Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit

Syracuse University alumnus and entertainment industry leader Gil Cates dies

Wednesday, November 9, 2011, By Erica Blust
Share

Gilbert “Gil” Cates ‘55 G’65, an alumnus of Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) and a leader in the entertainment industry, died Monday, Oct. 31, in Los Angeles. He was 77.

catesCates was founding dean of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (TFT) and founder and producing director at the Geffen Playhouse. He was perhaps best known for producing 14 Academy Award television broadcasts—for which he garnered numerous Emmy Awards and nominations—between 1990 and 2008. He was credited with boosting the ratings of Hollywood’s biggest annual awards show by hiring such well-received hosts as Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg and Steve Martin.

Cates served as dean of TFT from 1990 to 1998 and was a distinguished professor on the school’s faculty. He was secretary-treasurer and past president (1983–87) of the Directors Guild of America (DGA). Among his many awards and honors are the DGA’s President’s Award, Robert B. Aldrich Award for extraordinary service and the DGA Honorary Life Member Award; the American Society of Cinematographers Board of Governors Award; and the Jimmy Dolittle Award for Outstanding Contribution to Los Angeles Theater.

Cates also produced and directed feature films, television specials and Broadway and off-Broadway plays. His directorial highlights include “I Never Sang for My Father,” “Collected Stories” and “Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams.” He most recently directed Jeffrey Hatcher’s “A Picasso,” starring Roma Downey and Peter Michael Goetz, for the Geffen Playhouse.

Cates studied drama at VPA under Sawyer Falk, who served as director of the Department of Drama from 1927-1961. In May 1987, Cates returned to campus to address VPA’s graduating class at the college’s convocation and called Falk “the most influential man in my life next to my father.” Cates also received the college’s Distinguished Alumni Award at the ceremony.

“The social necessity of art should guide each of you graduating as you embark on your professional career,” Cates told VPA’s Class of 1987. “You have first-rate technical resources, learned and developed at a fine university. In my own field of motion pictures, I am staggered at the proficiency of new graduates joining the craft; they know all about lens capabilities, film stocks and every piece of equipment. But too often, they bring only their utilitarian selves to market and leave aside their spirituality and the commitment to ideas and the ability to work with them, which is the ultimate goal of the educated person.”

Cates served as a member of VPA’s Advisory Council and as a guest speaker for the college’s Sorkin in L.A. Learning Practicum for drama and film students. He received the George Arents Pioneer Medal, SU’s highest alumni honor, in 2003 and the University’s Chancellor’s Medal in 1974. His son, Gil Jr., is a 1991 graduate of VPA’s Department of Drama.

“The college is saddened by the loss of Gil Cates,” says VPA Dean Ann Clarke. “He was a bright spirit and proud member of the University’s West Coast alumni community. We were fortunate to have him share his wisdom with generations of VPA students who aspired to work in the entertainment industry. His legacy at SU is the success of the countless students he inspired.”

  • Author

Erica Blust

  • Recent
  • 2022 SCRC Faculty Fellows Program Call for Proposals
    Tuesday, April 13, 2021, By Cristina Hatem
  • New Study From Department of Biology Highlights Ways to Support Students in Virtual Learning Environments
    Tuesday, April 13, 2021, By Dan Bernardi
  • Architecture Student Named to Future100 List in Metropolis Magazine
    Tuesday, April 13, 2021, By Julie Sharkey
  • ‘Putin’s Rules of the Game’
    Tuesday, April 13, 2021, By Lily Datz
  • Important Public Health Update: Barnes Center Will Pause Distribution of J&J Vaccine
    Tuesday, April 13, 2021, By News Staff

More In Uncategorized

“Why aren’t NY farm workers in the Covid-19 vaccine line?”

Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern, associate professor of food studies in Falk College, was interviewed for the Syracuse.com story “Why aren’t NY farm workers in the Covid-19 vaccine line?” Minkoff-Zern, an expert on the intersections of food and social justice, comments on the…

“Biden to broaden US-Mexican relations, keep immigration at top.”

Gladys McCormick, associate professor of history in the Maxwell School, was quoted in the Al Jazeera story “Biden to broaden US-Mexican relations, keep immigration at top.” McCormick, an expert on US-Mexico relations, believes that Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador…

“The long game: COVID changed the way we play, watch, cheer”

Dennis Deninger, professor of practice in Falk College and the Newhouse School, was quoted in the Associated Press story “The long game: COVID changed the way we play, watch, cheer.” Deninger, an expert on sports television and media, believes that…

“Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Ratings: Oprah Interview Draws 17.1 Million Viewers.”

Robert Thompson, Trustee Professor of television, radio and film and director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture in the Newhouse School, was quoted in The Wall Street Journal story “Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Ratings: Oprah Interview…

“7 Women Scientists Who Defied the Odds and Changed Science Forever.”

Christa Kelleher, assistant profession of earth environmental science in the College of Arts and Sciences, was quoted in the Newsweek article “7 Women Scientists Who Defied the Odds and Changed Science Forever.” Kelleher, an expert on hydrology, comments particularly on…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2021 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.