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| UCP Announces William H. Macy as Ambassador |
02/10/2003
United Cerebral Palsy Associations, Inc. (UCP) is proud to introduce William H. Macy as its new Ambassador. Macy became interested in UCP while working on the Turner Network Television (TNT) Original Film, Door To Door, for which he received a Golden Globe nominations and, most recently a Screen Actor’s Guild nomination, as best actor. In the film, Macy portrays Bill Porter, a Portland, Oregon, door to door salesman who achieved great success while living with cerebral palsy. Because of this role, Macy was inspired to work with UCP and is now acting as an Ambassador to educate people about cerebral palsy and related disabilities.
“The Bill Porter story inspired me to get more involved with UCP and its mission to ensure people with disabilities are included in all facets of society,” stated William H. Macy. “Walking in Bill Porter’s shoes taught me to see the person first, not the disability.”
Ambassador
As a UCP Ambassador, Macy will be involved in several activities throughout the year to increase public awareness of the work of UCP. Recently, he participated in creating two public services announcements (PSA) in which he provided the narration. One PSA featured Erik Pernack, a program participant from UCP/NYC’s Brooklyn Day Habilitation Program. This PSA was first aired on December 16, 2002 when TNT re-aired Door to Door.
On January 14, 2003, Macy, along with UCP/NYC Executive Director Edward R. Matthews, participated in a national media satellite interview tour. While broadcasting out of a studio in Los Angeles, Macy and Matthews conducted interviews with more than 20 television stations across the country. Macy will also be present at the National UCP meeting in May in Mobile, Alabama.
Additionally, he has agreed to be the Dinner Chairman for UCP/NYC’s Annual Awards Dinner being held Wednesday, April 23, 2003 at the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel in Manhattan.
About Door To Door
Door To Door tells the inspiring story of Bill Porter’s remarkable life. Bill’s mother, Irene, was an invaluable volunteer for UCP of Oregon throughout her life and encouraged Bill to work to maintain his independence. Through Bill’s patience and persistence after only a few months, he became a top salesman for UCP of Oregon and went on to have a successful 40-year career selling products for the Watkins Company. Door To Door is also the story of the disability movement—it demonstrates an individual’s right to work, advocates for full citizenship of people with disabilities and honors the true essence of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The film, which originally aired on TNT in July 2002 and was re-released in December 2002, was honored by the American Film Institute Award as one of the ten outstanding television programs of 2002. In addition, the film was released in VHS and DVD formats in December 2002.
“We are thrilled to welcome Mr. Macy as our Ambassador,” stated Ed Matthews. “We look forward to building a strong relationship and working together to improve the lives of people with cerebral palsy and related disabilities.”
About William H. Macy
UCP applauds the work of William H. Macy in his exceptional role as Bill Porter, for which he has been nominated for a 2003 Golden Globe Award by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for best performance by an actor in a mini-series or a motion picture. Macy launched into stardom after receiving an Oscar nomination for his role as a car salesman in the movie Fargo. In addition, he has acted in several films including Analyze This, Mr. Holland’s Opus and Murder in the First and guest-starred in a recurring role on NBC’s television show ER.
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