WOMEN IN FILM HONORS ANNOUNCED

Actress Ann-Margret, costume designer Dorothy Jeakins and producer Renee Valente are this year’s recipients of Women in Film’s Crystal Awards.

Actress Valerie Harper and actor Dennis Weaver will share the organization’s Norma Zarky humanitarian award, while French director-writer Agnes Varda will receive the group’s first international award.

The 11th annual ceremonies will be held June 5 at the Century Plaza Hotel. Honorees are selected by a Women in Film nominating committee, according to Women in Film president Irma Kalish.

Awards are given to those whose professional achievements have been distinguished by excellence and endurance and who have contributed to the expansion of the role of women in the entertainment industry, she said.

Ann-Margret is being honored as “an all-around performer and fine actor” who “overcame near-tragedy to broaden her scope and deepen her artistry, always projecting a positive, strong image of women,” Kalish said.

In September, 1972, while performing on stage in Lake Tahoe, the actress fell 22 feet off a platform and suffered a concussion, multiple facial fractures and a broken jaw and underwent reconstructive surgery.

Harper and Weaver have “taken time to feed the hungry on an amazing one-on-one basis, thus setting a new high standard for brotherly love in action,” said Kalish.