92nd Oscars(R) Production Team Welcomes New Talent And Show Veterans

Producers Lynette Howell Taylor and Stephanie Allain announced 11 key members of the production team for the 92nd Oscars®, which airs live on Sunday, February 9, on ABC.

“This team is the best of the best with a wealth of experience and ideas, and we’re excited to collaborate with them to deliver an incredible show,” said Howell Taylor and Allain.

Rob Paine has been associated with the Oscars telecast for more than 20 years and returns as supervising producer. Paine has more than 200 television events to his name and has earned seven Primetime Emmy® Award nominations, a Daytime Emmy Award nomination and a Peabody Award. His other credits include 12 Super Bowl Halftime Shows, “The Kennedy Center Honors” and the “Primetime Emmy Awards.”

Production designer Jason Sherwood joins the Oscars telecast for the first time. His creative and design credits for television include “Rent: Live,” for which he earned an Emmy Award, “The E! People’s Choice Awards,” the 2019 Grammy Awards® opening number starring Camila Cabello and Ricky Martin, and performances for artists on “Saturday Night Live,” “The Late Late Show with James Corden” and “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” He has also designed world tours for Sam Smith, Spice Girls and Sara Bareilles.

Lighting designer Robert Dickinson returns for his 31st Oscars show. He has won 18 Primetime Emmy Awards, including three for Oscars telecasts. Additionally, Dickinson has been honored with two Daytime Emmy Awards. His credits include “The Kennedy Center Honors,” “Grammy Awards,” “Primetime Emmy Awards,” “Tony Awards” and “Academy of Country Music Awards”; Olympics ceremonies in Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Athens and Vancouver; the ceremonies of the European Games in Baku; and the specials “Peter Pan Live!” and “The Sound of Music Live!”

Jon Macks, head writer, returns for his 23rd Oscars telecast. He has been honored with eight Primetime Emmy Award nominations, including three for the Oscars telecast. In addition to his work on the Oscars, Macks wrote for 22 years on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and writes for Billy Crystal, Steve Martin, Chris Rock and Martin Short.

Taryn Hurd rejoins the Oscars telecast team for the seventh consecutive year as talent producer. She also has served as talent producer on the past six Governors Awards ceremonies along with numerous television variety specials and award shows.

Co-producer Raj Kapoor joins the Oscars for the fourth consecutive year, overseeing screen content and performances. His recent credits include “The 61st Annual Grammy Awards,” “The 71st Primetime Emmy Awards,” “Academy of Country Music Awards,” “The E! People’s Choice Awards” and “Stand Up to Cancer.” Kapoor has mounted numerous large-scale international tours for Carrie Underwood, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, One Republic, “American Idol,” Jason Aldean, Shania Twain, Juanes, Jewel, Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato.

Rickey Minor returns as music director for the Oscars telecast. He won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Direction in 2017 for “Taking the Stage: African American Music and Stories That Changed America.” He also received eight Emmy nominations for his work on “The Oscars,” “Aretha! A Grammy Celebration for the Queen of Soul,” “Stayin’ Alive: A Grammy Salute to the Music of the Bee Gees,” “Smithsonian Salutes Ray Charles: In Performance at the White House,” “An Evening of Stars: Tribute to Chaka Khan,” “The 51st Annual Grammy Awards,” “50th Annual Grammy Awards” and “Genius: A Night for Ray Charles.” Minor was the musical director and bandleader on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” from 2010 to 2014.

Beth Sherman returns as a writer for the Oscars telecast. She has won seven Daytime Emmy Awards for her work as a writer and producer on both “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and “The Talk.” In addition, she received a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series for “Late Show with David Letterman.” Sherman’s writing credits also include “2019 MTV Video Music Awards,” “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “American Music Awards 2016” and “The Queen Latifah Show.”

