Toledo native Jamie Farr will be honored May 12 with an Ellis Island Medal of Honor Award from the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations.

The Lebanese-American actor is among some 90 recipients named by the coalition.

Other recipients this year include suspense novelist Mary Higgins Clark and Margaret Pataki, the mother of New York Gov. George Pataki. NECO directors are expected to approve more recipients in the next couple of weeks, NECO officials said. Last year, some 130 people received awards.

NECO represents more than 350 organizations involved in promoting cultural education, ethnic diversity, and civil rights.

First Published March 9, 2001, 12:27 p.m.