Senn High School Ceremony to Honor William Friedkin
SENN HIGH SCHOOL CEREMONY TO HONOR WILLIAM FRIEDKIN
William Friedkin Way Street Naming Ceremony
When: Monday, June 10 at 1pm
Where: Corner of Ardmore and Ridge
Discussion with Sherry Lansing
When: Monday, June 10 at 2pm
Where: Raven Theatre (6157 N Clark)
Join us for a celebration of Senn Arts. The school community will join former Paramount CEO Sherry Lansing in honoring her late husband William Friedkin, a Senn alum who went on to be a director, producer, screenwriter, and Academy Award Winner. The event will include performances by dance and theatre students, a short film screening, and a Q&A with Sherry Lansing. Senn visual artists will be displaying their works.
SHERRY LANSING’S BIO
During almost 30 years in the motion picture business, Sherry Lansing was involved in the production, marketing, and distribution of more than 200 films, including Academy Award winners Forrest Gump, Braveheart, and Titanic. Throughout her film career, Lansing earned a reputation as a trailblazer, a visionary leader, and a creative filmmaker. In 1980, she became the first woman to head a major film studio when she was appointed President of 20th Century Fox. Later, as an independent producer, Lansing was responsible for such successful films as Fatal Attraction, The Accused, School Ties, Indecent Proposal, and Black Rain. Returning to the executive ranks in 1992, she was named Chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures and began an unprecedented tenure that lasted more than 12 years (1992 - 2005).
The Sherry Lansing Foundation (SLF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to cancer research, health, public education, and encore career opportunities, was formed in 2005. Among the SLF’s initiatives is the EnCorps STEM Teachers Program, founded by Lansing to transition corporate professionals into top quality California public school math and science teachers. Lansing is also a co-founder of the Stand Up To Cancer initiative, which funds collaborative, multi-institutional cancer research “Dream Teams.”
In addition, she serves on the boards of the Broad Museum, the Carter Center, the Entertainment Industry Foundation, the W.M. Keck Foundation, the Lasker Foundation, the Pacific Council on International Policy, and Scripps Research – as well as the Advisory Board of the Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies. She is also a trustee of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles, where she co-founded the Scholarship Fund. Lansing served on the University of California Board of Regents from 1999 – 2022.
In recognition of her philanthropic endeavors, Lansing received the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award; induction into the National Women’s Hall of Fame; the American Association for Cancer Research Public Service Award, the Horatio Alger Humanitarian Award; the UCLA Women in Philanthropy Icon Award; and the Stem Cell Action Leadership Award, among numerous other honors. In 2011, Lansing pledged five million dollars to the University of Chicago Lab Schools, where she attended high school.
She graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science Degree from Northwestern University in 1966.
