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Hollywood visits Washington to honor cultural icons
2005-12-05
WASHINGTON - Official Washington put aside the Iraq war and other worries for the annual Kennedy Center Honors, paying tribute to five entertainment icons for their lifetime contributions to the arts and American culture.At a dinner for 300 hosted on Saturday by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, even many familiar Washington faces looked star-struck as the 28th annual Kennedy Center Honors were awarded to actor, director and producer Robert Redford; singer Tony Bennett; actress Julie Harris; singer Tina Turner; and ballerina and teacher Suzanne Farrell. The Kennedy Center Honors weekend was to conclude on Sunday with President George W. Bush hosting an afternoon reception at the White House followed by an evening performance at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The show will be broadcast on the CBS television network later in December. In honoring this year's winners, Rice admitted swooning to Redford's smile in the 1973 movie "The Way We Were" and still not being able to figure out how Turner dances in six-inch (15-cm) heels. Rice noted her own background as a concert pianist and said it was people like the honorees who inspired her to abandon a musical career to pursue a path where she could be a star in her own right. The honorees teach us the difference between "what is good and what is great," she said. PRESENCE OF GREATNESS Senator Edward Kennedy, in memory his brother after whom the center and awards are named, complemented the honorees by paraphrasing a toast the former president made to a group of Nobel Prize winners at the White House in 1962. "This the greatest gathering of talent since Thomas Jefferson dined alone," the Massachusetts Democrat said. Other stars visiting the Washington political scene included actresses Glenn Close, Tyne Daly, Bo Derek and Mary-Louise Parker, former beauty queen and singer Vanessa Williams and singer Kid Rock. The most unexpected toast of the evening came from Israeli classical violinist Itzhak Perlman, who came to praise Turner, the singer from Tennessee known for, among other things, her flamboyant stage performances with Mick Jagger. Perlman said he understood everyone's surprise at his being asked to honor Turner noting their vast differences. In addition to being from opposite sides of the world and performing entirely different genres of music, Perlman also poked fun at their physical differences. "She is known for her great legs," said the virtuoso who performs sitting down since being paralyzed by polio as a child. "Me, not so much." He went on to call himself a "big fan" and to praise Turner as "simply a great musician." Nancy Pelosi, the California Democrat who serves as minority leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, said she was particularly proud that fellow Italian-American Bennett is one of this year's honorees. Bennett's signature song, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," is an ode to the beauty of her home district. Reuters
NBC, CBS split wins on slow Tuesday (2005-12-28)Hollywood visits Washington to honor cultural icons (2005-12-05)2 (11285)
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