Alan Alda to Receive NAB Distinguished Service Award

RADIO ONLINE | Thursday, December 13, 2018

Alan Alda

Legendary actor Alan Alda will receive the National Association of Broadcasters' Distinguished Service Award (NAB DSA) during the 2019 NAB Show in Las Vegas. Alda will accept the award at the NAB Show Opening session on Monday, April 8. Each year, the NAB DSA recognizes members of the broadcast community who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the industry. Previous award recipients include Robin Roberts, Bob Schieffer, Michael J. Fox, Mary Tyler Moore, President Ronald Reagan, Edward R. Murrow, Bob Hope, Walter Cronkite and Oprah Winfrey, among others.

Alda is best known for his starring role as Dr. Hawkeye Pierce in the hit television series "M*A*S*H," which debuted in 1972 and ran for 11 seasons. "M*A*S*H," a comedic drama set during the Korean War, was inducted into the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 1996. Alda, in addition to playing a starring role in the series, also directed and co-wrote its feature-length final episode in 1983. The show still ranks in the top-ten list of most-watched programs in the U.S. and made Alda the only person to win acting, directing and writing Emmys for the same series.

In 2004, Alda joined the sixth season of "The West Wing" as Senator Arnold Vinick, for which he also received an Emmy. In total, Alda has won seven Emmy awards and has been nominated 34 times. He has made guest appearances on many popular television shows such as "ER," "30 Rock," "The Blacklist," "The Good Fight," and "Ray Donovan."

"Alan Alda is an authentic entertainer whose incredible talent and enduring characters have engaged audiences for decades," said NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith. "We look forward to celebrating the immeasurable contributions he's made to television and film at the 2019 NAB Show."

Alda became host of "Scientific American Frontiers" in 1993 and continued with what became "Alan Alda in Scientific American Frontiers" until the PBS show ended in 2005. Alda's deep interest in science led him to help found the nonprofit Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University in New York. The organization has trained over 12,000 scientists and medical professionals in the U.S. and abroad. He also recently launched The Alda Communication Training Company, the proceeds of which support the Center for Communicating Science.