NATPE Announces Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award Recipients

LOS ANGELES: Gerhard Zeiler is among those to receive the Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award at NATPE, along with Dick Ebersol, Mary Hart and Regis Philbin.

The award will be presented during a cocktail celebration on January 25 in Miami at the Fontainebleau Resort. The award, named in honor of TV programmer Brandon Tartikoff, recognizes a group of professionals who exhibit passion, leadership, independence and vision in the process of creating television programming.

Zeiler is the CEO of RTL Group and a member of the Bertelsmann executive board. He is the first international recipient of the award. Ebersol is currently the chairman of NBC Universal Sports & Olympics. In the past three decades he has produced eight of the top ten most watched TV events in U.S. history. Hart is the host of the number one syndicated entertainment newsmagazine show in the world, Entertainment Tonight. Earlier this year, Hart announced that 2010-11 will be her last season as host of the show. Philbin first stepped in front of the camera more than 40 years ago and currently co-hosts the nationally syndicated morning show LIVE! with Regis and Kelly. He holds the Guinness World Record for most hours on camera.

“We believe that Dick, Mary, Regis and Gerhard have remarkably shaped the global television industry on both business and pop cultural levels, and truly embody the spirit of the Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award,” said Rich Feldman, the president and CEO of NATPE. “Both NATPE and Lilly Tartikoff Karatz are delighted to honor the recipients’ storied careers through this special celebration.”