Daily Variety editor-in-chief and 'Shootout' co-host Peter Bart was honored with the ICG Publicists’ Lifetime Achievement Award.
WB's 'The Dark Knight' won the Showmanship Award for best film publicity campaign.
Warner Bros.' "The Dark Knight" and the Warner Bros. TV-produced CW show "Gossip Girl" won the Showmanship Awards for best publicity campaigns at the 46th annual ICG Publicists Awards, held Wednesday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Daily Variety editor-in-chief and "Shootout" co-host Peter Bart was presented with the lifetime achievement award in an event hosted by Joel McHale, host of E!'s "The Soup."
In the other previously announced honors, Chuck Lorre was named Television Showman of the Year, and Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall shared the Motion Picture Showman of the Year nod.
In brief remarks, Bart noted that in the current cutthroat media climate, "Almost everyone in this room is working twice as hard for half as much." He proposed a Civility Award for next year, "because I appreciate a lifetime achievement award, but I also applaud civility," saying that politeness, patience and respect are qualities worth applauding.
PMK/HBH co-founder Pat Kingsley was awarded the Les Mason lifetime achievement nod, and USA Today reporter Claudia Puig won the Press Award. The International Media Award went to Anke Hofmann of Germany; the Bob Yeager Award for Community Service to Cheri Warner; and the still photography kudo to Melinda Sue Gordon.
Associated Press vet Bob Thomas got a big hand when accepting the special award of merit by noting, "I've been doing this for 64 years, and I'm still doing it."
Rogers & Cowan co-chairman Paul Bloch got the proceedings under way by honoring Warren Cowan, who died last year. Bloch asked praisers who had worked under Cowan's wing to rise, and there were many.
Kristi Strupinsky accepted on behalf of the "Gossip Girl" team, and "Dark Knight" honors were accepted by Juli Goodwin and Lance Volland, who pointed out that the film has just surpassed $1 billion in box office.
Other highlights of the luncheon came in McHale's ongoing dissection of a swag bag that included past movies of honorees ("Poltergeist," "Twister," etc.) but no recent titles, and one-liners about everything from the E! programming lineup to his 3-year-old son to "the guys from the Diamond Exchange in Glendale."
Lorre, the co-creator and executive producer of "Two and a Half Men" and "The Big Bang Theory," brought down the house with observations that included a shout-out to publicists, whom he called "dream weavers who spin our personal shit into gold." Most of his better lines, though funny, were inappropriate for print.
Presenters included Eric Braeden, Jon Cryer, James Denton, Sid Ganis and Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson.
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