Broadcasting legend Peter Jennings, actress Diahann Carroll and cable executive Tom Freston are among those being honored with an induction into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame early next year, Academy Chairman/CEO John Shaffner announced Tuesday (Dec. 7). Also being inducted are actress Cloris Leachman, composer Earle Hagen, writer/producer Susan Harris and game show producer Bill Todman. Jennings, Hagen and Todman are being honored posthumously.
"This year's group of Hall of Fame inductees continues to exemplify and define the accomplishments that we recognize with this honor," Shaffner said in a statement.
The 2011 Hall of Fame class will be honored Jan. 20 at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. They join more than 100 previously-inducted television leaders since the hall's inception in 1984.
This year's Hall of Fame committee was chaired by WME Entertainment board member Mark Itkin and included Warner Bros. Television President Peter Roth, NBCU Cable and Cable Studios Chairman Bonnie Hammer, Fox Alternative Entertainment President Mike Darnell, film and TV composer Ray Colcord and former TV executive and founder of the Fred Silverman Company, Fred Silverman.
