Oscar & Tony Winner Ann Roth to Receive First Pinnacle of the Arts Award at 'Linny Awards'

The ArtsQuest Foundation has announced Oscar and Tony Award winning costume designer Ann Roth as its inaugural Pinnacle of the Arts Award recipient. The award will be presented to Roth during the inaugural Linny Awards presented by Cornerstone Advisors Nov. 10, 6 p.m., at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks.

A Bangor area resident, Roth has earned Tony, Academy and British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards for her beautiful costume work in films and Broadway productions. In 1997 she took home the Oscar for Best Costume Design for her work in The English Patient, and in 2013 she earned a Tony for The Nance. This year, Roth is a Tony Award nominee in the category for Best Costume Design of a Musical for her work in the Broadway production Shuffle Along, or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed. The Tony Awards will be announced June 12, 8 p.m., on CBS.

A Carnegie Mellon graduate who began her career as a scene painter for the Pittsburgh Opera, Roth got her start in costume design after meeting designer Irene Sharaff at the Bucks County Playhouse. Sharaff invited Roth to California to help her with costumes on the film Brigadoon, with Roth assisting Sharaff for several films and Broadway productions before setting out on her own.

During her career, Roth has worked on more than 100 movies and plays. These include productions such as The Odd Couple, They're Playing Our Song, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and The Nance, as well as films like Midnight Cowboy, The English Patient, Silkwood, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Stepford Wives, Closer, The Good Shepard, Freedomland, Mamma Mia!, Julie &Julia, A Little Bit of Heaven, Mr. Popper's Penguins, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Mildred Pierce and the upcoming release, The Girl on the Train.

"Ann Roth's stunning costumes and clothing have been featured in major motion pictures, Broadway productions and television series for more than half a century," says ArtsQuest Foundation Executive Director Jeff Parks. "Her amazing work and her passion for the arts have earned her numerous national and international honors including Oscars, Tony Awards and the Costume Designers Guild Award for Lifetime Achievement. We're blessed to have this incredibly talented and innovative design icon living in the Lehigh Valley, and we are thrilled to present her with the first-ever Pinnacle of the Arts Award during this year's Linny Awards."

Established in honor of artist and philanthropist Marlene "Linny" Fowler of Bethlehem, the Linny Awards are a multi-discipline arts awards program designed to showcase the greater Lehigh Valley's artists, innovators and arts leaders. This year's inaugural Linnys will present awards in 11 different categories including Visual Artist of the Year, Performing Artist of the Year, Educator of the Year, Emerging Artist of the Year and Philanthropy in the Arts.

The Pinnacle of the Arts Award, selected by the ArtsQuest Foundation Board, is presented to an individual who has lived or currently resides in the Lehigh Valley and has achieved national or international distinction in the visual, literary or performing arts. Two other awards recognizing distinguished individuals from the region for their longtime commitment and dedication to the arts - the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Lifetime Achievement Volunteer Award - will be announced this summer.

Nominations for the 2016 Linny Awards are being accepted through June 3, 11:59 p.m. The ArtsQuest Foundation encourages the public to nominate area artists, individuals and businesses for consideration for the Linny Awards at www.artsquestfoundation.org. All submissions will be reviewed by The Linny Awards Selection Committee, with winners announced the week of June 20. Complete details on categories and submission guidelines are available at www.artsquestfoundation.org.

All proceeds from the Linny Awards support the nonprofit ArtsQuest Foundation, founded in 2002 by Mrs. Fowler. For more information on the ArtsQuest Foundation and the Linny Awards, please visit www.artsquestfoundation.org.

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