Oscar winner Kathy Bates, who is experiencing a late career resurgence thanks to a critically acclaimed turn on the CBS network drama Matlock, took the spin in the spotlight inside a Beverly Wilshire ballroom on Friday afternoon to accept yet another award in her storied career. This one is called Showperson of the Year and it was placed in her hands during the 62nd annual ICG Publicists Awards.
Following an enthusiastic standing ovation, Bates, 76, immediately borrowed a quote from Colin Farrell’s recent SAG Awards speech during which he said, “What we do is unquantifiable; it’s playtime.” While Bates was referring to the profession of acting, she might as well have been talking about publicists. Their jobs are often unquantifiable simply due to the fact that the profession is so wide-ranging, demanding and (as most would say) overwhelming and almost never done.
But Hollywood reps who toil in the entertainment space got to take a break from the detail-oriented action on Friday, if only for a couple of hours, to have a little bit of playtime themselves at the annual awards show that honors their own. While Bates served as the luncheon’s marquee honoree, the ballroom was filled with whoops, cheers and wild applause as a series of awards were doled out for publicity campaigns, press, unit publicists, photographers and more.
The top prizes in film and television — a trophy called the Maxwell Weinberg Award — went to Wicked (Universal Pictures) and Agatha All Along (Marvel Television / Walt Disney Studios / Disney+), respectively. Disney also snagged another trophy by way of Bill Mona who won the Les Mason Award for career achievement in publicity. His award was presented by a gaggle of former winners including well-known reps Jennifer Allen, Tony Angellotti, Jan Craft, Heidi Schaeffer and Michael Singer.
Unit publicist Rachael Roth took home publicist of the year, which was presented by last year’s winner Julia Neal and ICG Publicists Awards chair Sheryl Main. Agatha All Along star Joe Locke turned up to present a pair of trophies including excellence in unit still photography (motion picture) to Chiabella James, and excellence in unit still photography (television) to Michele K. Short.
Press awards went to Collider’s Perri Nemiroff on the domestic side and Empire Magazine’s John Nugent on the international side. Those trophies were doled out by Family Guy and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel star Alex Borstein, who quipped at the top of her segment that she doesn’t even have a publicist.
Bates does have a publicist — the “fantastic” Rachel Karten of Origin PR — and she made sure to shout her out during her brief acceptance speech. “I’m proud that you get to represent me,” Bates said. “And I’m grateful that we get to meet so many cool people and that we get to share all of this. We paid our dues in, so now we can just kick up our heels and just have a fantastic time thanks to you guys.”
Bates, who accepted the award from director Kat Coiro, is having a fantastic time on Matlock and she praised creator Jennie Snyder Urman for giving her the gift at this point in her career. “The most tragic thing at the end of our lives is to lose our purpose. And Jennie, because of you, and together with you, I have found the light again.”
Another heartfelt moment came during Ngoc Nguyen’s speech. The veteran publicist, strategist and consultant received the Bob Yeager Award for community service for championing the AAPI community, women’s rights, women in sports, anti-bullying measures and cancer research. Nguyen detailed her parents’ harrowing 42-day journey from Vietnam to Portland, Oregon, by boat, and later revealed that when she battled breast cancer, it was her inner circle that lifted her up. Many of those were in the room, she said.
She saved special praise for two people who weren’t in attendance: Couple J.J. Abrams and Katie McGrath. “I started doing PR for J.J. and his films when I was at Paramount. When I was leaving the studio and wanted to work in entertainment and philanthropy, it wasn’t a trend that it is today. Katie was my first phone call,” she explained. “Katie is a visionary. She was the real deal and everyone knew it. Katie McGrath has given me a voice in spaces that I never imagined that I would be in, and she’s also given me a safety net.”
Longtime ICG Publicist Awards chair Tim Menke also got plenty of time under the lights. At the top of the show, he nodded to the fraught political landscape by saying that unlike the current President Donald Trump, they “believe in the freedom of the press.” Later, he took the stage to accept the Henri Bollinger Award for special merit, presented by Bollinger’s widow, Sandy. “Who knows what course my career would have taken had I not been influenced by the people I’ve encountered working on these awards,” Menke said. “I call it a journey well traveled.”
The 62nd ICG Publicists Awards were sponsored by Amazon MGM Studios, CBS and CBS Studios, Deadline, Junket Productions, L’Ermitage Beverly Hills, Lionsgate, Netflix, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, Walt Disney Studios and Warner Bros. Discovery. Additional support came courtesy of Central Talent Booking, Netflix, SAG-AFTRA, Disney Television Studios, DF Studio Digital Fusion, Romeo Vineyards & Cellars, and Warner Bros. Photo Lab. Proceeds from sponsorships will be funneled into to the Local 600 Hardship Fund which provides grants to members affected by natural disasters including those impacted by the L.A. wildfires. A portion of proceeds will also be dedicated to the Preservation and Scholarship Fund, which provides educational sponsorships for ICG Local 600 members and their descendants.
A full list of the winners at the 62nd annual ICG Publicists Awards follows.
Maxwell Weinberg Award for Motion Picture Publicity Campaign
Union publicists who worked on Wicked (Universal Pictures)
Maxwell Weinberg Award for Television Publicity Campaign
Union publicists who worked on Agatha All Along (Marvel Television / Walt Disney Studios / Disney+)
Television Showperson of the Year
Kathy Bates
Les Mason Award for Career Achievement in Publicity
Bill Mona, Disney
Publicist of the Year
Rachael Roth, Unit Publicist
Excellence in Unit Still Photography — Motion Picture
Chiabella James
Excellence in Unit Still Photography — Television
Michele K. Short
Press Award
Perri Nemiroff, Collider
International Media Award
John Nugent, Empire Magazine (UK)
Bob Yeager Award for Community Service
Ngoc Nguyen
Henri Bollinger Award for Special Merit
Tim Menke
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