TV Land Awards to Honor Comedic Icon Don Rickles With This Year's Legend Award

TV Land Awards to Honor Comedic Icon Don Rickles With This Year's Legend Award

Show Will Tape on Sunday, April 19th and Air on Sunday, April 26th at 8pm ET/PT on TV LAND

LOS ANGELES, March 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Multi-talented Don Rickles, the world's most beloved "outrageous comic," actor and author will be bestowed the Legend Award at "The 2009 TV Land Awards," it was announced today by Larry W. Jones, president, TV Land. The Legend Award is presented to an entertainer or a television show that has stood the test of time and ranks among the most memorable and celebrated in television and movie history. "The 2009 TV Land Awards," hosted by Neil Patrick Harris ("How I Met Your Mother," Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle and Assassins) and will tape on Sunday, April 19th at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City to air on TV Land during a special presentation of TV Land PRIME on Sunday, April 26th at 8pm ET/PT. Previous recipients of the Legend Award include "The Carol Burnett Show," "Cheers," Garry Marshall, "The Andy Griffith Show" and "The Dick Van Dyke Show."

"I feel honored that TV Land has finally woken up and decided to make me this year's recipient of the Legend Award," says Don Rickles. "Throughout my career, I have loved entertaining people and to be recognized for my achievements is truly extraordinary."

"Don Rickles is a national treasure whose comedy transcends generations," states Jones. "He is a true pioneer who has won the hearts of millions across the world with his quick wit and sarcasm. TV Land is thrilled to present him with this year's Legend Award."

TV Land previously announced additional honorees for this year's show including Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Legacy of Laughter Award), "Married with Children" (Innovator Award), "M*A*S*H" (Impact Award), "Home Improvement" (Fan Favorite Award), "Magnum P.I." (Hero Award), "Two and a Half Men" (Future Classic Award) and "Knots Landing" (30th Anniversary Award).

Media credentials for "The 2009 TV Land Awards" can be requested through tvlandpress.com.

About Don Rickles

Known for unleashing his "insult" style of comedy by throwing "off the cuff" lines that charmed audiences for many years and considered one of our most celebrated entertainers, Don Rickles continues to sell out venues in cities worldwide and makes frequent television appearances on talk shows such as "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno," "Larry King Live," "Late Show With David Letterman," and "Live With Regis and Kelly." His recent work included being the subject of the HBO documentary, Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project, directed by John Landis, for which he won a Primetime Emmy in 2008 for his performance. The feature went on to win an additional Emmy for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special.

As an actor, Rickles has balanced roles on both the big and small screens. He portrayed the role of Billy Sherbert in the Martin Scorsese-directed Casino (Universal Pictures), opposite Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone and Joe Pesci. His additional film credits include the Paramount ensemble comedy Rat Race, the cult classic Kelly's Heroes with Clint Eastwood and the war-drama Run Silent, Run Deep, opposite leads Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster, among many others.

Don is also well-known for voicing the character of Mr. Potato Head in Disney/Pixar's computer-animated family features Toy Story 1 and 2, and will reprise his role in the upcoming third installment of the popular franchise.

Rickles started out in comedy clubs, but appearing on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" in the 1960s is what got him noticed. He became the talk of the industry, the media and the public which gave him the opportunity to perform stand-up comedy on television. He appeared on the prime-time variety program "The Dean Martin Show" demonstrating what he does best: entertain people. Stars like Bob Hope, Bob Newhart, Lena Horne and Ricardo Montalban were among Rickles' targets on the show. Don Rickles was here to stay. He would later star in primetime series for ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX, as well as host or co-host seven television specials. He also made memorable guest appearances on a potpourri of dramas, sitcoms and variety shows including "Murphy Brown," "Run For Your Life," "I Spy," "The Lucy Show," "The Beverly Hillbillies," "The Dick Van Dyke Show," "The Twilight Zone," "Saturday Night Live," "Laugh In" and numerous turns on "The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts."

Adding to his impressive resume, he has become a best-selling author. In 2007, he released his memoir for Simon & Schuster called Rickles' Book and the following year Rickles' Letters was published.

Among his many awards and honors, Rickles is the recipient of Caesar's Palace's Laurel Award and the United States Comedy & Arts Festival's 2007 Pinnacle Award for his distinguished career.

Originally born in New York City, Rickles currently resides in Los Angeles.

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About The 2009 TV Land Awards

Michael Levitt ("Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D List," "Billboard Music Awards," "Scream Awards") is executive producer, Emmy Award-winning Jeff Margolis is director ("Academy Awards," "American Music Awards," "Screen Actors Guild Awards"), Greg Sills serves as supervising producer ("VH1 Rock Honors," "The Teen Choice Awards," "Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards") and TV Land's Sal Maniaci and Larry W. Jones are executive producers. STOUFFER'S(R) is a presenting sponsor of the 2009 TV Land Award Show.

About TV Land PRIME and TV Land

TV Land PRIME is TV Land's prime time programming destination designed for people in their mid-forties and the exclusive home to the premieres of the network's original programming, contemporary television series acquisitions and movies. TV Land PRIME is part of TV Land, a network dedicated to presenting the best in entertainment on all platforms for consumers in their 40s and 50s. Consisting of original programming, acquired shows, hit movies and full-service Web site, TV Land is now seen in over 93 million U.S. homes.

About MTV Networks

MTV Networks, a division of Viacom (NYSE:VIA) (NYSE:VIA.B) , is one of the world's leading creators of entertainment content, with brands that engage and connect diverse audiences across television, online, mobile, games, virtual worlds and consumer products. The company's portfolio spans more than 150 television channels and 350 digital media properties worldwide, and includes MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, Harmonix, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Noggin, The N, AddictingGames, Neopets, COMEDY CENTRAL, Spike TV, TV Land, Atom, GameTrailers and Xfire.

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Source: TV Land

CONTACT: Vanessa Reyes, +1-310-407-4727, Vanessa.reyes@tvland.com or
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Profile: International Entertainment