BILL ANALYSIS �
ACR 167
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Date of Hearing: August 14, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON RULES
Richard S. Gordon, Chair
ACR 167 (Achadjian/Nazarian) - As Introduced: July 3, 2014
SUBJECT : William Saroyan Day.
SUMMARY : Recognize August 31, 2014, as William Saroyan Day.
Specifically, this resolution makes the following legislative
findings:
1)William Stonehill Saroyan was born on August 31, 1908, in
Fresno, California and resided there for the majority of his
life before his death on May 18, 1981.
2)William Saroyan served in the United States Army during World
War II and was stationed in Queens, New York where he was the
father to two children, Aram and Lucy.
3)William Saroyan is recognized as one of the most prominent
literary figures of the mid-20th century with over 4,000
literary works to his credit, dating from the late 1920's to
the early 1980's; and he was awarded the New York Drama
Critics' Circle award in 1939 and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama
in 1940.
4)William Saroyan wrote the Human Comedy, which earned him an
Academy Award for Best Original Motion Picture Story in 1943;
and, was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in
1979.
5)William Saroyan promoted the Armenian culture, drawing
international attention to the Armenian culture at a time when
his people were continually met with prejudice and oppression;
and his works portrayed the immigrant experience in America
and depicted human values such as freedom and universal
benevolence and emphasized "basic goodness" of all people.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
ACR 167
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None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Nicole Willis / RLS. / (916) 319-2800