American actor, comedian, director, producer and author, Henry Winkler, has been named the 2019 Los Angeles Press Club’s Bill Rosendahl Public Service Awardee for Contributions to Civic Life.
“Now more than ever the country and world need you (the press) and I am beyond thrilled that you have invited me to be honored,” said Henry Winkler.
“We all fell in love with Arthur Fonzarelli, the tough-guy character he played in Happy Days, but what we’ve come to learn since, is Henry’s incredibly warm heart. His work with children who have learning disabilities, based on his own experience, is an inspiration to us all. As the Fonz would say, ‘Ayyyy!’” said Press Club President Chris Palmeri, Bureau Chief of Bloomberg Los Angeles.
Several “Happy Days” episodes dealt with the issues of people who have disabilities. Fonzie learned sign language, for example, and hired a wheel-chair bound man to work in his garage.
Winkler has always been concerned about the quality of children’s television programming. He has produced countless worthwhile projects for young audiences, including “Happily Ever After” for PBS and its sequel, “Two Daddies to Love Me.”
Winkler’s life resume includes the title of New York Times best-selling author.
His numerous books were inspired by Winkler’s own struggle throughout his education because of his learning challenges.
To date, he and co-author, Lin Oliver, have written 34 children’s novels. Their books have been published around the world in seven languages, with more than 4 million copies sold. They are currently at work on a new series due to be published later this year. For a Full Bio click here
The LAPC Public Service Award will be presented at the 61st SoCal Journalism Awards Gala on Sunday, June 30th at the Biltmore Millennium Hotel, downtown LA.
Some 600 journalists and media executives will attend this prestigious event.
In addition to honoring Henry Winkler at the LAPC Gala Event CNN’s Senior International Correspondent Nima Elbagir will be honored with the Daniel Pearl Award for Courage and Integrity in Journalism. The Joseph M Quinn Award for Lifetime Achievement and the President’s Award for Impact on Media will also be presented.
Proceeds from the Gala are the largest source of income for this 501(c)3 non-profit organization that speaks for journalists across all media platforms. All contributions are tax-deductible.
For more information about this event or to sponsor, advertise or buy tickets go to www.LApressclub.org or contact Executive Director Diana Ljungaeus at 310.210.1860 or email Diana-AT-LApressclub.org.
The LAPC is one of the oldest and most respected journalist organizations in the nation with a storied history of honoring the most celebrated reporters of the past century. In recent years the Los Angeles Press Club has continued to uphold its tradition of acknowledging excellence in spite of the fact that Journalism itself has struggled in the face of ever declining budgets.
