Lehman Getting Honorary Oscar

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) â€” Filmmaker Ernest Lehman will receive an honorary Academy Award this year. <br><br>Lehman, 80, is best known for producing ``Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?''

Friday, January 26th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) â€” Filmmaker Ernest Lehman will receive an honorary Academy Award this year.

Lehman, 80, is best known for producing ``Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' and ``Hello, Dolly!''

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences chose him for the award Wednesday ``in appreciation of a body of varied and enduring work.''

In a career that spans nearly half a century, Lehman has worked as a screenwriter, producer and director.

He has been nominated for the best screenplay Oscar four times, for the films ``Sabrina,'' ``North By Northwest,'' ``West Side Story'' and ``Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' He has never won a statuette, though.

``Ernest Lehman has written and produced some of the most memorable films ever made,'' said Robert Rehme, academy president.

Previous recipients of the award include Paul Newman, Kirk Douglas, Sophia Loren, Elia Kazan and Akira Kurosawa.

Lehman will receive his Oscar when the Academy Awards are presented March 25.