01/24/2011 - Elizabeth Ashley

Elizabeth Ashley, TONY award winning actor, to be interviewed by Rick McKay on January 24th, 2011.

BIOGRAPHIES

ELIZABETH ASHLEY


Elizabeth Ashley, a true original, started her career with a bang - and a Tony Award- in George Abbott's TAKE HER, SHE'S MINE, and continued her streak with Neil Simon's BAREFOOT IN THE PARK opposite the then-unknown Robert Redford.  She has appeared in several Hollywood films in the 60's and 70's including SHIP OF FOOLS, COMA, VAMPIRE'S KISS and THE CARPETBAGGERS and has played in numerous television shows. Elizabeth has risen high again with a string of highly-lauded roles, the most memorable of which, in the mid-seventies - was Maggie the Cat in Tennessee Williams' CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF.  While many know her best from her early 90's sitcom EVENING SHADE, fans, in New York and around the country, have had the  special thrill of seeing her in a  number of roles over the last few decades.  Most recently she was admired for her outstanding performance in DIVIDING THE ESTATE followed by a stirring and unforgettable turn in AUGUST:OSAGE COUNTY. Most recently she created a role in Edward Albee's latest play, ME, MYSELF & I. She appears regularly in the acclaimed HBO television series, TREME.

Elizabeth's 1978 memoir, "Actress: Postcards from he Road" became a best seller.  She was a founding member of the Board of Directors of the American Film Institute while serving on the first National Council of the Arts during the administrations of Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, and has also served on the President's Committee for the Kennedy Center Lifetime Achievement Awards.


RICK McKAY


Rick McKay lives in New York City and is the award-winning Producer/Director/Writer/Cinematographer of the hit film “Broadway: The Golden Age.” For five seasons he was a segment producer on WNET13’s City Arts, the most honored, locally produced show in television history, which won over 30 Emmy awards. Rick also produced the first story commissioned for the critically successful national series Egg: The Arts Show, garnering another two Emmy nominations as well as helping to create the opening segment of two recent national Tony Awards broadcasts. Rick is also the sole owner and proprietor of Second Act Productions, the production company that made the feature film “Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There”. “Broadway: The Golden Age” has won over 15 film festival awards to date, is on 17 critics’ Top Ten Films of 2004 lists and was a hit in theaters around the country. Rick was honored at the Sundance Film Festival by PBS and inducted into the PBS Producers Academy, as one of their “best and brightest documentary producer/directors” for his continuing independent film and television work. Rick has also been honored with the “Special Contribution to Film” Award from the Stonybrook Film Festival, the “Limelight Award” from Ojai Film Festival, the "Contribution to Theatre Preservation Award" from the New York Theatre Museum, the “New England Theatre Conference's Legend award and an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Five Towns College, who honored McKay, Michael Feinstein and Sheldon Harnick at a special ceremony on their Long Island campus.

Elizabeth Ashley Photo by Bruce Glikas