ALBANY -- The New York State Archives Partnership Trust will honor actor Sam Waterston for his work to promote history on Wednesday, Sept 13 at 7:30 p.m. at The Egg, Center for the Performing Arts in Albany.
The more than hour-long program will feature an insightful conversation between Waterston and nationally prominent Lincoln Scholar Harold Holzer on Waterston's life, work and passion for history. At the conclusion of the conversation, Waterston will be presented with the Empire State Archives and History Award, an award created by the Archives Partnership Trust in 2005 to recognize prominent national figures for their contributions to our society's understanding and use of history.
A student of history at Yale University and the Sorbonne in Paris, Waterston nurtured a fascination with the past which has been reflected in the portrayal of numerous historical figures throughout his career. In this regard, he is most widely known for his portrayal of President Abraham Lincoln on stage, television and film and in public appearances.
Waterston has read the words of Lincoln at many venues, including his now famous 2004 reprise of Lincoln's seminal 1860 speech at the Cooper Union in New York City. He performed the speech again at The White House in 2005; the George H .W. Bush Library in Houston, Texas; the Lincoln Museum at Fort Wayne, Indiana; the Abraham Lincoln Association in Springfield, Illinois; and the Lincoln Forum in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
In addition to these appearances, he played the title role in the network television mini-series Gore Vidal's Lincoln, and on-stage in the Lincoln Center Revival of Robert Sherwood's Abe Lincoln in Illinois. His narration of the Eliot Field dance version of Aaron Copland's Lincoln Portrait was widely acclaimed. He is also a member of the federal Advisory Committee of the Lincoln Bicentennial.
Waterston has also had history-based leading roles in television series and films about the Warren Commission, the building of the atomic bomb, World War II, West Point, the Pol Pot regime's ethnic cleansing campaign in Cambodia, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the Civil War, and the Matthew Shepard Case.
He has portrayed or narrated the words of both Theodore Roosevelt and Thomas Jefferson. So singular has his identification with history become, that he has been chosen to be the host of the 100 Greatest War Films series as well as documentaries about Pulitzer Prize-winning photographers and lost civilizations. He was also the voice behind the History Channel's Timelab 2000 series of more than 200 one-minute segments on history.
Despite this vast list of history related accomplishments, Waterston is, no doubt, best known for his depiction of "Jack McCoy", the charismatic and tough Assistant District Attorney on NBC's hit television crime drama Law and Order. A three-time Emmy nominee for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series, Waterston previously received the 1999 Screen Actors Guild Award, a Screen Actors Guild nomination in 1998, and an Oscar and Golden Globe nomination in 1995.
"We are honored to have this opportunity to recognize this extraordinary professional for his work on behalf of history in America," stated New York State Archivist and Executive Officer of the Archives Partnership Trust Christine Ward. "Through the work of Mr. Waterston, last year's award recipient C-SPAN CEO and founder Brian Lamb, and others similarly committed, the attention of ordinary Americans is appropriately directed to history books, films and television shows, as well as more traditional historic sites and programs. The Archives Partnership Trust salutes this great American for his role in helping to promote the history of this state and this nation."
Tickets for the program, A Conversation with Sam Waterston are $10 and available by calling The Egg Box Office at (518) 473-1845. Individuals interested in attending both a special pre-performance reception with Waterston and the performance may contact the Archives Partnership Trust at (518) 474-1228. Tickets are $65 for the general public and $40 for Trust members. Individuals may also purchase a Trust membership and attend the reception and performance for $60.
The Archives Partnership Trust would additionally like to thank supporting sponsors: Mr. Paul Newman, 2K Design, The Personal Advisors of Ameriprise Financial, Benchemark Printing, Inc., Berkshire Bank, JP Morgan Chase Bank, The Egg, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, Key Private Bank, Mohawk Fine Papers, New York State United Teachers, Printing Services, Sawchuk Brown Associates, the Times Union, WAMC, Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP Attorneys at Law, and Wojeski & Co., CPAs P.C.