Bruins honor Medavoy

By DAN COX

Mike Medavoy, industry veteran and currently chairman of Phoenix Pictures, will be given the UCLA Alumni Assn. Professional Achievement Award at a ceremony May 31 on the school's campus in the UCLA Commons.

Medavoy is being honored for two decades of service as a production exec at United Artists, Orion Pictures (which he co-founded) and TriStar Pictures, as well as Phoenix, which he started more than a year ago as a production unit at Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Among the Oscar-winning pics Medavoy has ushered onscreen as an exec are "Amadeus," "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," "Annie Hall," "Platoon," "Rocky," "Silence of the Lambs" and "Dances With Wolves."

He also oversaw "Apocalypse Now," "Raging Bull," "Philadelphia," "Sleepless in Seattle," and "Bull Durham."

Medavoy began his career at Universal in the mailroom. In 1965, Bill Robinson hired him as an agent trainee, which launched a decade-long career as a percenter. He then segued into production at UA, Orion, TriStar and then Phoenix.