Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC) distinguished Artist in Residence Gray Frederickson was honored in a private ceremony at Prairie Surf Studios, where Prairie Surf Co-CEOs Matt Payne and Rachel Cannon dedicated a soundstage to Frederickson. Frederickson, 84, is a mentor to Payne and Cannon, as he has been to thousands of aspiring actors, filmmakers and crew members over his many decades in film and education.
“Rachel (Cannon) and I have been fortunate to stand on the shoulders of many giants,” said Prairie Surf Co-CEO Matt Payne. “There is no giant greater than Gray Frederickson. Our workforce is built upon the program Gray and his team built at OCCC.”
Gray Frederickson is a long-time producer for Francis Ford Coppola. Frederickson won an Oscar in 1975 for The Godfather Part II, and in 1980 received an Oscar nomination for his work on Apocalypse Now. In 2007, he won an Emmy for Dream No Little Dream: The Life and Legacy of Robert S. Kerr. Frederickson has produced three films that appear on The American Film Institute’s Top 100 Films, and has worked on numerous beloved films including The Outsiders, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, Candy, UHF, and One from The Heart.
“Gray’s arrival and investment in Oklahoma two decades ago is the reason why Oklahoma film is what it is today,” said Payne. “He’s not just a part of film history, he’s a key part of Oklahoma history, too.”