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Angela Bassett to receive honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement

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Angela Bassett
Angela Bassett
Photo: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Ge
  • Actor Angela Basset and veteran comic Mel Brooks will receive honorary Oscars.
  • The honorary Oscars are handed out every year to honour lifetime achievement.
  • The ceremony, the 14th Governors Awards, takes place on 18 November.

Veteran US comic Mel Brooks, who turns 97 this week, will receive an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement, more than half a century after he won for best original screenplay for The Producers, the Academy said Monday.

Brooks - a prolific actor, producer and lyricist - memorably sent up Adolf Hitler in his seminal satire The Producers, exposed racial bigotry in Blazing Saddles, and lampooned horror flicks in Young Frankenstein.

He is already one of the few entertainers to win an Oscar, Emmy, Tony, and Grammy - collectively called an "EGOT" - across a career spanning eight decades.

Brooks will receive his golden statuette at a ceremony in Los Angeles this November, along with other luminaries including Angela Bassett.

Bassett, 64, has previously been nominated for an Oscar twice - she earned a nod for portraying Tina Turner in What's Love Got to Do with It, and earlier this year became the first actor ever nominated for a Marvel superhero film, with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

"Across her decades-long career, Angela Bassett has continued to deliver transcendent performances that set new standards in acting," said Janet Yang, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

"Mel Brooks lights up our hearts with his humour, and his legacy has made a lasting impact on every facet of entertainment," she wrote.

The honorary Oscars are handed out every year to honour lifetime achievement, and were spun off into a separate event in 2009 to declutter the main show's packed schedule.

Last November, honourees included Michael J. Fox, who received the Jean Hersholt statuette, which is specifically for humanitarian work by a film industry figure.

This year, that award goes to Michelle Satter, founding senior director of the Sundance Institute's Artist Programs, which help foster the early careers of filmmakers, especially from underrepresented communities.

A fourth honorary Oscar will go to E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial editor Carol Littleton.

The 14th Governors Awards ceremony takes place on 18 November.


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