Comedy Festival honors Reynolds, Carlin, Reiner

Friday, Sept. 6, 2002 | 9:12 a.m.

Debbie Reynolds, George Carlin and Carl Reiner will be honored at the first Las Vegas Comedy Festival's awards dinner on Saturday night at the Stardust.

Carlin will receive the Las Vegas Comedian of the Year Award from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Reynolds will receive the festival's Lifetime Achievement Award. Carl Reiner will receive the Steven Allen Pioneer of Comedy Award.

Reynolds' film career began in 1948 at MGM after she won a beauty contest at age 16. Most of her film work has been in MGM musicals, as perky, wholesome young women. She continues to appear in films and perform onstage. For several years she owned a namesake hotel-casino in Las Vegas, now the Greek Isles.

In the '50s Reiner wrote and costarred with Sid Caesar in the TV sketch-comedy series "Your Show of Shows." He also was the creator of "The Dick Van Dyke Show." Between 1956-67 he won eleven Emmy Awards as a performer, producer, and writer. He also teamed up with Mel Brooks on a series of records spotlighting Brooks' character, "The 2,000-year-old Man."

Carlin has been appearing in Las Vegas for more than 30 years. He has won two Grammy Awards and two CableAce Awards. He also has a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. The comedian has released over 20 comedy albums.

According to a statement from the LVCVA, Carlin is receiving the award for his "unprecedented popularity and frequency of performances in the city of Las Vegas."

For festival information or tickets, call 736-6595.