Gary David Goldberg to Receive WGAE Sargent Award for Comedy Excellence

NEW YORK CITY – Gary David Goldberg has been selected to receive the 2010 Writers Guild of America, East’s (WGAE) Herb Sargent Award for Comedy Excellence. The award is given to a writer who has shown excellence in comedy writing and who has inspired others through leadership and mentoring. Goldberg will receive his award at the 62nd annual Writers Guild Awards ceremony held on Saturday, February 20, 2010 at New York City ’s Hudson Theatre.Gary David Goldberg is an award-winning writer of television, film and books. He got his start in television at MTM, first as a writer on The Bob Newhart Show, then as story editor and producer on The Tony Randall Show, producer of Lou Grant, and creator and executive producer of The Last Resort. In 1981, Goldberg left MTM to form his own company, UBU Productions. Nine television shows were created under the UBU Productions banner, including Family Ties, Brooklyn Bridge, and Spin City which was produced in association with DreamWorks.Goldberg made his feature film debut in 1989, writing the screenplay adapted from William Wharton’s novel, producing and directing Universal Pictures’ Dad. His films also include Bye Bye Love and Must Love Dogs.  In 2008, he published his first book, Sit, Ubu, Sit: How I Went From Brooklyn to Hollywood with the Same Woman, the Same Dog, and a Lot Less Hair.Goldberg is the recipient of numerous awards, including an Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award as producer of Lou Grant, an Emmy Award as writer of Family Ties, two Writers Guild Awards, a Peabody Award, and five Humanitas Awards. He also received an additional five Emmy Award nominations, five Writers Guild Award nominations, and five Humanitas Award nominations. He has been awarded the 1991 Producer of the Year Award from the Producers Guild of America, the 1998 Valentine Davies Award from the Writers Guild of America, West for contributions to the entertainment industry and the community-at-large, the Banff World Television Festival’s 2002 Award of Excellence, and the Outstanding Television Writer Award at the 2003 Austin Film Festival. He is a member of the Broadcasting Magazine Hall of Fame. “Much in the spirit of the late, great Herb Sargent, through his long and accomplished career, Gary David Goldberg has not only shared his creativity and wit with millions of happily entertained viewers, he also has mentored countless colleagues who have been educated and inspired by his example. His life and prodigious body of work make him a noteworthy recipient of this year’s Herb Sargent Award,” says Michael Winship, president of the Writers Guild of America, East.The Herb Sargent Award for Comedy Excellence was created in 2006 in honor of Sargent, who was president of the Writers Guild of America, East for 14 years until his death on May 6, 2005. The Herb Sargent Award for Comedy Excellence is awarded to a writer who embodies the spirit, commitment, and comic genius of Mr. Sargent. A legendary writer and television producer, Sargent’s credits included being a writer/producer of Saturday Night Live for more than 20 years, writing the screenplay of Bye Bye Braverman, television specials for Bing Crosby, Milton Berle, Perry Como, Sammy Davis Jr., Alan King, Paul McCartney, Lily Tomlin, and Burt Bacharach, as well as extensive work in radio in the 1940s before moving to television. Norman Stiles, Lorne Michaels, and James L. Brooks are past recipients of this award.The 62nd annual Writers Guild Awards will take place on Saturday, February 20, 2010 in New York City at the Hudson Theatre in the Millennium Broadway Hotel and simultaneously in Los Angeles at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel. For more information or to purchase tickets to the New York City awards ceremony, call 212-767-7812 or visit the WGAE website at www.wgaeast.org/awards.The Writers Guild of America, East, AFL-CIO, is a labor union representing writers in motion pictures, television, cable, digital media, and broadcast news. The WGAE conducts programs, seminars, and events on issues of interest to, and on behalf of, writers. In addition, it represents writers’ interests on the legislative level.  For more information on the Writers Guild of America, East, visit www.wgaeast.org.