Ron Howard, Tyler Perry to Receive DGA Honors

Oscar-winning director Ron Howard and director/writer/producer Tyler Perry were among the entertainment-industry figures named by the Directors Guild of America as recipients the 2015 DGA Honors, recognizing contributions to American culture through film and television.

Also named as honorees were Thelma Schoonmaker; Sen. Chuck Schumer, D- New York; and Teamsters Local 817 President Thomas J. O’Donnell.

The DGA Honors recognize cultural contributions through film and television, as well as “the diversity of achievement -- in business, government and labor -- required to produce the best entertainment in the world.”

Past recipients include Nora Ephron, Robert Altman, Jonathan Demme, Spike Lee, Mike Nichols, Sydney Pollack, Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Danny Glover, Sherry Lansing, Sen. Ted Kennedy and Michael Bloomberg.

The latest group of honorees will be recognized during an Oct. 15 ceremony in New York.

Howard won an Oscar and a DGA Award for “A Beautiful Mind.” He also won the DGA Award for “Apollo 13.” The former child actor also directed films including “Backdraft,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Parenthood” and “Cinderella Man.”

Perry’s films include “Diary of a Mad Black Woman,” “Why Did I Get Married?,” “I Can Do Bad All By Myself,” “Good Deeds” and the “Madea” films.

O’Donnell is being honored for his support of labor rights and his contributions to production in New York.

Schoonmaker, whose film-editing credits include “Raging Bull,” “Goodfellas,” “Gangs of New York,” “The Aviator” and “The Departed,” is also being honored for her work to restore and promote the films of her late husband, Michael Powell. His directorial credits included “The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp” and “The Red Shoes.”

Schumer will be recognized for his “longstanding role as a champion of job creation and other issues important to those who work in the New York film and television industry,” according to the DGA.

--City News Service