Sam Waterston to Receive Spirit of Katharine Hepburn Award

OLD SAYBROOK, CT – Award-winning actor Sam Waterston will receive the 6th annual Spirit of Katharine Hepburn Award on Sunday, November 21, 2021 at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center’s Gala. Affectionately known as The Kate, the Center presents the award each year to an individual who embodies the spirit, independence, and character of the legendary actress.

Sam Waterston was born in 1940 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His father was a language teacher and his mother was a landscape painter. He attended preparatory schools Brooks and Groton before earning a scholarship to Yale University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1962. Later that year, Waterston made his New York debut at the Phoenix Theater in “Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad.”

Over the next six decades, Waterston's career included a plethora of film and television credits as well as repeated returns to the stage. His trophy case includes television awards such as the Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild and theater awards like the OBIE and Drama Desk. Other accolades include an Academy Award nomination for his role as journalist Sydney Schanberg in 1984's “The Killing Fields” and six Emmy Award nominations for his roles in “I'll Fly Away” and “Law & Order.” Recently Mr. Waterston was a series regular on Aaron Sorkin’s “The Newsroom” for HBO and currently he can be seen in the final season of “Grace and Frankie,” Netflix’s longest running series, opposite Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Martin Sheen.

A longtime advocate for refugee and climate justice, Mr. Waterston is Board President of Oceana, the world’s leading ocean focused NGO.

In 1973, one of Mr. Waterston’s early television roles included starring alongside Katharine Hepburn in an adaptation of Tennessee Williams' “The Glass Menagerie” for which they both received Emmy nominations. “There is no way to overstate the impact she had on us as young actors when we did ‘The Glass Menagerie,’ with her,” said Mr. Waterston. “And it continues to this day, both her general advice about showing up, being ready to go, and ‘bringing it’ about each movie. Her advice to me is now a permanent part of my actor’s toolkit.”

The Gala event is the non-profit arts organization’s largest fund raiser and also serves to celebrate the Kate’s reopening in 2021 after nearly fourteen months of no in-person programs due to Covid-19. The Kate first opened in September 2009 and has grown to be a major arts hub on the shoreline, attracting more than 45,000 patrons annually. Programming is a diverse and eclectic mix of live music, theater, dance, film, opera, and comedy.

The November 21st Gala takes place at 5:30 pm at the Kate, 300 Main Street in Old Saybrook and includes cocktails and hors d’oeuvres and desserts prepared by Cloud Nine Catering. A special performance by pop vocalist Kat Edmonson will be followed by the presentation to Mr. Waterston of a graceful statuette in the likeness of Hepburn sculpted by artist Kimberly Monson. Reflecting on how meaningful it is to be the recipient this year, Mr. Waterston said, “Especially because I knew her, worked with her, and admire her. And, also because I was here before when the USPS produced a stamp honoring her and because Connecticut is my home. I’m flattered to be honored by this award.”

Corporate sponsors of the Gala include, Bank of America Private Bank, Dominion Energy, Kainen Escalera & McHale PC, Liberty Bank, Possidento Therrien Electrical Contractors LLC, Red Paper Plane and The Shops at Mohegan Sun. Individual support is provided by John and Shireen Aforismo, Lori and Guy Pendleton, Michael and Jo-Ann Price, Patricia Toner, and Paul and Susan Tracey.

For additional information or tickets, visit www.thekate.org or call 860-510-0453.