Where's Patti LuPone's award? She is known for many iconic roles, even if she didn't create them (Everyone I know thinks she was the original Eva, and most people know she was a fantastic Reno). She deserves an award!
In May 2013, the Kennedy Center announced revisions to the Kennedy Center Honors selection process. The revisions include the addition of an advisory committee comprised of artists, former Honorees, and Kennedy Center board members as well as expanded solicitation of recommendations from the general public. Please read below how you can submit a recommendation for the Kennedy Center Honors.
The Kennedy Center Honors provide recognition to living individuals who throughout their lifetimes have made significant contributions to American culture through the performing arts. The primary criterion is excellence, and artistic achievement in dance, music, theater, opera, motion pictures, and television is considered.
Not that I know much of anything about Dance or Opera, but I could see a list of Honorees looking something like Woody Allen, Philip Glass, Herbie Hancock, Joni Mitchell and Al Pacino.
That would be a fine group and sadly Carol Channing (or, for that matter, Liza or Patti either, to be honest) doesn't inspire the kind of passion in me that the others I mentioned do.
Words don't deserve that kind of malarkey. They're innocent, neutral, precise, standing for this, describing that, meaning the other, so if you look after them you can build bridges across incomprehension and chaos. But when they get their corners knocked off, they're no good anymore…I don't think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.
They could narrow the net a bit if they would exclude those who were not born in America or who are not American citizens. Never understood when you have so many worthy people they do that.
And if you saw David Letterman's induction, you would know exactly why he was honored!
She's a sweet old lady who had a couple of good roles way back when, but she hardly deserves to be placed in the midst of such heady company. Liza also fits into that category (the former).
This thread inspired me to go back last night and look at some of the old ceremonies (many of them are on YouTube and are all wonderful!) and I tell ya, every year Herbie Hancock doesn't get one is a shock to me... not even because of his incredible jazz pedigree but simply because he apparently has been at every Ceremony every year! Seriously, watch seemingly any video from KCH at random and odds are there'll be a reaction shot of Herbie Hancock in the house.
Words don't deserve that kind of malarkey. They're innocent, neutral, precise, standing for this, describing that, meaning the other, so if you look after them you can build bridges across incomprehension and chaos. But when they get their corners knocked off, they're no good anymore…I don't think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.
I always thought Ethel (Merman, of course) was deserving of this great honor as well. What other stage actor of the 20th Century created so many roles or introduced so many hit songs? Her close friend, Mary Martin, was honored in 1990 shortly before she died. I've gotta believe that Merm would have been honored first had she not died in 1984 at 76 (which I believe was the same age Martin was honored with her KCH).