Actor Daniel Dae Kim will receive the ArtsQuest Foundation’s Pinnacle of the Arts Award at the second Linny Awards ceremony this year, officials announced Tuesday.
Kim, a graduate of Bethlehem’s Freedom High School, is known for his role as detective Chin Ho Kelly in the CBS reboot of the TV series “Hawaii Five-0” and as Jin-Soo Kwon on ABC’s “Lost.”
The Pinnacle of the Arts Award is given to a Lehigh Valley resident or native who has achieved national or international distinction in the visual, literary or performing arts. This year’s Linny Awards ceremony will be held Nov. 9 at the ArtsQuest Center’s Musikfest Cafe at SteelStacks.
Kim’s family moved from South Korea to Bethlehem Township when he was 8. He graduated from Freedom High School in 1986. While he had a role in the play “Harvey” during his senior year of high school, it wasn’t until he was a student at Haverford College that he truly discovered acting.
“Growing up in the Lehigh Valley was a major influence on who I am today, and I’m grateful to the Linny Awards Committee for honoring me with this award,” Kim said in a news release. “I hope I can do Linny herself proud.”
The Linny Awards are named after the late Marlene “Linny” Fowler of Bethlehem in honor of her dedication to and support of the arts. The awards are given to artists, art educators, businesses and philanthropists who have lived, now live, or work in the Lehigh Valley.
Kim has lived and worked in Hawaii for years — first as part of the cast of “Lost” from 2004-2010 before joining “Hawaii Five-0” in 2010. “Hawaii Five-0” has been renewed for an eighth season that will start in the fall.
He also has several theater credits to his name, playing the King of Siam in Rogers & Hammerstein’s “The King and I” in 2009 at the Royal Theatre in London, and again in 2016 on Broadway. He has appeared in movies, including playing Jack Kang in the “Divergent” movie series.
Kim is also looking to create TV shows. His production company, 3AD, is based at CBS Television Studios.
This fall, he had three projects in development at three networks through his company — and all three feature Asian-American characters. ABC has ordered a pilot of one of the shows, “The Good Doctor.” The series, with Kim as executive producer, would be written by David Shore, creator of Fox medical drama “House.” It would focus on a young surgeon with savant syndrome who is recruited into the pediatric surgical unit of a prestigious hospital.
Nominations from the public for other Linny Awards are being accepted in other categories, including Visual Artist of the Year, Performing Artist of the Year, Emerging Artist of the Year, Arts Educator of the Year, Business Supporters of the Arts, Philanthropy in the Arts, Excellence in Production Design and Lehigh Valley Scholarship Award.
Nominations can be submitted at www.artsquestfoundation.org/linnyawards. The deadline is Sunday.
DETAILS
2017 Linny Awards
What: Awards given to artists, art educators, businesses and philanthropists who have lived, now live, or work in the Lehigh Valley. Named after the late Marlene “Linny” Fowler of Bethlehem in honor of her support of the arts.
When: Nov. 9
Where: ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks in Bethlehem
