ACADEMY ICONS: SUSAN LACY—PAUL SIMON

TICKETS $25 ($22.50 FOR MEMBERS)

In the 1960s, Paul Simon’s moving lyric “Bridge Over Troubled Water” was an anthem for a generation. With Art Garfunkel, he made moving testaments to the times, fusing folk and rock music. In the 1980s, he pioneered a popular cross-cultural music that brought South African musicians into mainstream America. With Steve Martin, Lorne Michaels, and Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Followed by a talk with Susan Lacy.

Guild Hall introduces Academy Icons, a new program that spotlights Guild Hall Academy of the Arts members and their work. Inaugurating the series is Susan Lacy, an acclaimed director and producer best known for creating American Masters, the PBS biography series, which began in 1986, profiling artists and visionaries who have helped shape our country’s culture. Her subjects have included James Baldwin, Bob Dylan, Judy Garland, David Geffen, Lena Horne, Joni Mitchell, and hundreds more. American Masters garnered unprecedented awards over the years. Susan earned the series 71 Emmy nominations and 28 wins, including a remarkable ten for Outstanding Non-Fiction Series, in addition to 13 Peabody Awards, three Grammy Awards and a nomination, and an Academy Award and four nominations. Since moving to HBO in 2013, Susan has directed and produced Spielberg, Jane Fonda in Five Acts, Very Ralph, and executive produced The Janes, all for HBO Documentary Films. Among many other distinctions, Susan served as the Governor of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for eight years, is an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences member and a cherished member of Guild Hall’s Academy.