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September 30, 2002Contact: Kanchan Paser For Immediate ReleaseACTOR SULLIVAN WALKER, SINGER DOBBY DOBSON and DIRECTOR AUBREY ADAMS FOR SUNSHINE AWARDSTeaneck, New Jersey, USA, September 30, 2002….The SUNSHINE Awards™ organization today issued the following statement:On Saturday, October 26, at the Fourteenth Annual Caribbean's SUNSHINE Awards, the region's rich and diverse cultural heritage will be celebrated, and the talented creators, performers and producers of Caribbean art forms will once again be recognized and honored. The venue for this year's Gala Dinner Awards will be the New York's Hotel Pennsylvania Penntop Ballroom, located directly across from Madison Square Garden in New York City. Among this year's nominees for Special Recognition SUNSHINE Awards is well-known Trinidad-born actor, Sullivan Walker. A veteran of television, radio, film and theatre, Mr. Walker has distinguished himself as a talented and prolific performer. He has had several prominent roles in plays, on and off Broadway, most recently appearing as Hambone in August Wilson's Two Trains Running, and as Sam in the national tour of Athol Fugard's Broadway production of Harold and the Boys. He is well known for his frequent appearances as Dr. James Harmon on the Cosby Show, and has also had many guest starring roles in a number of highly successful television shows such as The Jamie Fox Show, As the World Turns, Lush Life, and The Pretender. His impressive list of film credits include, The Firm, Crocodile Dundee, The Wiz, Fame, The Exterminator, Fort Apache, Marathon and Ragtime. Sullivan Walker has stayed closely connected to his Caribbean roots. He has used his talents as actor, playwright and director to showcase Caribbean culture in the theatre, both as director of the Caribbean Experience Theatre and as founder of the New Theatre for the Caribbean Arts. He is also a prolific writer of Caribbean literature, and his works of poetry, short stories and folk tales have all brought him literary acclaim. Aubrey Adams is considered by many to be one of Trinidad and Tobago's leading directors and producers of musical plays, pageants, and carnival spectacles. He has used his talents as a director/producer, playwright, choreographer and folklorist to help keep Trinidad & Tobago's rich cultural heritage alive. His lavish productions have received critical acclaim from audiences at home and abroad. As artistic director of the Trinidad Folk Performing Company and chairman of The Little Carib Theatre, Aubry Adams has given international exposure to Trinidad's culture with performances in a number of countries around the world. He was the first Caribbean producer to have his work presented at the Royal Festival Hall in London and at the City Center Dance Center on Broadway. Aubrey Adams trained in theatre arts at Colombia University. As a recipient of scholarships from the Governments of Germany and France, he had the opportunity to study the creative arts in both countries. He has served as a cultural adviser and consultant to the Government of Trinidad & Tobago and to the United Nations. In 1969 he was awarded Trinidad and Tobago's Humming Bird Medal and in 1989 he received the Silver Chaconia. He has been nominated for the 2002 SUNSHINE Awards "Friend of the Arts Award." Another veteran artiste who will be honored at the Fourteenth Annual SUNSHINE Awards is Jamaican singer/performer, Dobby Dobson. With a career spanning four decades, Dobby Dobson today continues to leave audiences spellbound with his melodious voice and distinctive style. A "romantic stylist", he has an impressive repertoire of classic romantic top-selling albums, which includes That Wonderful Sound, Sweet Dreams, History For Lovers, Love You Thru it All and Hot and Cold. Many of these albums have produced mega hits. Dobby Dobson has been a founding member of several singing groups and bands - The Fabulous Five, The Sheiks, The Virtues Band, Kes Chin and the Souvenirs, Charles and the Teddy Bears and the Boris Gardner Happening. A well-rounded performer, Dobson is also an accomplished songwriter and producer. Jeff Pe'Lay Elva of St. Lucia has had a long and illustrious career as a calypsonian and has performed throughout the Caribbean, in Europe, the USA, Africa, Malaysia and Taiwan. He was the first St. Lucian calypsonian/singer to record his songs in St. Lucia. As a result of an unfortunate automobile accident, Pe'Lay is now confined to a wheelchair. This, however, has not prevented him from continuing his career as a performer, writer and composer. Pe'Lay is a five-time winner of St. Lucia's Calypso Monarch title. He won St. Lucia's Road March title twice and the Soca Monarch once. He is considered the pioneer of local Christmas songs in St. Lucia. Pe'Lay has written close to 200 calypsos. In 2001 he published a book containing 100 calypsos, 60 of which he had recorded himself. Pe'Lay has played a leading role in the development of calypso in St. Lucia. In 1986, the Government of St. Lucia awarded him the Silver Pitton Medal for his contribution to the country's culture and art forms. The Fourteenth Annual SUNSHINE Awards will also pay posthumous tribute to George Eric Moxey (1914-1984) of the Bahamas. George Moxey was the first Bahamian to obtain an Associate Degree in music from the London Trinity College of Music. The early years of his musical career were spent in Jamaica, where his exquisite piano playing soon earned him the title "King of the Ivories". Moxey was a pioneer in radio broadcasting in Jamaica. His piano performances were regularly featured on the then newly inaugurated radio station, RJR. He became known to thousands of Jamaicans as "Uncle George" on the Lannaman's Children's Hour, the Colgate Palmolive Talent Show and the Martin's Travel Quiz show. He also had several solo spots. As the bandleader of a 30-piece orchestra, Moxey played at all the leading theatres, clubs and hotels in Jamaica. He was a tremendous influence on much of the dance music of the late 1930s and on most of the musicians who got their start during that period. His reputation was legendary. George Moxey was also a regular contributor to the Jamaica Daily Gleaner with his column "Accent on Music". When he eventually returned to the Bahamas, he contributed the same column to the Tribune, The Bahamian Times and the Nassau Guardian. Moxey was a founding member of the Nassau Music Society and a member of the Advisory Committee of the Institute of the Arts. He was a consultant to the Bahamas Musicians and Entertainers Union and the Conductor of its Symphony Orchestra. He was also the pianist and leader of the Café Martinique Trio. Over the years, George Moxey received a number of awards for his outstanding contribution to Caribbean music, including the Distinguished Citizens Award in 1977 and the Bahamas Tourism Achievement Award in 1981. The SUNSHINE Awards considers these outstanding Caribbean artistes to be most deserving of their nomination for this year's Special Recognition Awards. The Fourteenth Annual SUNSHINE Awards will take place on Saturday, October 26
at the New York's Hotel Pennsylvania, directly across from Madison Square
Garden. It is sponsored in part by Hennessey, BWIA, Angostura Ltd., Colonial
Life Insurance Ltd. of Trinidad & Tobago, New York Carib News, Air Jamaica,
Quaker Foods and Beverages, Calypsocity, Mistic All Natural Fruit Drinks. Go
Bold and KEYSPAN. Ticket information is available on www.sunshineawards.com |
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