Kennedy Center Will Honor Streisand, Freeman, Tharp
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Barbra Streisand, actor Morgan Freeman, and country singer George Jones will be honored by the Kennedy Center in December along with choreographer Twyla Tharp and musicians Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey of the Who.
Kennedy Center chairman Stephen Schwarzman hailed the “extraordinary genius and tenacity” of the 2008 lifetime-achievement award recipients, who were announced Tuesday.
Their work, Mr. Schwarzman said, has “redefined the way we see, hear, and feel the performing arts.”
Performers from New York, Hollywood, and Nashville will salute the honorees at a December 7 gala to be aired later on CBS. For the last time, President Bush and first lady Laura Bush will host the honorees at the White House before the performance. The awards are presented the night before at a State Department dinner hosted by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Past honorees, including Clint Eastwood, Elton John, and Sidney Poitier, made nominations for the awards, along with members of the Kennedy Center’s national artists committee, including Glenn Close and Reba McEntire.
Tickets to the gala sell for as much as $4,000. Last year, the event raised $5 million to support Kennedy Center programs.
