Miss Ross Wins Kennedy Honors
The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. has selected pop stars Diana Ross and Brian Wilson, pianist Leon Fleisher, comedian/actor Steve Martin, and director Martin Scorcese to receive the 2007 Kennedy Center Honors in December. Thirtieth anniversary of the Kencen Honors will be presented Dec. 2 at a gala celebration produced by George Stevens Jr. and broadcast Dec. 26 on CBS. With its unique mixture of political and artistic celebs, including participation by the U.S. president and First Lady, it is a hugely successful fundraiser for the center.
Inductees are chosen for their contributions to American culture through the performing arts and are selected by the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees.
Kennedy Center chairman Stephen A. Schwarzman praised Fleisher as a “consummate musician whose career is a moving testament to the life-affirming power of art.” He cited Ross for spreading joy with her instantly recognizable voice, and Beach Boy Wilson for his “era-defining transformation of the sound of music.” He called Martin a “Renaissance comic whose talents wipe out the boundaries between artistic disciplines,” and Scorsese a “visionary filmmaker and a fearless artist.”
The honorees will be saluted by entertainers and other colleagues from the performing arts. The weekend affair also includes a State Department dinner for the recipients, hosted by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and a White House reception.
