All photos by Moses Sparks. Prints are available for sale on his website.
Below left: Executive Board member CARLA FALLBERG presents the Golden Award to her mother, BECKY FALLBERG. Below right: 1985 Golden Award honoree BILL MELENDEZ with 2005 honorees SAM JAIMES and DON LUSK.

What a night!

The 2005 Golden Awards are a smashing success

On April 9, over four hundred friends converged on the Pickwick Center in Burbank to celebrate the lives and careers of seventy-two veterans who have reached "the big-five-oh," as the Animation Guild presented its seventh GOLDEN AWARDS honoring fifty-year veterans of the art and industry of animation.

 

Fifty-one honorees were present to accept their awards in person from members of the Guild's Executive Board, while speakers such as Martha Sigall, Leonard Maltin, Bill Melendez, Tina Price, Jean Gillmore, Gary Owens, Rusty Mills, Tee Bosustow, Larry Eikleberry, Scott Shaw! and Mark Kausler touted the honorees' accomplishments. President Emeritus Tom Sito hosted and Floyd Norman showed classic footage of the Disney strike and Schlesinger in the early days of Termite Terrace.

Since 1984, the Animation Guild has honored 269 veterans with the Golden Award. Calculated as of the year they accepted the Award, our honorees to date have logged an accumulated total of 14,441 years in the animation industry!

Below left: Master of Ceremonies TOM SITO. Below right: Honoree CLIFF VOORHEES.

Committee co-chairs DAVE BRAIN and BOB FOSTER offer the following observations:

We presented fifty-five awards in two-and-a-half hours. The Pickwick Center's largest banquet facility was filled with some of the greatest names in animation, there to honor fifty-year veterans from one of the most interesting periods in animation history. People came from as far away as Ireland and the UK to attend.

The biggest logistical challenge was finding a way to present all the Golden Awards in a dignified and entertaining manner and still leave as much time as possible for schmoozing and hanging out. We were reluctant to interrupt the socializing with dinner and awards; everyone was having such a good time saying hello to old friends. Maybe next time we can present the award along with the meal -- "Our next Golden Award goes to Joe Blow who's also having a New York steak well done," then give him both items at once. The waitresses and busboys could serve double duty!

Below: Honorees MANON WASHBURN and WILLY GUENOT.

We really want to thank the small army of generous individuals who contributed immensely to the success of this banquet. To name a few: The Animation Guild Archives, Bronwen Barry, Jerry Beck, Tee Bosustow, Jan Browning, Russell Calabrese, John Cataldi, Kelly-Bea Cooper, Larry Eikleberry, Mark Evanier, Carla Fallberg, Jean Gillmore, Kristen Hamel and the great staff at Pickwick, Janette Hulett, Steve Hulett, Cathy Jones, Hank Jordan, Mark Kausler, Mike Kazaleh, Kevin Koch, Earl Kress, Nathan Loofbourrow, Christine Mallouf, Leonard Maltin, Lyn Mantta, Jeff Massie, Bill Melendez, Rusty Mills, Jim Mitchell, Stuart Ng, Floyd Norman, Karen Nugent, Gary Owens, Iraj Paran, Tina Price, Mark Raymer at Brothers Printing, Scott Shaw, Martha Sigall, Tom Sito, Moses Sparks, Chuck Swenson, Tim Walker, Gerry Woolery, Charles Zembillas, Steve Zupkas, the sponsors at Disney, Warner Bros., DreamWorks, Cartoon Network and Film Roman, and all the Golden Award Honorees who made it all possible.

The result was one of the best family reunions we've ever witnessed.

-- Bob Foster and Dave Brain