Acad plans Sturges tribute

Event to kick off LACMA retrospective

By BEN FRITZ

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will host a tribute to famed comedic filmmaker Preston Sturges at 8 p.m. on Aug. 19 at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

The festivities will include numerous film clips from the long career of the Oscar-winner ("The Great McGinty, screenplay, 1940). In addition, there will be a panel discussion with actor Eddie Bracken, who starred in "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek" and "Hail the Conquering Hero," Sturges' widow Sandy Sturges and longtime Paramount producer A.C. Lyles.

The Academy's tribute is the kick-off event for the celebration of Sturges' centenary, which will also be commemorated at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art with a separate panel discussion and a three-week-long retrospective of his best-known films.

Tickets for the AMPAS "Preston Sturges Centennial Tribute" are $6 for the public and $4 for AMPAS and Writers Guild members. They may be purchased in advance at the Academy during business hours, by mail or, if they are still available, when the doors open at 7 p.m. For more information, call [phone].

For ticket information about LACMA's Sturges retrospective, call [phone].