Winfrey, McCartney, 3 others receive Kennedy Center Honors

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

When The Beatles were storming America, Oprah Winfrey had the band’s poster on her bedroom wall, Merle Haggard was free from prison, Jerry Herman was making Broadway sing and Bill T. Jones was not yet a dancer but growing up in a migrant labor camp.

On Sunday, these leading artists who followed divergent paths since the 1960s joined Paul McCartney to receive the Kennedy Center Honors. They heard accolades from President Barack Obama.

“Although the honorees on this stage each possess a staggering amount of talent, the truth is, they aren’t being recognized tonight simply because of their careers as great lyricists or songwriters or dancers or entertainers,” Obama said.

“Instead, they’re being honored for their unique ability to bring us closer together and to capture something larger about who we are — not just as Americans, but as human beings.”

Stars also were performing as part of the nation’s top prize for those who define U.S. culture through the arts. The president and first lady Michelle Obama arrived, and former Secretary of State Colin Powell sat with them in their box.

Gwen Stefani and her band, No Doubt, performed.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton hosted a dinner Saturday for the honorees, along with visiting celebrities, including Stefani, Julia Roberts, Claire Danes, Steven Tyler from Aerosmith. The guests also included veteran entertainers Carol Channing, Angela Lansbury and Sidney Poitier.

Clinton marveled at the diverse “genres and generations” of artists.

Channing said she was excited to perform for Herman.

Since the 1960s, the new Kennedy Center honorees have helped define television, dance, theater and music.

For Winfrey, the prize comes during the 25th and final season of her talk show and just before she launches her new cable network, OWN, on Jan. 1.

After her Washington visit, she will take about 300 members of her audience to Australia for a vacation over the holidays.

“You know what’s interesting is she spends her life celebrating others, but when it comes time for her, she’s very reluctant really,” Winfrey’s best friend Gayle King told The Associated Press.

King said it was a fitting tribute for Winfrey as a communicator, actress, producer and humanitarian.

Winfrey was one of the first to support Obama in his presidential run.

“What can I say about our final honoree. Michelle and I love Oprah Winfrey, personally love this woman,” he said. “And the more you know Oprah the more spectacular you realize her character and her soul are, the more you appreciate what a wonderful gifted person she is.”

After the honors were announced in September, Jones, the son of potato pickers, said he could recall dreaming of big things as a 9-year-old boy in upstate New York.

He went on to create the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company in 1982 after college with his late partner Arnie Zane. His work has tackled racism, AIDS and other tough issues, sometimes sparking outrage.

Jones said he’s often felt like an outsider, yet he’s being honored for helping to shape the country.

His portrait also is included in a current Smithsonian Institution exhibit, the first to explore the impact of sexual orientation on art history. The exhibition has recently drawn complaints from conservatives.

The Kennedy Center Honors gala was recorded Sunday night for broadcast Dec. 28 on CBS.