CHICAGO, Illinois, June 10, 2001 — Award-winning author, cultural historian
and film critic Neal Gabler will join American Movie Classics as a new host,
it was announced today by Marc Juris, AMC’s Executive Vice President and General
Manager.
Gabler, the author of three highly-praised books on popular culture, including
one about Hollywood, has appeared on television entertainment series such as
“The Today Show” and “Entertainment Tonight” in addition
to hosting the PBS review series “Sneak Previews.” His duties as host
on AMERICAN MOVIE CLASSICS include providing introductions to programming on
the weekend as well as host of “Director’s Showcase” on Wednesday
evenings. Gabler will share the hosting duties of AMC’s current host John Burke.
He’ll join other on-air celebrity guest hosts including Sharon Stone, Alec Baldwin,
Renee Zellweger, Stan Winston, Shirley Jones and Laurence Fishburne.
“Throughout his celebrated career in academia and entertainment, Neal
has brought an enormous passion for film and film history that makes him uniquely
suited for American Movie Classics,” Juris said. “He brings to the
table not only a wealth of experience and insight into Hollywood and the world
of film, but also a depth and passion that will bring an exciting dimension
to our key programming. We are thrilled to welcome him to AMC.”
Gabler has been widely acclaimed as an author, cultural historian and film
critic. His first book, An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood,
won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for History and the Theater Library Association
Award for the outstanding book on radio, television or film. It was also short-listed
for the British Film Institute Award and was named one of the 100 outstanding
books on film history by a special panel of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts
and Sciences commemorating the 100th anniversary of cinema. His second book,
Winchell: Gossip, Power and the Culture of Celebrity, was nominated for
the National Book Critics Circle Award and was named non-fiction book of the
year by Time magazine. His most recent book, Life the Movie: How Entertainment
Conquered Reality, is being assigned at colleges across the country.
Born in Chicago, IL, Gabler graduated from the University of Michigan where
he earned advanced degrees in film and American culture. He taught at the University
of Michigan and Pennsylvania State University before leaving academe when he
was selected from among 300 candidates to replace departing hosts Gene Siskel
and Roger Ebert on the PBS movie review program “Sneak Previews.”
During Gabler’s three seasons on the show it was the highest-rated half-hour
program on public television.
Gabler has contributed to numerous publications, including the New York
Times, Los Angeles Times, Esquire, American Heritage,
Brill’s Content, US and Playboy, to name a few, and has
appeared on such television series as “The Today Show,” “The
CBS Morning News,” “The News Hour with Jim Lehrer,” “Entertainment
Tonight” and “Charlie Rose.” He also served as a commentator
for “Good Morning America” throughout the 2000 presidential nominating
conventions.
Gabler currently holds a senior fellowship at the Norman Lear Center for the
Study of Entertainment in the Annenberg School of Communications at the University
of Southern California. He has received fellowships from the Freedom Forum Media
Studies Center and the Guggenheim Foundation. He has also served as the chief
non-fiction judge of the National Book Awards and has judged the Los Angeles
Times Book Prizes.
He lives in Amagansett, New York, with his wife and two daughters. He is currently
at work on a biography of Walt Disney tobe published by Alfred A. Knopf.
AMERICAN MOVIE CLASSICS is the nation’s premier classic movie network, bringing
timeless favorites to a broad audience by placing them in a fresh and contemporary
context. Award-winning original documentaries, series and specials are infused
with the energy and excitement of Hollywood past and present. Launched in 1984,
AMC is currently available in 77 million homes.
AMC Networks is owned and managed by Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc. A subsidiary
of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC) and NBC, Rainbow has been at the
forefront of innovation in programming for more than 20 years. Rainbow manages
American Movie Classics, We: Women’s Entertainment, Bravo, The Independent Film
Channel, MuchMusic USA, Rainbow Sports, News 12 Networks and MetroChannels as
well as the Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation and Rainbow Network Communications.
In addition, Rainbow is a fifty-percent partner in FOX Sports Net.
Contact:
Dina White
Jaime Saberito
(516) 803-4350
Lynn Weiss
Fenot Tekle
(310)998-9300