Martin Scorsese to be honored with Friars Club Icon Award

PanARMENIAN.Net - Martin Scorsese is set to be honored with the Friars Club Icon Award, The Hollywood Reporter reveals.

The Oscar-winning director, whose career spans more than 50 years, becomes one of only seven recipients of the award in the club's 100-year history.

The ceremony honoring Scorsese will be held on Sept. 21 in New York at Cipriani Wall Street. An A-list crowd of Scorsese's colleagues and friends are expected to be on hand to pay tribute to the 73-year-old multi-hyphenate.

Scorsese is widely regarded as one of the most significant and influential filmmakers in movie history after directing such classics as Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Casino and The King of Comedy, which stars Friars Club Abbot Jerry Lewis. Scorsese won best picture and best director Oscars for his crime saga The Departed.

The Icon Award is just one of many honors Scorsese has received during his career. He also won a Palme d'Or, Grammy, Emmy, Golden Globe and BAFTA. He is the most Oscar-nominated living director, with eight nominations. His groundbreaking TV projects include the multi-award-winning Boardwalk Empire and Vinyl, co-created with Rolling Stones superstar Mick Jagger.

"Marty may have directed me in The King of Comedy, but to me, he's the real king," Lewis said. "It is an honor to name him as the seventh recipient of our revered Entertainment Icon Award. Few carry out the Friars mission of benevolence and humanitarianism as well as he does. I humbly congratulate this icon and thank him for all of his groundbreaking efforts in entertainment and his dedication to helping others."

The Friars Entertainment Icon Award pays tribute to an individual whose accomplishments transcend the entertainment industry by positively redefining the culture. Scorsese will join past recipients Tom Cruise, Robert De Niro, Douglas Fairbanks, Cary Grant, Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra.

"We are thrilled to bestow Martin Scorsese with this award," said Friars executive director Michael Gyure."His hard work, artistry and incredible gift of storytelling has almost single-handedly redefined the way we see movies. However, it is his dedication to humanitarian endeavors that the Friars Club applauds the loudest. As we are proudly committed to helping others through our scholarship programs, we are proud to honor those in the entertainment industry who reflect the same ideals, and Martin Scorsese is indeed a most deserving honoree."