Several actor/politicians have won Hollywood awards, but not like Gore
By Jeffrey Jolson & Laurie Mavica
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 9/15/07 — Former Vice-president Al Gore is building one strange mantelpiece. It already has an Oscar and tomorrow night, it may have an Emmy from an awardcast being themed around Green. And just this week Spain gave him the country’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize for his efforts to stem global warming. And he’s still a frontrunner for the main Nobel Peace Prize in Sweden.
That’s not to mention all the political honors sitting on that long mantle that many leading statesmen might have. But even President Ronald Reagan and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger only had Golden Globes — the Governator for best newcomer on his 1976 muscle flick “Stay Hungry” and Reagan for a Hollywood Citizenship Award.
Actor Fred Thompson, who is running for President, never got an acting Emmy for “Law & Order,” though he could borrow one from exec producer Dick Wolf as the show won Best Drama in 1997.
Clint Eastwood is farming Oscars, but never had one while sitting as Mayor of Carmel, California.
And while actors can sweep all four top awards (Emmys, Oscars, Grammys and Tonys) like Rita Moreno did, none can boast a Nobel Peace Prize. Or lay claim to 2005 honors from Harvard for their environmental efforts AND hosted “Saturday Night Live.”
Just this week, Gore won Spain’s most prestigious prize for his work in defending the environment, the latest feather in the cap of the politician-turned-activist.
Gore won the Prince of Asturias award for international cooperation, considered by some to be a warm-up for the Nobel Prizes, for which Gore is nominated this year in the peace category.
For the 59th Emmy Awards, Gore has been nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Interactive Television at the Emmys for his two-year-old cable network, Current TV.
The channel is aimed at 18 to 34-year olds and relies heavily on viewer generated content, like Internet sites YouTube and MySpace. According to the Washington Post, Gore says that his viewers “want to be in control of its media.” Current TV’s content covers a wide array of events and news to fashion.
Gore and his business partner, Joel Hyatt launched Current TV in 2005 and as of last year, the channel was available in 41 million homes across the U.S., 24 hours a day. Along with their investment team, they bought the news network Newsworld International for a reported $70 million from Vivendi Universal and then converted it into Current TVl.
Other finalists that have been nominated for the award in the same category of Current TV are MLB Mosaic, Bravo Media, DisneyChannel.com Broadband Video Player and BIAP Fantasy Football Television Tracker.
