Some Westporters know Alan Alda for his role as Captain Hawkeye Pierce in M*A*S*H (1972–1983). Others identify him as Arnold Vinick in The West Wing.
He was also the long-running host of Scientific American Frontiers, a TV show that explored cutting-edge advances in science and technology. He’s now a visiting professor at Stony Brook University; a founder and board member of the university’s Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science and the Future of Life Institute; a board member of the World Science Festival, and a judge for Math-O-Vision.
Alan Alda
So it’s fitting that the multi-talented polymath will be this year’s Westport Library “Booked for the Evening” honoree. The library is one of our town’s most diverse and wide-ranging institutions, welcoming and embracing people of all ages, interests, talents and passions.
But the Westport Library is also a place for books. And Alda has just written his 3rd: If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face? My Adventures in the Art and Science of Relating and Communicating.
Alda joins an all-star — and very diverse — group of “Booked” honorees. Previous Westport Library Award recipients include Tom Brokaw, E.L. Doctorow, Calvin Trillin, Wendy Wasserstein, Pete Hamill, Martin Scorsese, Arthur Mitchell, Doris Kearns Goodwin, David Halberstam, Oscar Hijuelos, Adam Gopnik, Will Shortz, Patti Smith, Barry Levinson, Jon Meacham, Nile Rodgers, Lynsey Addario and Ron Chernow.
The event is set for Monday, June 5. Tickets are available May 1. To receive a mailed invitation in late April (or discuss sponsorship), email cclark@westportlibrary.org or call 203.291.4824.