First Recipient Of 'Comedian Of The Year Award' Kathy Griffin To Return to Palm Springs International Comedy Awards

Two-time Emmy and Grammy award-winning comedian Kathy Griffin will return to Palm Springs as a special guest presenter at the PSICF Comedy Awards ceremony taking place during the Palm Springs International Comedy Festival (PSICF) on September 21st at Hotel Zoso in downtown Palm Springs. Griffin was the festival's first ever Comedian of the Year Award recipient, presented during its inaugural year in 2018.

"We're so pleased that Kathy Griffin will be part of the festival again this year," comments PSICF founder/president Paul Cruz. "Kathy helped to bring global recognition to our festival in our first year when we presented her with the esteemed Comedian of the Year Award. We're thrilled to welcome her back again as a presenter and special honored guest this year during a brief break on her very successful tour."

On the star-studded gala evening, Griffin will present longtime friend and acclaimed comedian/actress, Mo Collins with the PSICF Comedy Hall of Fame Award, in recognition of her exceptional contributions to the world of comedy. From her nine-year run on MAD TV to her beloved role on Parks & Recreation, and her scene-stealing performances in The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up, Collins has consistently proven herself as a comedic powerhouse.

PSICF Hall of Fame Awards will also be presented to some of the most recognized names in the entertainment industry, Cybill Shepherd, Tom Arnold and Will Sasso (Apple TV's Acapulco, The Three Stooges), all of whom will be in attendance at the awards ceremony. Previous PSICF Comedy Hall of Fame recipients have included Saturday Night Live cast members Laraine Newman and Jon Lovitz, as well as acclaimed producer, writer Alan Zweibel.

Additionally, transgender Latina comedian Roz Hernandez will be honored with the PSICF Diversity in Comedy Award. Hernandez brings her comedic wit to the Hulu series Living for the Dead, executive produced by Oscar-nominated actress Kristen Stewart, and ALSO hosts the weekly podcast Ghosted!.

Jonathan Kite (2 Broke Girls, Dad Stop Embarrassing Me) will be presented with the 2024 PSICF Best Male Stand-up Comedian Award, while Jeff Garlin (Curb Your Enthusiasm) will receive the PSICF Spotlight in Comedy Award.

Beloved comedian Luenell (Hacks, Lopez) will be named PSICF's Comedian of the Year for 2024.

Also on September 21st, Golden Globe winning actress Karen Sharpe-Kramer and daughters actress Kat Kramer and filmmaker Jennifer Kramer will present The PSICF Stanley Kramer Mad World Comedy Award to the documentary Celebrating Laughter: The Life and Films of Colin Higgins by Nicholas Eliopoulos. Produced by Dolly Parton, narrated by Cybill Shepherd, and includes Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Shirley MacLaine and Goldie Hawn. The award previously went to the George Gallo directed Robert De Niro comedy film, The Comeback Trail, which also starred Morgan Freeman, Tommy Lee Jones and Eddie Griffin, last year's PSICF Comedian of the Year Award recipient. Additionally, Stanley Kramer's It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World will be screened on September 29th in honor of the legendary director's birthday, for which the PSICF award was named after.

The Palm Springs International Comedy Festival (PSICF) is a premier annual event celebrating the art of comedy in all its forms. Featuring a diverse array of performances, films, stand-up, sketch comedy, and improv, PSICF attracts top-tier comedic talent and filmmakers from around the globe. This year's films include Brandon Tamburri's Plan B, starring John Heder, Jamie Lee, Shannon Elizabeth, and Tom Berenger; Caden Douglas' Mother Father Sister Brother Frank with Mindy Cohn and Enrico Colantoni; Jeremy Warner's Villians Inc. starring Colin Mochrie and Jeff Davis of Whose Line Is It Anyway?; Michael Schlesinger's Rock & Doris (Try to) Write A Movie with Marilu Henner (Man On The Moon, Taxi) and actor/director Joe Regalbuto (Murphy Brown, Veronica's Closet); and pilots starring cast members from The Daily Show, Orange Is The New Black, RuPaul's Drag Race, NYPD Blue, and more!

