Kennedy Center Honors Hollywood stars
The Kennedy Center Honors is an annual honor given to artists in the performing arts.
The Honors ceremony is one of the highlights in the cultural life of the United States.
Since 1978 the Honors have been presented annually in Washington, D.C., during gala weekend-long events which culminate in a performance for—and honoring—the Honorees at the Kennedy Center Opera House.
This year’s winners are Steve Martin, Diana Ross and Martin Scorsese.
Beach Boys singer Brian Wilson and pianist Leon Fleisher were also among the celebrities to be presented with the honor--the highest accolade for an American performer or artist--by President George W. Bush at the White House this weekend.
Ross, 63, was praised for spreading "romance and joy throughout the world" with her voice; Wilson was hailed for his "era-defining transformation of the sound of music"; and Fleisher was celebrated for a career that is a "moving testament to the life-affirming power of art."
The Departed filmmaker Scorsese was honored for being a "fearless artist" and a "visionary," while funnyman Martin was branded a "renaissance comic whose talents wipe out the boundaries between artistic disciplines."
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