Come and celebrate 2001 when the Fairfield Arts Council honors its Artist of the Year for 2001, Keir Dullea, on Friday, Jan. 19, 2001, at 8 p.m. in Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. The evening honors Dullea's multi-faceted acting career and includes tributes by friends and colleagues in film, words and music and a gala reception. Appropriately enough as we enter 2001, Dullea is best known for his role as Commander Dave bowman in Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey."

The star of 24 motion pictures, Dullea, a Fairfield resident, also starred in "David & Lisa," for which he won a Golden Globe Award. His other films include "Madame X," "The Hoodlum Priest," "Bunny Lake is Missing" and "The Fox." He made his Broadway debut in Ira Levin's "Dr. Cook's Garden," created the role of the blind man in "Butterflies are Free," and played Brick in the Broadway revival of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" with Elizabeth Ashley. He also starred in "P.S., Your Cat is Dead" and in the British premiere of "Bus Stop" with Lee Remick.

Last March Dullea appeared in Fairfield University's Irish Festival production of "Molly Sweeney" where he played the role of Dr. Paddy Rice. Last spring, he appeared on ABC-TV's "Audrey Hepburn," playing the title character's father and also in Hallmark Hall of Fame's "Songs in Ordinary Time." Recent theater appearances include "Death Trap," "The Other Side of Paradise" (Off-Broadway), "The Servant," "A Walk in the Woods" and "A Soldier's Tale" at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Dullea has acted locally at the Hartford Stage Company, the Westport Country Playhouse, the White Barn, the Polka Dot Playhouse, Stamford Theatre Works and the Boston Post Road Stage Company. He is the co-founder of the Theatre Artists Workshop of Westport and a member of the Actor's Studio. He attended the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre where he studied acting with Sanford Meisner and dance with Martha Graham.

The Artist of the Year Award is presented annually by the Fairfield Arts Council to an artist in the visual, performing or literary arts who has demonstrated artistic excellence at the highest level and made a significant contribution to his or her field. Previous recipients of the award include Al Herschfeld, Gabor Peterdi, Robert Vickery, Stevan Dohanos and Ray Kinstler.

The awards program is co-sponsored each year by a local arts organization. This year's event, chaired by Fairfield television personality Sissy Biggers, is cosponsored by the Fairfield Arts Council and the Fairfield Theatre Company, which begins its inaugural season at Fairfield University's Wien Theatre in March 2001. A reception featuring fine wines and confections follows the tribute.

Tickets to the gala are $25, $15 for seniors, and include the awards ceremony and the reception. Patrons tickets at $100 and $50 are also available and include mention in the program. For more information call the box office at (203) 254-4010 or toll free at 1-877-ARTS-396.

Posted On: 01-15-2001 09:01 AM

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