Sacramento’s LeVar Burton to receive lifetime achievement award. Here are the details
Sacramento-raised legend LeVar Burton will receive a Lifetime Achievement in Children’s Television award at the first annual Children’s & Family Emmy Awards, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced Tuesday.
The debut ceremony, taking place on Dec. 11 in Los Angeles, is the latest expansion of the entertainment award since 1979 when the Sports Emmy Awards and the News & Documentary Emmy Awards were launched, according to a release from the academy.
Burton is known for hosting and executive producing the famed PBS children’s series “Reading Rainbow,” and starring in a string of shows and movies, including “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “Roots.”
He’s won and been nominated for more than 20 Emmy awards, notably for “Reading Rainbow,” and also won a Grammy in 2000. Most recently, on Friday, Burton won a Webby award for his podcast, “LeVar Burton Reads.”
Burton is one of seven honorees of the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award.
“Whoa...” Burton tweeted, following the Emmy announcement.
In 2019, Burton was celebrated in Sacramento with a dedication of a park named after him — LeVar Burton Park. Formerly called Richfield Park, the spot lies in the Meadowview neighborhood in the southern edge of Sacramento, where he was raised.
“Everything I have done in the field of literacy has been in honor of my mother, Irma Jean Christian,” Burton said at the park dedication event, according to the 2019 Bee story. Christian was a former English teacher and social worker, and was “deeply committed to her children achieving their full potential, knowing education was the key.”
Burton will be hosting the 94th Scripps National Spelling Bee Semifinals and Finals on June 1 and 2 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Maryland. It’ll be broadcasted live on IonTV.
This story was originally published April 29, 2022 at 12:52 PM.