By Samantha Ofole-Prince
Dolly Parton, Debbie Allen and Tom Cruise have been selected to receive Honorary Oscars by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (A.M.P.A.S).
Parton, an accomplished singer, who has 49 studio albums, and more than 100 million records sold worldwide has starred in films “Nine to Five” and “Steel Magnolias” and will receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. Debbie Allen, a choreographer and actor known for movies “A Jazzman’s Blues” and “The Six Triple Eight” will be honored with an Oscar. Cruise, who has an expansive body of work that includes his Oscar-nominated acting roles in “Born on the Fourth of July,” “Jerry Maguire” and “Magnolia,” “Top Gun: Maverick,” and the “Mission: Impossible” film series will also receive an Oscar statuette.
Also slated to receive a statuette is production designer Wynn Thomas who began his career working on Spike Lee’s “She’s Gotta Have It.” Thomas’s film credits include Lee’s “Do the Right Thing,” “Malcolm X” and “Da 5 Bloods” and “Hidden Figures.”
The statuettes will be presented at the Academy’s 16th Governors Awards event on Sunday, November 16 at Ovation Hollywood.