Guild Awards. He is also responsible for producing many of the industry’s most prestigious live broadcasts, including preshow arrivals for the first annual TV Land Awards, ABC network’s 2002 Fourth of July and 2001 New Year’s specials, and worldwide millennium New Year’s special. In addition, Jones has worked with a number of other television outlets, including HBO, Showtime, A&E Networks, MTV, VH1, Spike TV, The History Channel, Nickelodeon, and Nick at Nite. SJ2 Entertainment projects have also included Premiere Magazine Salutes Women in Film, the 52nd Presidential Inaugural Concert Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial, NARAS’ Musicares, the American Cinematheque Awards, and the Inaugural Gala of the 37th Governor of California.
The Museum of Television & Radio, with locations in New York and Los Angeles, was founded by William S. Paley to collect and preserve television and radio programs and advertisements and to make them available to the public. Since opening in 1976, the Museum has organized exhibitions, screening and listening series, seminars, and education classes to showcase its preeminent collection of over 120,000 television and radio programs and advertisements. Programs in the Museum’s collection are selected for their artistic, cultural, and historic significance.
The Museum of Television & Radio in New York, located at 25 West 52 Street in Manhattan, is open Tuesdays through Sundays from noon to 6:00 p.m. and until 8:00 p.m. on Thursdays. The Museum of Television & Radio in California, located at 465 North Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills, is open Wednesdays through Sundays from noon to 5:00 p.m. Both Museums are closed on New Year's Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Suggested contribution: Members free; $10.00 for adults; $8.00 for senior citizens and students; and $5.00 for children under fourteen. Admission is free in Los Angeles. The public areas in both Museums are accessible to wheelchairs, and assisted listening devices are available. Programs are subject to change. You may call the Museum in New York at (212) 621-6800 or in Los Angeles at (310) 786-1000. Visit the Museum’s website at www.mtr.org.