Ryan Murphy to Be Honored with PaleyFest Icon Award

BEVERLY HILLS: The William S. Paley Television Festival has selected Ryan Murphy, behind such hit TV shows as Glee and American Horror Story, as the recipient of the first-ever PaleyFest Icon Award.

This marks the first such honor in the festival’s 30-year history. Murphy will accept the honor at a celebration taking place on February 27, 2013 at The Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills, which will serve as PaleyFest’s kickoff event.

Additionally, two of Murphy’s shows, American Horror Story: Asylum and The New Normal, are joining the previously announced honorees The Newsroom, Revolution and Once Upon a Time as part of the PaleyFest slate.

"Ryan Murphy is a true innovator and one of the most original creators working in television today," said Pat Mitchell, the president and CEO of The Paley Center for Media. "Each of his series has been a game changer in the medium, and continues to inform the cultural conversation. We can’t imagine a more fitting PaleyFest Icon for the festival’s 30th anniversary."
 
“I have loved the lively Paley Festival evenings I’ve participated in over the years, which are a unique opportunity for creators, actors and viewers to come together and discuss the work that we spend so much time creating in isolation,” commented Murphy. “I couldn’t be more honored to be recognized by this organization for which I have so much professional respect and personal gratitude.”