Shirley MacLaine tribute full performance... by OQGvgG4515
Broadway vets Sutton Foster, Patina Miller and Karen Olivo along with 'Pitch Perfect' star Anna Kendrick paid tribute to legendary star of stage and screen Shirley MacLaine on last night's 36TH ANNUAL KENNEDY CENTER HONORS on CBS. Check out the performances below!
MacLaine was joined by fellow honorees opera singer Martina Arroyo, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader and composer Herbie Hancock, pianist, singer and songwriter Billy Joel and musician and songwriter Carlos Santana at the annual event.
Academy Award, Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award-winning actress Kathy Bates, who starred with Academy Award, Golden Globe Award and Emmy Award-winning actress Shirley MacLaine in the feature films "Used People" and "Bruno," spoke of her longtime friend, saying, "Shirley MacLaine, we've been friends for 20 years - can you believe it's been that long? It might surprise this illustrious crowd to know that you and I have had the pleasure of making four films together. This joint body of work has accumulated a total of no Oscar nominations... and the same number of Golden Globes. I only wish we had the money back it cost to make those pictures; maybe we could have made a dent in the budget deficit... Me, I was tickled pink just to see my name on the call sheet with yours - albeit several lines below, but it was there! And though our movies together didn't do 'Hunger Games' numbers, I'm proud to say our friendship continues to break all records. Like you, it's got legs."
Bates continued, "Your humanity informs your work. You never judge your characters, or your friends. You believe in the invisible forces that define our souls. And you have a deep desire to bring those souls to life in all their various incarnations and share with us their hopes and fears, their foibles and failures. But it's your tremendous discipline and otherworldly devotion that makes it all look so effortless. Acting is as necessary to you as breathing... You are the most curious person I have ever met - not curious as in strange - though that, too - but you're inquisitive. You ask questions to physicists and scientists, to ex-presidents and statesmen, to ordinary old people sitting in front of you - and to beings no one else but you can see - I personally witnessed that last conversation. But most of all, I admire your faith in possibilities: the possibility that we have lived many lives, the possibility that we are not alone in the universe - NASA is betting the house on. Shirley, friend of my heart, I am so proud to be here tonight to celebrate your magnificent accomplishments as an artist. I know you don't think of yourself that way. You're just passionate about what you do and you're still working hard at it. Don't stop! We think you're simply magnificent. Now. Forever."
Then
Glenn Close introduced a performance homage to MacLaine, saying, "Years ago, a young dancer with stars in her eyes headed to New York and took musical theater by storm. Tonight, returning the favor, Broadway's brightest young stars have come to the Kennedy Center to salute the artist they admire." First Tony Award-winning actress, singer and dancer
Sutton Foster performed a medley of hit Broadway songs made famous by MacLaine, including "Something Better Than This," "Steam Heat" and "She's No Longer A Gypsy," followed by Tony Award-winning musical theater actress
Patina Miller singing MacLaine's signature song, "If My Friends Could See Me Now." Then Tony Award-winning actress
Karen Olivo sang "Irma La Douce," followed by Academy Award nominee
Anna Kendrickbelting out "It's Not Where You Start, It's Where You Finish." The tribute concluded with all of the performers singing "Lord Help Us, We Love Her" in honor of MacLaine.
Photo Credit: John Paul Filo/Jeffrey R. Staab/CBS
