Hell's Kitchen NYC Festival

HKNYCF Posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award

Richard Bright

Richard Bright has notched up an impressive array of character performances of often shifty, or deadly characters on the wrong side of the law. First came to attention as a burglar in the engrossing The Panic in Needle Park and then followed it the following year playing a slick con artist hustling naive Ali MacGraw for the bank robbery loot in The Getaway, before Steve McQueen pummels Bright to get the money back. Additionally, in 1972, he made his first appearance as bodyguard / enforcer "Al Neri", protecting Al Pacino in The Godfather, and returned in the same role in The Godfather: Part II and 16 years later, he was back once again still protecting mob boss Al Pacino in The Godfather: Part III. Bright's look's have endeared him to casting agents looking for criminals & cops, as he has also appeared in Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America. In addition, he has appeared regularly on TV in police/drama shows such as Hill Street Blues, Third Watch and The Sopranos.

John Ford Noonan

John Ford Noonan was born in New York City. He was an award winning writer. In 1969, his highly acclaimed Lincoln Center Theater production, The Year Boston Won the Pennant, won an Obie Award, and garnered a Theatre World Award nomination and a Pulitzer Prize nomination.In the 1970s several of his plays were produced by Joseph Papp at The Public Theatre, including Older People, which won a Drama Desk Award; Rainbows For Sale, which won an Obie Award; Where Do We Go From Here?; Getting Through The Night and All the Sad Protestants.The Club Champion’s Widow, starring Maureen Stapleton, was produced at the Robert Lewis Acting Company. A Coupla White Chicks Sitting Around Talking was produced at the Astor Place Theatre in New York, it starred Susan Sarandon and Eileen Brennan and ran for more than 800 performances.His play, Some Men Need Help, was originally produced in New York City at the 47th Street Theatre; it starred Philip Bosco and Treat Williams.Stay Away a Little Closer starring the author's daughter, Jesse Sage Noonan, and When It Comes Early starring Harris Yulin and Kathleen Chalfant were both produced at the Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York City. Noonan wrote over 35 plays and was inducted into the French Society of Composers and Authors in 1989. He wrote for TV’s Comedy Zone in the early 1980s and St. Elsewhere, for which his episode, The Women, won the 1982 Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. His second Emmy nomination was for his TV adaptation of his play Some Men Need Help. He is also known for acting in Adventures in Babysitting, Flirting with Disaster, Next Stop, Greenwich Village.

Female Filmmaker of the Year Award

Maria Soccor

As a producer and director on her recent documentary feature film “Lords of BSV,” Maria Soccor is demonstrating her outstanding talent behind the camera while simultaneously continuing to distinguish herself as a successful actress and model.

“Lords of BSV,” directed by Soccor represents the latest achievement in Soccor’s impressive fifteen year career. Through her companies Maria Soccor Productions, A Jersey Girl LLC, Arachnids With Pistolas Productions LLC, and Wild Iris Films, Soccor created and produced the web series “NewJerseyChef.com,” and produced another web series, “My Parents Are Crazier Than Yours,” directed by Marlene Rhein.

She recently produced the short film, “Play House” Directed by Brandon LaGanke which was recently accepted by the 2013 South by Southwest Festival (SXSW), and by thee 2013 Holly Shorts film festival. She also produced the short comedy, “Cinemacoma” which was accepted into the 2013 Katra Film Series in New York City, while also developing her new comic series SPEAR, illustrated by artist Rolo Ledesma.

As an actress, Soccor has appeared in 20 movies including “Playmakers of New Orleans” starring Zoe Saldana and Boris Kodjoe in which she played Saldana's sister, and “Jersey Justice” starring Emmy award winner Blanche Baker which has a current release date for 2014. She has also appeared in films featuring Matt Damon, Edward Norton, John Turturro, John Malkovich, Famke Janssen and Martin Landau (“Rounders”), Queen Latifah and Danny Glover (“The Cookout”), Danny Aiello and Joe Piscopo (“The Last Request”), and John Leguizamo (“Undefeated” on HBO).

Her television credits include “Cosby,” a recurring role on the NBC series “Another World,” and Caroline Diaz, “K-Ville” on Fox as Laurencia Leon starring Anthony Anderson and Cole Hauser, as well as appearances on ABC, CBS, PBS, and the Lifetime channel.

For her latest acting role, Soccor was chosen to star in the television family sitcom "Life As It Is" set for production in the summer of 2013 in New Orleans in which she will portray television news reporter Marie Martinez. The series was created by George Clinton Brown whose credits include the movie "Prom Night."

Soccor is also displaying her versatility as a model for the esteemed Wilhelmina agency. She is a member of the Poetry Society of America, and is an accomplished writer, poet, and poetry teacher. She began her entertainment career as a member of Gallman's Newark Dance Theater, and as a print model represented Fortune 500 companies in several advertising campaigns.

After studying acting under the late three-time Tony Award winner Uta Hagen, Soccor appeared on Broadway and in several Off-Broadway productions, and founded The Anagnorisis Theater Company. She is a member of The Screen Actors Guild, The American Federation of Radio and Television Artists, Actor Equity Association, and The Sommelier Association. Soccor also serves on the Theater/Arts and Film Committees at New York's prestigious National Arts Club.

Her awards include New Jersey Essex County Young Woman of The Year, Miss New York, and Ms. National USA.

Soccor is active in her community as a volunteer at a local women's battered shelter in Newark, New Jersey, as well as actively participating in Amnesty International, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids, and numerous charity events.

CLOSING NIGHT AWARD PARTY SUNDAY JANUARY 19, 2020

Louis Vanaria and JoAnn Roberts will be performing. Louis Vanaria's Resume-

The Irishman Dave Ferrie
The Deuce (TV Series) Dino
Boardwalk Empire (TV Series)
Lucien D'Alessio- The Emerald City (2010) ... Lucien D'Alessio

The Don of 42nd Street
Singer

Law & Order (TV Series)
Todd Dawson / Anthony Matteo- Murder Book (2007) ... Todd Dawson
- House Calls (2003) ... Anthony Matteo

Law & Order: Criminal Intent (TV Series)
Frist / Jimmy Randazzo- Watch (2006) ... Frist
- One (2001) ... Jimmy Randazzo

Third Watch (TV Series)
Day Manager- Blessed and Bewildered (2004) ... Day Manage

Falcone (TV Series)
Nicky the Kid

NYPD Blue (TV Series)
Johnny Bella- The Naked Are the Dead (2000) ... Johnny Bella

Saved by the Bell: The New Class (TV Series)
Bongo- Secrets and Liz (1997) ... Bongo

Kirk (TV Series)
Eddie Balducci- Oh, What a Tangled Web We Weave: Part 2 (1996) ... Eddie Balducci

A Bronx Tale
Crazy Mario

2018 Hell's Kitchen NYC Festival Awards

Actor Michael Rispoli and actor Ed O'Ross are both the recipients of the Hell's Kitchen NYC Festival's Argo Lifetime Achievement Award, named in honor of the great character actor Victor Argo. Actor Michael Rispoli is best known for his work on the HBO series "THE DEUCE" and "THE SOPRANOS" and over 50 other films and tv shows. Award-winning Actor Ed O’Ross was honored with the Screen Actors Guild Award for outstanding performance in the renowned HBO drama series “SIX FEET UNDER," and is also known for his work in such memorable films as RED HEAT, DICK TRACY and FULL METAL JACKET.