And host Stephen Colbert, back for his second year, opened by acknowledging all the attendees, including “the small handful of you who aren’t running for president”.
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But the star of the original Star Wars trilogy and the upcoming The Force Awakens didn’t appear in person.
Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese, fellow directors who along with Lucas brought new energy to American cinema in the 1970s, offered more conventional tributes to the Star Wars creator, hailing him for his technological wizardry and his commitment to storytelling.
President Obama was on hand, arriving at intermission after delivering a prime-time address to the nation about terrorism. “I think Star Wars, it’s a pity, because George Lucas was a very experimental insane guy and he got lost in this big production and never got out of it”, Coppola said.
Cicely Tyson was honoured in speeches by Kerry Washington, Viola Davis and Tyler Perry, and Rita Moreno was praised by her onscreen granddaughter, Jane the Virgin star Gina Rodriguez, and Rosie Perez, who gave a musical performance.
The David M. Rubenstein, the Kennedy Center Chairman, said that the people being honored are those that stand for the voices, stories, the soundtracks, and our memories. She sang Fever with Animal from The Muppets on drums in tribute to Moreno’s Emmy Award-winning appearance on The Muppets Show in 1976. “Winans” next album, due next year, includes “some things the world needs to hear”, she said. At 90, she’s starring on Broadway alongside James Earl Jones in The Gin Game.
Talented conductor Seiji Ozawa was honored for his 29-year leadership of the Boston Symphony. Violinist Itzhak Perlman and soprano Renee Fleming paid tribute to him during Sunday’s honours, which also included a performance by past honoree Yo-Yo Ma.
Aretha Franklin ended the moving tribute with a cover of King’s iconic hit, “You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman”. “She spun me around like I was one of the those white girls on “Dancing with the Stars, ‘” he shared”.
The event is televised in the US on 29 December (15).
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The six recipients at this year’s national celebration of the arts were songwriter/singer Carole King, actress Cicely Tyson, filmmaker and director George Lucas, singer/actress Rita Moreno, conductor Seiji Ozawa, and. The ceremony was the first under new Kennedy Center President Deborah Rutter, and the first to be produced by the new team of Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss.
