Actress Nancy Olson Livingston – one of the last lead actors of Hollywood’s Golden Age – known for her Oscar-nominated performance as Betty Schaefer in Sunset Boulevard (1950) and starring roles in such films as Pollyanna (1960) and The Absent-Minded Professor (1961)—will receive the 2023 Cinecon Legacy Award.
The award, which honors individuals who have contributed their talents to the films of the golden age, will be presented at the Cinecon 59 Film Festival, Sunday, September 3 at 5:00 pm PST, located at the Old Town Music Hall, 140 Richmond St., El Segundo, CA 90245. Full Festival passes and Day passes are currently available on the Cinecon website.
The program will consist of a screening of Livingston’s film Submarine Command followed by a lecture and book signing to promote Livingston’s new memoir, A Front Row Seat: An Intimate Look at Broadway, Hollywood, and the Age of Glamour (University Press of Kentucky, November 2022).
“The Cinecon Legacy Award was established in 1965, the year Cinecon began. At each festival we have invited celebrities to attend, view their work on screen and discuss their life in film,” said Stan Taffel, President of the Cinecon Film Festival. “Ms. Olson’s distinguished career is not simply defined by her iconic role in Sunset Boulevard, which is why we are showcasing one of her lesser known but still significant performances in Submarine Command. It is with this intention and desire to let Ms. Olson know how important she is to motion pictures and our Cinecon attendees will be thrilled beyond measure at the announcement of her appearance.”
In addition to honoring Livingston, the 2023 Cineon Legacy Award will also acknowledge Carol Lawrence, Peggy Webber, and Cora Sue Collins. Previous honorees include Mitzi Gaynor, Patricia Neal, Celeste Holm, Mickey Rooney, Jackie Cooper, Jane Russell, and Roger Corman.
Livingston, who celebrated her 95th birthday July 14, said she is thrilled to receive the award.
“When I was 21, working every day at Paramount, I had no idea that the films we made then would remain so powerful today,” said Livingston. “I feel honored and privileged to have been a part of it, and I want to thank Cinecon for their efforts to introduce movies from another era to a new generation of filmgoers and for acknowledging my work with the Cinecon Legacy Award.”
Livingston’s memoir A Front Row Seat reflects on her decades-long career and treats readers to an intimate, charming chronicle of her life as an actress, wife, and mother. She shares reminiscences of signing with Paramount as a student at UCLA and working with some of the legends of the silver screen, including William Holden, Billy Wilder, Marilyn Monroe, and John Wayne. The book also provides a candid look at her marriages to lyricist and librettist Alan Jay Lerner, creator of award-winning musicals My Fair Lady, Gigi, and Camelot, and to Alan Wendell Livingston, former president of Capitol Records, who created Bozo the Clown and worked with legendary musical artists, including Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Band, and Don McLean.
Oscar nominated star, author and philanthropist, Nancy Olson Livingston was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Sunset Boulevard (1950). She has appeared in several films, including Union Station (1950), Battle Cry (1955), Pollyanna (1960), The Absent-Minded Professor (1961), and Airport 1975 (1974). She has also starred in three plays on Broadway: Tunnel of Love, Send Me No Flowers, and Mary, Mary, and guest-starred in a number of television shows. She has recently been featured in IndieWire, The New Yorker,Vanity Fair, and on NPR. She lives in Beverly Hills, California.
The University Press of Kentucky is the statewide nonprofit scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Serving all Kentucky state-sponsored institutions of higher learning as well as seven private colleges and Kentucky’s two major historical societies, it was organized in 1969 as successor to the University of Kentucky Press. The Press is dedicated to the publication of academic books of high scholarly merit as well as significant books about the history and culture of Kentucky, the Ohio Valley region, the Upper South, and Appalachia.
Photo courtesy of University Press of Kentucky: Nancy Olsen Disney headshot
