Alan Alda To Receive Major Award At Hamptons International Film Festival

Hollywood legend Alan Alda, who announced that he has Parkinson’s disease back in July, will be honored for his six-decade-long career this fall at a film festival.

The actor, writer, and director is set to be the second recipient of the Dick Cavett Artistic Champion Award, which was created to celebrate “artistic achievements and contributions to the industry,” according to the Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) website. Former television personality Cavett received the first award in 2017.

“Alan Alda is one of those now rare actors who in his career continues to outdo himself on Broadway, in films, and on television,” said actor Alec Baldwin, HIFF’s co-chairman. “Of course, most people remember Alda for his starring role in the seminal TV series M*A*S*H, but Alda is also great in the movies and on stage.”

Alda appeared in several episodes of Baldwin’s hit comedy 30 Rock, playing the long-lost biological father, Milton Greene, of Baldwin’s Jack Donaghy.

The 82-year-old thespian has had starring roles in numerous television programs and movies, but will always be remembered most for playing Captain Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce on M*A*S*H, which ran on CBS from 1972 to 1983. Alda has received 34 Emmy nominations for his work, winning seven trophies. More recently, he’s had recurring roles on The West Wing, The Big C, The Blacklist, and The Good Fight.

On the silver screen, he’s known for flicks like Same Time, Next Year, The Four Seasons, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Betsy’s Wedding, and The Aviator.

Additionally, Alda’s been nominated for three Tony Awards for The Apple Tree, Jake’s Women, and Glengarry Glen Ross.

Being honored in Long Island, New York, is special because he founded the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University in 2009. He has served as a visiting professor at the school, which is not too far from his home in Water Mill.

The man behind the Clear + Vivid podcast and the author of three books revealed that he has been battling Parkinson’s disease for the last few years in a July 31 appearance on CBS This Morning, as previously reported by the Inquisitr.

“I decided to let people know I have Parkinson’s to encourage others to take action,” he said at the time. “I was diagnosed three-and-a-half years ago, but my life is full. I act, I give talks, I do my podcast, which I love. If you get a diagnosis, keep moving!”

Alda will be presented with the Dick Cavett Artistic Champion Award on the opening night of the 26th annual Hamptons International Film Festival, which is October 4.