O'Donnell honored at Arts dinner

Chris O'Donnell, critically-acclaimed actor and BC '92, garnered the first Arts Council Alumni Award at a dinner for the Boston College Fifth Annual Arts Festival last Saturday evening. Sponsored by the Alumni Association, alumni were invited to attend a mass for the Arts given by J. Robert Barth, SJ, the awards dinner, and either a performance of A Little Night Music or "Music of the British Isles" by the BC Concert Band.

Grace Cotter Regan, executive director of the Alumni Association, welcomed alumni to the dinner. "This is the third annual Alumni Day, and it's been a great partnership with Cathi Fournier, the project director of the Arts Council," she said.

Regan said that educating and developing students is of great importance, and that the Arts Council was honored to have O'Donnell in attendance. Regan then introduced Jeffrey Howe, the Arts Council chair.

Howe extended a thank you to "the extraordinary helpers who worked on the festival." Howe went on to express how fortunate the Arts Council is for the support at BC. "When the festival was started five years ago, and we were seeking help, everyone jumped in: the buildings and grounds, the BC Police Department." Howe expressed his pleasure of having additional help each year.

Like Regan, Howe discussed the three-year partnership with the Alumni Association and also discussed that the success of the growth of the festival reflects the success of the arts at BC. Howe cited new arts majors, the opening of the McMullen museum, and new chairs in the arts departments as additions since O'Donnell attended BC.

A central point of the Arts Festival this year was the Fives exhibit. Howe explained that since "no student here knows BC without the Arts Fest, we wanted to show its history and when it started." Howe said the Fives fulfilled that role.

Howe continued by talking about O'Donnell. "We take great pride in accomplishments of students and I am so proud to honor Chris this year. Students and alumni are key to the living tradition of BC. It is important to take advantage of the rich offerings at BC."

Howe then introduced Fr. Robert Barth, who gave the blessing.

After all attendees were seated with dinner, Howe resumed the stage and introduced a special tribute film written, produced, and directed by Sarah Ledoux, A&S '03. The film showcased O'Donnell and his achievements. It included clips of students talking about some of their favorite O'Donnell movies, and showed a clip from each of O'Donnell's films.

After Ledoux's film, which induced some laughter from the audience due to several clips from O'Donnell's early commercials and films, Howe introduced University President Rev. William P. Leahy, SJ.

Leahy thanked Regan for her hard work organizing the event and added, "Today, even through the rain, there are lots of people on campus, which is proof that the artist brings people together, fosters community, and enables people to share."

To preface O'Donnell, Howe resumed the podium and praised the alumnus. "Chris O'Donnell has great success on stage, in film, and in producing. This shows versatility. He was also recognized by his peers with a Golden Globe nomination," he said.

Coming on stage to accept the award, O'Donnell said, "It's a great honor to receive this award, and I appreciate everyone coming out. The video was great, even though it's a little embarrassing to see myself. I haven't even seen all of my movies yet.

"I spent the best years of my life here, and it's great to see some familiar faces," O'Donnell continued. "I wanted to see all my buddies here but they're spread out all over the country. It was great getting to spend time with the theatre and film students. I think they really liked seeing Scott Ellis this morning." Ellis directed O'Donnell last year in The Man Who Had All the Luck.

"In my career I've done mostly film, but never did theatre here. Looking back, I wish that I had done some theatre here, but that didn't really work well with my schedule."

While attending BC, O'Donnell frequently had to fly to Los Angeles for auditions and jobs, causing him to be absent during the weekends and sometimes from classes.

O'Donnell also wished the current students good luck in their endeavors. "I hope that this will continue on for many years, and that we're back honoring them in years to come," he said.

Before the night ended, Howe surprised O'Donnell with a gift. Howe explained that O'Donnell's first film, Men Don't Leave, had a double BC connection. Part of the set included a painting by Mary Sherman, part-time studio faculty and BC '80. Although Sherman did not have the actual painting that hung in the film, she had a full-sized watercolor that she presented with Howe to O'Donnell.

After O'Donnell thanked Howe and Sherman for the painting, Regan gave the final remarks for the evening.

"This is a great program, and a great partnership with the Arts Council, and we hope that it will continue to grow," she said.

Following the dinner O'Donnell talked, signed autographs, and took pictures with many of the guests.