Carney Updates | Fred Willard, Comedy Legend and Inaugural Carney Awards Host, Passes Away at 86
1st Annual Carney Award Highlights
The First Annual Carney Awards, held in Beverly Hills, was the culmination of 15 years of planning. The awards gala honored actors Bob Balaban, Michael Ealy, Bruce McGill, David Paymer, and CCH Pounder — all quintessential character actors at the top of their profession. Hosted by Fred Willard, the fast-paced show featured tributes from Billy Crystal, director John Landis, and more. Plus, the debut of the popular segment, Name That Character Actor — character actors attempting to identify fellow character actors! The industry reception to the Carneys was overwhelming. The Carney Awards had arrived with a splash — and resonated with everyone.
The Honorees: The Best of The Best
Billy Crystal introduced Honoree David Paymer
The hilarious Name That Character Actor debuted!
See the Carney Honorees’ remarkable roles
1st Annual Carney Award Honorees
Bob Balaban
One of Bob’s earliest appearances in film was in Midnight Cowboy. He later played the interpreter David Laughlin in Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and in 1979 he received a Tony Award nomination for his role in The Inspector General. 
During the 1980s he appeared in films such as Altered States and 2010. In 2001, Bob produced Gosford Park, for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. He appeared in several Christopher Guest comedies, including Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration, and the Wes Anderson films Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and Isle of Dogs. In the 1990s, Bob had a recurring TV role on the fourth season of Seinfeld as Russell Dalrymple, the fictional president of NBC.
CCH Pounder
Carol Christine Hilaria (“CCH”) Pounder has appeared in multiple plays, films, made-for-television films and television miniseries. After her debut in All That Jazz, she appeared in guest roles on Hill Street Blues, The Cosby Show, L.A. Law, 
The X-Files (for which she received an Emmy® Award nomination), Living Single, and Quantum Leap. She played a recurring role as Dr. Angela Hicks on ER, earning her an Emmy® Award nomination. In 2009, she appeared as Mo’at in James Cameron’s film Avatar. Returning to TV series, she also made guest appearances on The Practice, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Millennium, The West Wing. She later portrayed medical examiner Dr. Loretta Wade on NCIS: New Orleans and starred as Detective Claudette Wyms in The Shield, earning her another Emmy® Award nomination.
Bruce McGill
McGill has starred in many films, with one of his most well-known roles being “D-Day” in the 1978 comedy classic National Lampoon’s Animal House. Best known for his work with director Michael Mann in the movies The Insider, Ali, 
and Collateral. His other films include Into the Night, Wildcats, The Last Boy Scout, My Cousin Vinny, Cliffhanger, Timecop, Black Sheep, Courage Under Fire, Rosewood, The Insider, Club Paradise, The Legend of Bagger Vance, Ali, The Sum of All Fears, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde, Matchstick Men, Runaway Jury, Cinderella Man, Outlaw Trail: The Treasure of Butch Cassidy, and Vantage Point. Bruce McGill's television roles include Jack Dalton on MacGyver (1985–1992) and Det. Vince Korsak on Rizzoli & Isles. He also had recurring roles as Captain Braxton on Star Trek Voyager.
Michael Ealy
Michael’s performance in 2002’s Barbershop proved to be his breakout role. Michael appeared in the second installment of the Fast and the Furious film series, 2 Fast 2 Furious, and soon after appeared in Never Die Alone with DMX. He starred 
in both seasons of the Showtime television series Sleeper Cell, and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television. Michael was featured in the movie Seven Pounds alongside Will Smith as Ben Thomas. He also starred as CIA Field Officer Marshall Vogel in the ABC television series Flash Forward. He appeared opposite Think Like a Man co-star Kevin Hart in the 2014 remake of About Last Night. Michael starred in the fourth season of Being Mary Jane opposite Gabrielle Union.
David Paymer
David is one of the industry’s most prolific character actors, having been in more than 90 films in his career, including Mr. Saturday Night, Quiz Show, Searching for Bobby Fischer, City Slickers, Crazy People, 
State and Main, Payback, Get Shorty, Carpool, The American President, Ocean’s Thirteen, and Drag Me to Hell. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1992 for Mr. Saturday Night. David also has appeared in many popular television shows, including Taxi, Happy Days, L.A. Law, Ghost Whisperer, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Entourage. He has had recurring roles on Cheers, Murphy Brown, and The Larry Sanders Show. David has directed episodes of several popular television series, including Gilmore Girls, Grey’s Anatomy, One Tree Hill, Melrose Place, Everwood, Brothers & Sisters and Bunheads.
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