Awards Watch: Kennedy Center Honors 2007

The classiest award show out there is the annual Kennedy Center Honors. Maybe it is because the ceremony is prerecorded, thereby eliminating any time overruns or unexpected "live" fumbles. Another factor is that we know who the five winners are long before the program airs in late December, and these are lifetime achievement awards to truly deserving recipients, so there is never the urge to yell at the screen "how did he win!?"

The program is made up of retrospectives and performances honoring the artists representing all mediums (film, music, stage, television), which are always worth watching. But in the end, I feel that what sets this award ceremony apart from all the rest can be summed up in three words: no acceptance speeches.

It may seem odd that one of the highest accolades an artist can receive doesn't allow him or her to get a word in edgewise (merely allowing them to stand and take a bow), but it sure makes for a quick evening.

This year's honorees include three individuals who have left their marks on film:

• Steve Martin - The "wild-and-crazy" star of such comedy classics as The Jerk, All of Me, Little Shop of Horrors, Roxanne, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Parenthood and Father of the Bride. He has also hosted the Oscars twice.
• Diana Ross - The Supreme diva, known mostly for her recording career, was Oscar nominated for playing Billie Holiday in Lady Sings the Blues. She also starred in the camp favorites Mahogany and The Wiz.
• Martin Scorsese - The Academy Award-winning director (aren't you glad we can finally say that, even if it was for The Departed?) behind the film classics Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, GoodFellas, Gangs of New York and The Aviator.

Pianist Leon Fleisher (who was the subject of an Oscar nominated short) and Beach Boy Brian Wilson (who did appear in some Beach Party movies) will also be honored at the 30th annual ceremony held at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in early December. The event will be broadcast on CBS in a two-hour special on December 26.

Links via Kennedy-Center.org, AP.Google.com, Imdb.com and Wikipedia.org.