Liza Minnelli To Receive Douglas Watt Lifetime Achievement Award

Southampton producer Patricia Watt, along with Ava Astaire McKenzie, will present the 30th annual Fred & Adele Astaire Awards. Liza Minnelli will receive this year’s Douglas Watt Lifetime Achievement Award. The award is named for the late drama critic Douglas Watt who resided in Southampton for six decades and founded the Awards with Fred Astaire in 1982. Minnelli will be on hand for the announcement at the Nominations Announcement Party at The Lambs Club on May 7 along with many of the nominees. The Gala Awards Ceremony will also recognize the achievements of dance world legends Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon and the evening will be dedicated to producer and longtime Hamptons resident Martin Richards. This year the Adele Astaire Scholarship will honor three-time Tony Award-nominated Producer Kathleen Raitt, in addition to a young up-and-coming dancer. The Honorary Chairs Emeritus for the Astaire Awards are Jacques Azoulay, Countess Luann DeLesseps and Wendy Federman. The Gala Chairs are Carolyn Kendall Buchter and Alix Michel. The Benefit Chairs are Cassandra Seidenfeld Lyster and Sara Johnson Kaplan. The 30th Fred & Adele Astaire Awards will be presented on June 4 at New York University.