Texas Stars, ‘Urban Cowboy’ Receive Hall of Fame Honors

By Cary Darling, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas

Mar. 8–AUSTIN — Having Dan Rather, Luke Wilson, Morgan Fairchild, Beavis & Butt-Head creator Mike Judge, ZZ Top, and the spirits of Jayne Mansfield and Urban Cowboy on the same guest list might seem like an invitation to the surreal.

But it turned out to be a surprisingly staid, although celebratory, night for the Texas Film Hall of Fame.

In its eighth edition, the hall inducted four performers (Judge, Fairchild, Mansfield, ZZ Top) and one film (Urban Cowboy) Friday night at Austin Studios.

The diverse array of talent was, according to Houston-raised emcee Rather, either “born, lived or incarcerated in Texas.”

The most emotional moment came when Mansfield’s daughter, actress Mariska Hargitay of Law & Order: SVU, accepted the honor. A teary-eyed Hargitay beamed, “She would have been so proud to be honored by her own state.”

Introduced by Wilson, Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill (the ones with the beards) and Frank Beard (the one without) seemed genuinely touched as Gibbons recounted ZZ Top’s early days of playing the Knights of Columbus hall in Beaumont.

Actress Tess Harper introduced Morgan Fairchild as “a true Dallas blonde …don’t ask her to get dressed in 10 minutes.” Fairchild didn’t dispute that description when she took the stage.

Debra Winger, accepting the honor for Urban Cowboy, in which she co-starred, got a laugh with “The first time I traveled abroad was when I came to Texas in 1976.”

Mike Judge, who grew up in Richardson, is also behind the animated series King of the Hill, set in fictional Arlen, Texas, and the movie Office Space. He played his acceptance straight, although his introducer, the character Hank Hill from King of the Hill, did not. “I try to avoid TV shows that are disgusting and also are not funny,” Hill said of Judge’s creations.

Proceeds from the Texas Film Hall of Fame benefit the Austin Film Society’s artistic and educational programs.

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Copyright (c) 2008, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas

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