Three to be honored at WFUV gala

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Three giants of the music, news and sports broadcasting professions will be honored together on May 5 at Fordham University’s WFUV-FM NY Annual Gala 2010. Singer, drummer, mandolin player and multiple Grammy-winner Levon Helm will receive the WFUV Sound & Vision Award; Baseball Hall of Fame member Ernie Harwell, longtime broadcaster for the Detroit Tigers, will receive the Vin Scully Lifetime Achievement Award in Sports Broadcasting; and Bob Schieffer, the seven-time Emmy Award winning television journalist, will receive the Charles Osgood Lifetime Achievement Award in Broadcast Journalism.  New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is scheduled to attend and offer comments.


The fundraising gala in support of New York’s “Rock and Roots” public radio station will be held at Gotham Hall in Manhattan near Herald Square.  An anticipated audience of about 400 donors will see Helm, a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and his band perform a mini-concert, including songs from his career as a member of The Band and from his 2009 Grammy-winning album, Electric Dirt.  

The Gala traditionally attracts celebrities from sports, entertainment and news. Other expected presenters and attendees this year include Baseball Hall of Famer Al Kaline and journalist Charles Osgood.  Mr. Harwell will be honored in a special video tribute narrated by sportscaster Bob Costas.

In lasting tribute to legendary broadcasters Charles Osgood and Vin Scully, both of whom started their careers at WFUV, the station established two annual Lifetime Achievement Awards in their names. Mr. Harwell, who had a 55 year career, 42 of them with the Tigers, until his retirement in 2002, and Schieffer, who anchors “Face the Nation” and is CBS News’ chief Washington correspondent, were nominated and selected by well-known colleagues in their respective fields, many of whom also began their careers at WFUV.

The annual gala, now in its third year, has raised over $1.2 million for WFUV (90.7 FM, www.wfuv.org). For more info or to purchase tickets, see www.wfuv.org/gala, email [email protected] or call 212-636-7209.