Cinecon 55 Guests
The honorees will receive their awards at a screening of one of their films and participate in a Q & A after the film. Throughout the weekend nearly all of our films will be introduced by either Cinecon staffers or special guests who are film historians, archivists, film makers or very knowledgeable film fans. | |||
Meet the Cinecon 55 Legacy Award Honorees: | |||
Born in the Hollywood Hospital, attended Hollywood High School and grew up between Samuel Goldwyn and Eagle Lion studios, California native Ann Robinson is a true daughter her home town.
At an early age, Miss Robinson became a member of the famous Meglin Dance Studio. Also in her youth she would become an accomplished equestrian later fibbing her way into the film industry as a rider and stunt woman beginning with The Story of Molly X (1949) doubling for June Havoc as she escaped from the Tehachapi State Prison for women, riding in Roddy McDowall's Black Midnight (1949) and one of her favorite ruff-ups was in Frenchie for her friend Shelly Winters (1950). That year she would continue doing stunts for several notables in westerns.
The first acting part she tested for and got was in Warner Brother's Good Bye My Fancy (1951) appearing in a scene opposite Joan Crawford. Later that year, famous talent scout Milt Lewis discovered her while she was in the Ivan Tors play "Wind Without Rain." He signed her with Paramount Pictures where she quickly joined their "Golden Circle Stars of Tomorrow" club.
In 1952 she was groomed for the role of Sylvia Van Buren in George Pal's 1953 sci-fi classic The War of the Worlds. That same year she was loaned to Columbia for The Glass Wall, which introduced Vittorio Gassman to American audiences and Bad for Each Other starring Charlton Heston.
!954 came with a move to Warner Brothers where she was selected by Jack Webb for his directorial debut film of Dragnet. Also that year she and James Garner were in the original pilot for Cheyenne.
During this time she starred with Buster Crabbe and Nevil Brand in Gun Brothers (1956) and George Montgomery in Gun Duel at Durango (1957). She appeared in many TV shows and was a regular in Fury and Rocky Jones, Space Ranger.
On location and shot in a plane she made Andrew Stone's, Julie for MGM with Doris Day and Louis Jourdan.in 1956.
Producer and friend Ross Hunter cast her as the "subject of color" for the climactic scene in his 1958 redux of the controversial Imitation of Life which she is known for being one of film's most churlish bigots!
Miss Robinson chose to leave Hollywood in 1957 and marry one of Mexico's premier bullfighters, Jaime Bravo with whom she had two sons, Jaime Jr., a five time Emmy Award winning director for ABC Sports and Estefan, a producer and touring musician.
Since the 25th anniversary of War Of The Worlds in 1977, Miss Robinson has enjoyed touring with this film and visiting international conventions on its behalf. The surprise of her life came in 2004, when Steven Spielberg asked her to have a cameo in his magnificent adaptation of the H.G.Welles' classic tale.
Ann Robinson will be joining us on Friday, August 30, 2019 for a screening of her film THE GLASS WALL
Gigi Perreau started her amazing cinematic career at the tender age of two when producer/director Mervyn LeRoy discovered her, and cast her as Eve Curie, the baby in the MGM film Madame Curie (1943). At the age of 5, she was under contract at MGM studios and was loaned out to Samuel Goldwyn for the films Enchantment (1948) and Roseanna McCoy (1949). Then Universal-International placed her under contract. She bloomed as a top juvenile player and received an award from the Screen Children's Guild. Gigi has enjoyed acting in forty motion pictures, over a hundred guest spots on television shows and stage plays.
Gigi worked with many of the major stars of the Golden Era such as Bette Davis, Claudette Colbert, Fredric March, Rock Hudson, Gregory Peck, Linda Darnell, Walter Pidgeon, Irene Dunne, Robert Cummings, Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, David Niven, Theresa Wright, Margaret O'Brien, Piper Laurie, Jennifer Jones, and Katherine Hepburn to name a few.
When Gigi starred in Has Anybody Seen My Gal (1952), she played a scene with a little known actor by the name of James Dean.
She has cherished memories of her own railroad car touring the East Coast on behalf of Universal Studios, being grand marshal of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, lighting the Christmas tree at New York's Central Park, staying at the penthouse apartment of Cecil Beaton at the Sherry-Netherland Hotel, and having J. Edgar Hoover personally escort her through the FBI building in Washington and explain its workings.
At 18, Gigi was honored by receiving one of the first fifty stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and is the only surviving member invited at the official ground-breaking ceremony in 1960. She has received numerous awards and honors throughout her long career.
Marriage and motherhood became a priority after enjoying success as an actress. Later, Gigi’s passion for her craft continued by giving back as a teacher and mentor to hundreds of young actors and students at Notre Dame High School and Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles. Her humanitarian efforts include being a volunteer presenter at the Donna Reed Festival in Denison, Iowa and acting as Chairman of the Board for the Los Angeles Chapter of the March of Dimes, as well as a board member for Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum.
Gigi also enjoys playing tennis and occasionally acts in independent films and records voice-over roles in animation. She is currently writing her memoirs for an upcoming book on her life as a child star during the golden age of Hollywood.
To this day, Gigi receives fan mail from all over the world, enclosing sweet letters, photographs, handmade cards and drawings of her as a child. She is and always will be a bright star to her family.
Gigi Perreau will be joining us on Sunday, September 1, 2019 for a screening of her 1950 film FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE
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Past Legacy Award Honorees:
Marsha Hunt (left) was our first honoree in 2016 and then the following year, 2017, we gave 2 awards one to Norman Lloyd and the other to Patricia Morison. | |||
In 2018 at Cinecon 54 we presented 3 awards: Diana Serra Cary (on the left, who was unable to attend the show), Eva Marie Saint (center) and Cora Sue Collins (right). | |||
Please note: Celebrity appearances are confirmed subject to unforeseen circumstances |
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