Gere Gets Humanitarian Award

Monday, October 30th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

HYDE PARK, N.Y. (AP) â€” Actor Richard Gere has accepted a humanitarian award named for former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt for his dedication to freeing Tibetans from Chinese rule.

``I feel very strongly here how her spirit ripples through us without even having seen her with our own eyes,'' Gere, a Buddhist, said at a ceremony Sunday at Roosevelt's Hudson Valley cottage.

Gere, 51, was among five recipients of the 13th annual Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Medal.

Also honored were Brazil's first lady, Ruth Cardoso; opera singer and activist Jessye Norman; and educator Emilie B. Dyson and her husband, Robert R. Dyson.

Gere's films include ``Officer and a Gentleman,'' ``Pretty Woman'' and ``American Gigolo.''