Amberia Allen joins the Oscars telecast for the first time as a writer. She has been a writer for “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” and has written for numerous live awards shows and variety specials, including “The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor,” “BET Awards” and “Soul Train Awards.” In addition, Allen holds a PhD in Sociology from UCLA and has co-authored the annual UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report.

John Hoffman returns as a writer for the Oscars telecast. Hoffman earned a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Special for the “81st Annual Academy Awards.” In addition to screenwriting, he is also a director, producer and actor. His film and television credits include “The Emoji Movie,” “Grace and Frankie,” “Looking,” “Igor,” “Good Boy!” and “Northern Lights.”

Agathe Panaretos is a first-time writer for the Oscars telecast. Her television credits include the late-night talk show “Chelsea,” “The 71st Primetime Emmy Awards” and “What Just Happened??!” with Fred Savage. She was previously a writer-at-large for The Onion.

The 92nd Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 9, 2020, at the Dolby® Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live on ABC at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. “Oscars: Live on the Red Carpet” will air at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT. The Oscars also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

Howard University Receives Collection of African American Art, Establishes Endowed Chair for Race and Black Politics in Honor of Legendary Scholar Ronald W. Walters

Internationally renowned scholar and activist Ronald W. Walters, Ph.D., was recognized as a leading political strategist and expert on issues affecting the African diaspora. A dedicated leader, Walters served as a professor in Howard University’s Department of Political Science for 25 years and was department chair for nearly a decade. In honor of Walters’ legacy, his wife, Patricia Turner Walters, is gifting Howard University with her coveted collection of African American art, valued at $2,519,950.

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“It is an incredible honor to receive this generous gift of precious art from the Walters family,” said President Wayne A. I. Frederick. “This collection of sculptures and portraits and paintings will be an excellent complement to our gallery and a beneficial focus of training in our art history courses.”

Additionally, the University will establish the first Ronald W. Walters Endowed Chair for Race and Black Politics to continue Walters’ legacy of expanding the University’s capacity as a leader in emerging scholarship in Black politics. The chair will be housed in the Ronald W. Walters Leadership and Public Policy Center at Howard University. It is intended to spur interdisciplinary collaborations across the University on critical issues of race and Black politics, especially those issues that affect Americans of the African diaspora.

In honor of the late political strategist Ronald W. Walters, Ph.D., his wife, Patricia Turner Walters, is gifting the institution with her collection of African American art, including an Elizabeth Catlett sculpture titled ‘Glory.’ Additionally, Howard University will establish the first Ronald W. Walters Endowed Chair for Race and Black Politics to continue Walters’ legacy of expanding the University’s capacity as a leader in emerging scholarship in Black politics.

“Dr. Walters was a giant among scholars here at Howard University, nationally and internationally, and this endowed chair is designed to be a reflection of his unique history as an activist, a political strategist and a trailblazing academic professor. This gift comes at the perfect moment to expand our students’ involvement in the political conversations of our time,” said Frederick.

The gift of art includes 152 pieces of African American art of various forms. The collection includes original pieces, sculptures, rare prints, photographs and pieces from notable eras, including the Harlem Renaissance.

“I could not be more delighted about the decision to give my art collection to Howard, the institution that my husband cared so deeply about,” said Walters. “I always knew I wanted to do something like this to honor my husband’s legacy, but I never imagined that I would get to see it happen in my lifetime. I am grateful to President Frederick for working with me to make this possible. I could not be happier.”

Patricia Walters began her collection in the late 1980s, amassing most of her pieces after 2002. The collection, dear to the Walters family, became a notable part of the couple’s collective legacy as people in their community reveled at the collection over the years. It features artists like Robert S. Duncanson, Edward M. Bannister, Grafton Tyler Brown, Aaron Douglas, Norman Lewis and Romare Bearden, as well as contemporary artists like Kehinde Wiley, Barkley Hendricks, Kerry James Marshall and others.

More information about the art collection and endowed chair will be available during the spring semester. For more information about Ronald W. Walters, Ph.D., visit the Ronald W. Walters Leadership and Public Policy Center website.