James (Woody) Woodworth will receive the Directors Guild of America's Franklin J. Schaffner Achievement Award, honoring career longevity and service to the guild by an associate director or stage manager.
Woodworth will receive his award during the 45th annual DGA awards dinner, to be held March 6 at the Beverly Hilton.
Woodworth began his career in the early 1950s as a page, before being hired by ABC as a stage manager. He stayed at ABC for 35 years and helped set the standard for live television stage management.
He is credited with inventing the practical paperwork still used today for show rundowns and schedules.
His credits include the first Oscar show and all the others on ABC, as well as the opening of Disneyland and 20 years of "The Lawrence Welk Show."
Previous recipients of the award included New York stage managers and twin brothers Chester L. (Chet) O'Brien and Mortimer J. (Snooks) O'Brien, and Marilyn Jacobs-Furey.
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