He was on a roll, and you had to be there. Laughing a lot, as we all were. The Godfather of the Television Movie, Charles William “Chuck” Fries had the illustrious crowd of television visionaries and entrepreneurs in the palm of his hand. We were celebrating Chuck being honored with the Caucus Legend Award, presented by Bob Papazian, during the 33rd annual Caucus Awards dinner at the Skirball Cultural Center.
“To qualify for the Caucus Legend, you need gray hair, be over 75, and walk with a limp. I qualify on all three counts,” he smiled. “In that regard, Norman Lear, the other living member of the Founders of the Caucus for Producers, Writers and Directors, is 93, and deserves this. But he was unavailable so I filled in. I’m counting on Norman being here next year.”
Chuck let the fur fly with IMDB, the International Movie Database. “I fought and fought to have my age changed … but there’s no way, they won’t budge an inch.”
Selfless as he is, Chuck immediately acknowledged his wife Ava Ostern Fries – “an executive in her own right, having produced Troop Beverly Hills, now a vintage classic at film festivals. Starring Shelley Long and based on Ava’s hilarious experiences as a Girl Scout leader in Beverly Hills.
“Also, a large sampling of the Fries clan is with me tonight, many doing their own duty in the TV industry over the years.” Noting that he’s fathered eight children, who’ve blessed him with 22 grandchildren – “and another now on the way … isn’t there always another on the way?”
A distinguished native son of Cincinnati, Ohio (also famous for Graetzer’s ice cream), and a graduate of Ohio State, Chuck’s career credits are legion. He ranks among the most prominent successes producing television and film. An author, American Film Institute vice-chair, plus a loyal chair of the Caucus for numerous terms. In truth, he’s produced and/or supervised nearly 300 hours of television movies and mini-series. A class act, Chuck stands tall amongst his peers.
Let us praise our evening’s host, Alfonso Ribeiro. Saluting the indefatigable Chuck as the event chair, with Lee Miller as event vice chair “doing a great job as president of the Caucus Foundation.” Other honorees included: Executive of the Year John Landgraph; Lifetime Achievement honoree Norman Powell; Caucus Chair’s Award honoree John Cassar; Tanya Hart acclaimed with the Distinguished Service Award.
“Each year the Caucus Awards single out deserving and impressive talents for recognition, both our professional recipients and our student grant winners, having doled out $1.4 million for 147 grants to emerging creators,” informed Lee Miller.
Vin Di Bona, the Caucus’ first vice president (America’s Funniest Home Videos, etc.) walked away with the “no-contest” Best Dressed Award. We discovered that Chuck’s son Mike Fries, president and CEO of Liberty Global, recently joined the Board of Lionsgate. A kind good man you should know, Mike contributed to the cost of the evening’s tables.
A surprise photograph of the Fries family at Mike Fries wedding to Michele Malone on August 8 of this year at the Dick Clark estate in Malibu is included in the Caucus program, and we are grateful for the permission to publish it here.