Ricky Gervais to get comedy award in Banff
Last Updated: Monday, February 8, 2010 | 5:02 PM ET
CBC News
Ricky Gervais poses on Jan. 11, 2009, for a photo backstage at the 66th annual Golden Globe Awards. He's accepted an invitation to Banff in June. (Mark J.Terrill/Associated Press)Ricky Gervais, the British comedian who created The Office, will be presented with the Sir Peter Ustinov Comedy Award at this year's Banff Television Festival.
Gervais will be in Banff, Alta., in June to receive the award and participate in an interview about his career and success to date.
The Ustinov award is given annually at the TV festival to recognize outstanding comedic performance. Previous winners include John Cleese, Bob Newhart and Martin Short.
Gervais won two Emmys and three Golden Globes for The Office, his acerbic comedy about office life that debuted in Britain in 2001. The U.S. version of the show adapted his original scripts.
Gervais has also had success as a standup comedian and with his online series The Ricky Gervais Show. He starred in films The Invention of Lying and A Night in the Museum and hosted this year's Golden Globes.
Banff TV Festival organizers called him "the most influential British comedian since Charlie Chaplin."
The much-decorated Gervais waxed comedic about his trip to Banff.
"This is probably the greatest honour of my career. Only the Nobel Peace Prize can top this, but I will only accept that in person if the ceremony is held somewhere as beautiful as Banff," he said in a statement released Monday.
The Banff TV festival is taking place at the same time as digital media conference NextMEDIA, June 13-16.
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