Cinema/Chicago Television Awards

2016 Award Winners

2016 Honorees

Regina Taylor

Career Achievement Award

Actress/director/playwright and Golden Globe-winnerRegina Taylor will receive this year’s Career Achievement Award. Best known for her role as Lily Harper in “I’ll Fly Away,” she garnered a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress, three NAACP Image Awards and two Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Other television roles include “Dig,” “The Unit,” Masterpiece Theatre’s “Cora Unashamed” and the upcoming ABC pilot “Time After Time.” Taylor’s film credits include “The Negotiator,” “Courage Under Fire,” “A Family Thing,” “The Keeper,” “Clockers,” “Losing Isaiah” and “Lean on Me.” Taylor was also the first Black woman to play Juliet in William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” on Broadway.  Other theater credits include “The Tempest” (L.A. Dramalogue Award), “As You Like It,” “Macbeth,” “Machinal,” “The Illusion” and “Jar the Floor.”

Taylor is also an accomplished playwright and director and as an Artistic Associate of Goodman Theatre, she is one of its most produced playwrights. Her play “stop.reset.” premiered at the Goodman, and then at Signature Theatre in New York City where she is a Residency Five playwright. Other playwright credits include “Crowns” (four Helen Hayes awards, including Best Regional Musical), “Oo-Bla-Dee,” (Steinberg-ATCA new play award) and “Drowning Crow,” (Broadway, Manhattan Theatre Club), “Magnolia” and “The Trinity River Plays” (Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award).

Janet Davies | Chicago Legend Award
Receiving the Chicago Legend Award is entertainment reporter Janet Davies who joined ABC 7 Chicago as a reporter in August 1984. In addition to her feature and entertainment segments, which appear on ABC 7 News, Davies was the host and executive producer of “190 North,” a multiple Emmy award winning Chicago-based entertainment and lifestyle program and the longest running magazine program in Chicago broadcasting history. In addition to her entertainment reporting, Davies has traveled the world covering a diverse range of stories throughout her career. Other local program roles include co-anchor of the ABC7 Weekend Morning News, co- host/executive producer of both the #1 rated live broadcasts of “Countdown Chicago” on New Year’s Eve and “The Magnificent Mile Lights Festival,” in addition to hosting the Columbus Day, Southside Irish and Pride Parade broadcasts.

Davies came to ABC 7 from WPVI-TV’s “A.M. Philadelphia” and had previously worked at WBNS- TV in Columbus, Warner Cable’s Qube-TV– broadcasting’s first interactive cable talk show and WKRC-TV.

In addition to her journalistic commitments, Davies philanthropic work is vast, developing and serving on the Corporate Board of Directors for Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago as well as working with the Leukemia Research Foundation, The American Cancer Society, the Cradle, CARE, among others.

Born in Richmond, Virginia, Davies was raised in Cincinnati. She earned a B.A. degree from Miami University in Ohio.

Bill Zwecker

Chicago Award

Chicago Sun-Times columnist and FOX Chicago entertainment reporter and film critic Bill Zwecker covers the globe finding out the latest news about celebrities for his readers and viewers and will receive this year’s Chicago Award. The Chicago native graduated from Princeton University and attended the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. After working in politics (for former U.S. Sen. Charles Percy), banking and retail, Zwecker became the associate editor and columnist for Lerner Newspapers before joining the Chicago Sun-Times in 1992. Zwecker has worked as the entertainment reporter and film critic for WBBM-TV (CBS), WTMX-FM radio’s ”The Eric & Kathy Show,” WMAQ-TV (NBC) and as a regular contributor for ”The Joan Rivers Show.” He has also contributed to various national programs including “Access Hollywood,” “Entertainment Tonight,” “Extra,” the “Today Show,” “The NBC Nightly News,” “CBS Evening News,” “CBS Sunday Morning,” “Showbiz Tonight,” “Biography” on A&E and “Larry King Live.”

He was inducted as the first male in the Women in Film “Hall of Fame” in early October 2012, is the two-time recipient of the Peter Lisagor Award, has been nominated for three Emmy Awards and was part of the WBBM-TV news team honored with an Associated Press award. Other accolades include being named the ”Man of Vision” by the Midwest Eye Banks for his various civic and charitable contributions; receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from The Israel Film Festival (along with Larry King and Hollywood producer, Laura Ziskin), and receiving awards from the Apparel Industry Board of Chicago and Victory Gardens Theater.

Zwecker’s philanthropic work in the Chicago area includes board memberships with Roosevelt University, the Chicago Academy for the Arts, the Off the Street Club, the Midwest Eye-Banks, Auxiliary Board, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Greater North Michigan Avenue Association, Auxiliary Board of Lincoln Park Zoo (founding member), Mental Health Association of Greater Chicago, Chicago Lung Association, Princeton Club of Chicago, Henrotin Hospital, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Junior Governing Board), AIDS Foundation of Chicago, North Dearborn Association and the Headline Club of Chicago (Society of Professional Journalists).

HBO

Commitment to Excellence in Television Productions

Receiving this year’s Commitment to Excellence in Television Productions Award is the is the premium television programming subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. and the world’s most successful pay TV service, Home Box Office, Inc. Providing two television services – HBO^® and Cinemax^® – to approximately 131 million subscribers worldwide, services offer the popular subscription video-on-demand products HBO On Demand^® and Cinemax On Demand^®, as well as HBO GO^® and MAX GO^®, HD feeds and multiplex channels. HBO NOW^®, the network’s internet-only premium streaming service, provides audiences with instant access to HBO’s acclaimed programming in the U.S. Internationally, HBO branded television networks, along with the subscription video-on-demand products HBO On Demand and HBO GO, bring HBO services to over 60 countries. HBO and Cinemax programming is sold into over 150 countries worldwide. Accepting the award on the behalf of HBO will be Executive Vice President, Production, HBO Original Programming, Bruce Richmond.