The festival is committed to nurturing new talent while honoring comedy legends, making it a significant influencer in the comedy world.

PSICF runs from September 21 - October 6, 2024. The Palm Springs International Comedy Festival Awards will be held on September 21st at Hotel Zoso (150 S. Indian Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, CA 92262). (red carpet arrivals begin at 4pm, followed by cocktail reception at 5 pm, award ceremony to begin at 6 pm, followed by after party.) Screenings and live comedy events will be held at The Mary Pickford Theater (36850 Pickfair Street Cathedral City, CA 92234). For more information about the festival, including tickets and program details, please visit www.psicf.org.

ABOUT Kathy Griffin:

Two-time Emmy and Grammy award-winning comedian Kathy Griffin is a towering figure on television, on tour and in publishing. In 2013, Kathy was inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records for writing and starring in an unprecedented 20 televised stand-up specials - more than any comedian in history. In 2014, Kathy made history again with her 6th consecutive Grammy nomination and first win for Best Comedy Album (Kathy Griffin: Calm Down Gurrl), joining Whoopi Goldberg and Lily Tomlin as the only other female comedians to ever win Grammy awards for Best Comedy Album. Her hit Bravo series, Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List aired for 6 years and won 2 Emmys. It was nominated every single year of its run. The series also earned her a GLAAD Media Award for Best Reality Program.

Kathy starred on NBC's Suddenly Susan and guest starred on multiple legendary TV series including Seinfeld, Law & Order: SVU, Glee, You, and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Additionally, she has lent her unique voice to animated characters in Shrek Forever After, The Simpsons, American Dad, Futurama and Dilbert. Kathy's unrivaled style of humor and prolific comedy pedigree has made her one of television's go-to hosts for premier live events. Kathy drew huge worldwide audiences to CNN's New Year's Eve special, which she co-produced and co-hosted with Anderson Cooper for 10 years. Kathy co-hosted The Billboard Music Awards LIVE three years in a row, the 41st annual Daytime Emmy Awards LIVE and AARP's Movies for Grownups Gala. Her sure-fire hosting success led to her own LIVE late night talk show, Kathy.

Also an accomplished author, Kathy's memoir, Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin, debuted at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List. Her much-anticipated second book, Kathy Griffin's Celebrity Run-Ins: My A-Z Index, was also a New York Times Best Seller. On the stage, Kathy has performed standup for hundreds of thousands around the globe. Buoyed by her fiercely dedicated fans, Kathy's live performances are legendary and in a class of their own. The fiery redhead has sold out shows to rave reviews throughout North America, Europe, Australia and Asia at such iconic venues as The Sydney Opera House, The Mark Taper Forum, Madison Square Garden, Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center. Kathy has also performed for active military servicemen and women in such war zones as Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Uzbekistan. She has graced the covers of The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek, and The Advocate, and has had in-depth profiles in New York Magazine and Forbes.

In addition to performing, writing and producing, Kathy is a renowned speaker and has taken her empowering messages of equality through activism and humor all over the country. Kathy's passionate advocacy for women, the LGBT community, and other disenfranchised groups have been displayed through numerous candid and intimate conversations with award-winning journalists and moderators from The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Hudson Union Society, 92Y, as well as tech giants Google and AOL. She has been honored in this area with multiple awards including The Human Rights Campaign's Ally for Equality, GLAAD's Vanguard Award, The Trevor Life Award from the Trevor Project, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America's Leadership in Entertainment honor, the Harvard College Distinguished Service Partner Award, Veterans Tickets Foundation Distinguished Donor Award, the Lambda Legal Liberty Award, a two-time Ladies' Home Journal "Funny Ladies We Love" Recipient, and a Gracie Award for Outstanding Female Lead.

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