Former ATAS President Frank to Receive Syd Cassyd Founders Award

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced that entertainment-industry veteran and former Television Academy president Rich Frank will receive the Syd Cassyd Founders Award.

The award will be presented at the 2007 Creative Arts Emmy Awards Sept. 8 in Los Angeles.

The Syd Cassyd Founders Award, named for the Television Academy’s founder, honors members “who have made a significant positive impact on the Academy through their efforts and service over many years of involvement.”

"This is only the eighth time in its history that the Television Academy has bestowed this prestigious award, and there is no one more deserving of this honor than Rich Frank," said Academy chief Dick Askin.

Among Frank’s initiatives with the Academy: a 1994 Information Superhighway Summit featuring then-Vice President Al Gore and multiple anti-drug efforts.

Away from the Academy, Frank was president of the Paramount Television Group of Paramount Pictures, one of the founders of the USA Network, president of Walt Disney Studios and is currently a consultant for The Firm.