International Celebrity Images celebrated the 20th Annual Production of THE REEL AWARDS, a spoof on the Academy Awards on Thursday afternoon, February 24, 2011 in the Showroom of the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV. Replete with 70 Celebrity Impersonators as Awards Show Co-Hosts, Nominees, Presenters, Entertainers and Event Attendees, hailing from 25 states throughout the United States, and five countries, including: Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland and Spain, THE REEL AWARDS were presented in 16 categories for excellence in the field of impersonation. Concurrently with THE REEL AWARDS, International Celebrity Images presented the 11th Annual Celebrity Impersonators Convention and 2nd Annual Vegas Tribute Idol competition, also at the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino, from February 21, 25, 2011.
The winners of the 20th Annual Production of THE REEL AWARDS are:
- Best Actor: Steve Weber as Forrest Gump (Hamilton, MT)
- Best Actress: BettIna Williams as Whoopi Goldberg (San Antonio, TX)
- Bea Fogelman Lifetime Achievement: Heidi Thompson as Cher (Las Vegas, NV)
- Comedy: Marcel Forestieri as Jay Leno (Las Vegas, NV)
- News Hound: Deborah Smith Ford as Trinity from "The Matrix;" www.examiner.com (Ft. Myers, FL)
- Peter Banks Humanitarian: Sheri Rae Parker as Bette Midler (Las Vegas, NV)
- Tribute Band: Danny D as Rod Stewart & The Vagabonds (Detroit, MI)
- Print Media: Frank Marino as Joan Rivers & "Divas Las Vegas" (Las Vegas, NV)
- Rising Star: Shannon Michaels Taylor as Brett Michaels (Toledo, OH)
- Country's Hottest Hitter: Richard Hampton as Kenny Rogers (Las Vegas, NV)
- Pop N' Rock for REEL: Michael Firestone as Michael Jackson (Las Vegas, NV)
- R & B Feelin' Good: Garry Moore as Little Richard (Honolulu, HA)
- Classic Crooner: Troy Anderson as Louis Armstrong (Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
- Impersonator I Love To Work With: BettIna Williams as Whoopi Goldberg (San Antonio, TX)
- Gene Greytak Most Professional Impersonator: Hollie Vest as Tina Turner (Las Vegas, NV)
- Director/Producer: Bernhard Kurz & Paul Langley for "Stars In Concert" (Berlin, Germany)
During the course of the weeklong 11th Annual Celebrity Impersonators Convention, held in conjunction with THE REEL AWARDS, the 2nd Annual Vegas Tribute Idol competition for excellence in celebrity impersonation was also held. Five were winners were selected by a distinguished panel of judges. Each winner received a trophy, cash prize and performance opportunities.
Winners of the 2nd Annual Vegas Tribute Idol are:
- 1st Place: Troy Anderson as Louis Armstrong (Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
- 2nd Place: Jason Scott as Neil Diamond (Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada)
- 3rd Place: Steve Weber as Forrest Gump (Hamilton, MT)
- 4th Place: Joe Manuella as Robert DeNiro (Glen Rock, NJ)
- 5th Place: William "Bill" Johnson as Bob Hope (Las Vegas, NV)
Judges for the 2nd Annual Vegas Tribute Idolä included: Ron O'Neal, Golden Nugget, Director of Entertainment, Las Vegas, NV; Leonard Quenneville, Producer, "Country Superstars Tribute Show," Las Vegas, NV; Linda Collins, President, Classique Productions, Las Vegas, NV; Paul Langley, "Stars in Concert," Artistic Director, Berlin, Germany; Sebastian Kurz, "Stars in Concert," Berlin, Germany; Sherie Rae Parker, Bette Midler Tribute Artist, Las Vegas, NV; Hollie Vest, Tina Turner Tribute Artist, Las Vegas, NV; and Joan Peterson, Educator and Speech Instructor, Milnor, ND.
During the course of the week long convention, celebrity impersonators in attendance were treated to an evening at the Crown Theater in the Rio Hotel and Casino to see The Platters, Cornell Gunter's Coasters and The Marvelettes Live in Concert, courtesy of Johnny Stuart, Creator and Founder of "Legends In Concert" and Father of the Worldwide Impersonation Empire.
At the convention celebrity impersonators attended seminars, performed in Showcases, distributed their promotional materials and networked with professionals in the business. The Showcases and THE REEL AWARDS were open to members of the general public to attend.
The 20th Annual Production of THE REEL AWARDS was emceed by Marcel Forestieri as Jay Leno (of Las Vegas, NV) and Jeff DeHart as Johnny Carson (of Medford, NJ). Janet Valentine as Marilyn Monroe (of Las Vegas, NV) served as the Awards Show Hostess. Awards Show Celebrity Impersonators who performed included: Nick D'Egidio as Frank Sinatra (of Fontana, CA); Michael Firestone as Michael Jackson (of Las Vegas, NV); Roy Hammock as Willie Nelson (of Las Vegas, NV); Harmik as Tom Jones (of Las Vegas, NV); Ron Keel and Leonard Quenneville as Brooks & Dunn (of Las Vegas, NV); Sherie Rae Parker as Bette Midler (of Las Vegas, NV); Heidi Thompson as Cher (of Las Vegas, NV) and Hollie Vest as Tina Turner (of Las Vegas, NV).
Awards Show Celebrity Impersonators who served as Award Presenters included: Athena as Lady Gaga (of New York, NY); Monica DeDiego as Amy Winehouse (of Logrono, Spain); Joe Dimmick as Clint Eastwood (of Las Vegas, NV); Ryan Fraley as Brad Pitt (of Newhall, CA); Louise Gallagher as ElizaBeth Taylor (of San Diego, CA); Sharon Holmes as Martha Steward (of Anaheim, CA); Janna Joos, Co-Founder of THE REEL AWARDS (of Palm Springs, CA); Dennis Keogh as Sean Connery (of Phoenix, AZ); Joe Manuella as Robert DeNiro (of Glen Rock, NJ); Bill Pantazis as George Michael (of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada); Sherie Rae Parker as Bette Midler (of Las Vegas, NV); Jeff Richards as Tim McGRaw (of Stockton, CA); Samira as Tina Turner (of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada); Jason Scott as Neil Diamond (of Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada); Tatiana Turan as Angelina Jolie (of Valley Glen, CA) and Carole Woodle as Oprah Winfrey (of Tarzana, CA).
A special video tribute to the late celebrity impersonator, Gene Greytak, was shown during THE REEL AWARDS. Gene Greytak was perhaps best known to the public at large for his appearances Pope John Paul II in films like "Sister Act" in 1992 and "Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult" in 1994. Gene Greytak's son, Lee Greytak, was on hand at the awards ceremony to present the Gene Greytak Most Professional Impersonator Award to Hollie Vest as Tina Turner.
