Terry Crews to get Television Chairman’s Award

Actor Terry Crews will receive the Television Chairman’s Award by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) next year.

The award will be presented to him during the We Are Broadcasters Celebration on Tuesday, April 21 at the 2020 NAB Show in Las Vegas.

Individuals with significant achievement in one or more specific art disciplines in television are presented the NAB award.

Crews is host of NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” and “America’s Got Talent: The Champions.” He hosted the US version of game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” from 2014-15. In 2017, Crews co-hosted the US part in Netflix’s sports entertainment reality show, “Ultimate Beastmaster,” along with Charissa Thompson.

Crews stars as Lt. Terry Jeffords in NBC’s Golden Globe Award-winning comedy “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.” He plays Hale Caesar in “The Expendables” movie series and Bedlam in the 2018 superhero movie “Deadpool 2.”

Besides being an actor and a host, Crews is also an artist, activist, comedian and former football player.

As an artist, Crews released a set of furniture and light fixtures designed by Ini Archibong under the banner of design company Amen&Amen, which Crews co-founded with fashion designer Nana Boateng. The actor considers his first job in the entertainment industry to be a stint as a courtroom sketch artist in Flint, Michigan.  He later worked for local station WJRT in the same role.

Crews is an activist against sexism and a public advocate for women’s rights. He was included among the group of individuals named as Time Magazine’s Person of the Year in 2017 for going public with stories of sexual assault. He also works with non-profit Polaris Project, which is leading in the global fight against modern-day slavery and human trafficking. Crews was awarded the UN Global Generation Award for his work with Polaris.

Terry Crews has appeared mainly in comedic roles. His breakout role also came in the 2002 Christmas stoner comedy movie “Friday After Next.” He later appeared in the 2004 comedy movie “White Chicks,” in which his performance made actor and movie producer Adam Sandler change a role in the 2005 “The Longest Yard” to give it to Crews, who had auditioned for a different role in the movie. He appears in several of Sandler’s movies. The role that brought Crews wider public recognition was of Julius Rock in the UPN/CW sitcom “Everybody Hates Chris.” Since that success, Crews has played main roles in TBS sitcom “Are We There Yet?” and in Fox sitcom “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.” He also played President Camacho in the 2006 science fiction comedy movie “Idiocracy.”

Crews played as a defensive end and linebacker in the NFL for the Washington Redskins, San Diego Chargers and Los Angeles Rams as well as in the World League of American Football with Rhein Fire, and college football at Western Michigan University.

The NAB Television Chairman’s Award first debuted in 2009. Two-time Golden Globe and four-time Emmy-winning actor Kelsey Grammar was the first recipient of the award. Other recipients of the past include, among others, award-winning actress and producer America Ferrera, television and movie actress Kristen Bell and “This Is Us” and “Black Panther” star Sterling K. Brown.

NAB Television Board Chair Emily Barr said, “Terry Crews’ unique ability to entertain audiences transcends traditional television crossing a variety of genres and mediums. He is a steadfast advocate for human rights, and we are humbled to present him with this well-deserved honor.”

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