Meryl Streep and Neil Diamond Among Five Receiving Top Kennedy Center Honors
This weekend five artists that have made significant contributions to American society were honored in Washington D.C. at the 34th annual Kennedy Center Honors.
Acclaimed actress Meryl Streep was honored this year alongside Broadway singer Barbra Cook, singer and songwriter Neil Diamond, saxophonist and composer Sonny Rollins, and cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
Caroline Kennedy, daughter of former President John F. Kennedy, hosted the event that rewards performing artists with lifetime achievement awards for their contributions to American culture.
The honors medallions were presented this past Saturday at a State Department dinner. The next day the artists were celebrated and saluted at the Kennedy Center Opera House.
Among the attendees of the ceremony were U.S. President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle, Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, actress Patti LuPone, former President Bill Clinton, and baseball legend Cal Ripken.
The gala was taped this past weekend and will air on CBS Dec. 27.
“Tonight we honor five giants from the world of the arts. Not just for a single role or a certain performance but for a lifetime of greatness,” Obama told the crowd of artists and politicians at the ceremony.
“Just to be clear this doesn’t mean that they are over the hill, it just means they’ve come a long way,” he added.
“This year, the Kennedy center celebrates its 40th anniversary by selecting five extraordinary individuals whose collective artistry has contributed significantly to the cultural life of our nation and the world,” Kennedy Center Chairman David M. Rubenstein said upon the August announcement of this year’s five winners.
Previous recipients of the award include Oprah Winfrey, Martin Scorsese, Robert Redford, Elizabeth Taylor, Arthur Miller, and Fred Astaire.
