Actor and comedian David Alan Grier will host the 23rd Annual Art Directors Guild Excellence in Production Design Awards on Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019, at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown, ADG Awards Producer Scott Moses announced Friday.
David Alan Grier, a three-time Tony and Grammy nominee, has received many accolades throughout his career, including his inclusion on Comedy Central’s list of the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time.
Though his acting career started in theatre, Grier is best known for his iconic roles on television and in movies. He currently stars in the new Fox comedy series The Cool Kids. Additional TV credits include The Carmichael Show and the Emmy winning In Living Color. He starred in DAG and Life with Bonnie, which earned him Image Award and Golden Satellite Award nominations. In 2015, Grier combined live theatre and television when he played the Cowardly Lion in Broadway’s award-winning musical The Wiz Live! on NBC.
On the big screen, Grier will next be seen in the indie drama Sprinter, produced by Will Smith. He has starred in Tyler Perry’s Peeples, Wayans Brothers’ Dance Flick, Robert Altman’s Streamers, Jumanji, and A Soldier’s Story, among many others.
He was trained in Shakespeare at Yale and started his career on Broadway as Jackie Robinson in The First, for which he earned a Tony Award nomination. He also joined the cast of Dreamgirls and A Soldier’s Play, and received Tony nominations for his performances in Race, and The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, which received a Grammy nomination.
As previously announced, Rob Marshall (Mary Poppins Returns), Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning filmmaker, producer, theater director and choreographer, will receive the prestigious ADG Cinematic Imagery Award. British Production Designer and Set Decorator Anthony Masters, nominated for an Academy Award for the film “2001: A Space Odyssey,” and Benjamin Carre, best known for his work on The Phantom of the Opera and The Wizard of Oz, will be inducted into the ADG Hall of Fame.
Lifetime Achievement Awards will be presented to Oscar-nominated Production Designer Jeannine Oppewall, Senior Illustrator and Production Designer Ed Verreaux, Scenic Artist Jim Fiorito and Set Designer and Art Director William F. Matthews. Marjo Bernay, a veteran entertainment IATSE activist for over four decades, will be honored with a special Service Award.