Post by Admin on Dec 5, 2022 14:44:18 GMT -4
Gladys Knight, Amy Grant and U2 are among the honorees at the Kennedy Center
WASHINGTON — A heartfelt Patti LaBelle praised her lifelong friend Gladys Knight. Sean Penn called U2 "four scrappy Dublin punks." Ballet dancers performed for conductor and composer Tania León. Matt Damon playfully teased his friend George Clooney — a lot — while Sheryl Crow delivered a heartfelt rendition of "Baby Baby" to Amy Grant during Sunday's Kennedy Center Honors.
Knight, Clooney, Grant, León and U2 were all celebrated at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which annually honors a select group of people for their artistic influences on American culture. President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and their respective spouses were in attendance, as were members the President's Cabinet and Congress.
One audience member from the political world — Paul Pelosi, husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — drew some attention. He is recovering from a brutal attack in the Pelosis' San Francisco home in October. The couple received a standing ovation from the crowd.
Normally performers like U2 or Knight would be headlining such a show, but during the Kennedy Center event the honorees sit in the balcony and watch as their peers laud them and perform their works.
On the red carpet, Clooney, with his wife, Amal, beside him, joked that after seeing friends like Don Cheadle and Julia Roberts in attendance he was worried his tribute would be more of a "roast." And it was a bit like that, though his friends and family showed obvious respect.
Roberts set the tone by coming out onstage with a dress emblazoned with photos of Clooney. After an introduction that alternated between funny and heartfelt she turned to a set designed to look like a smoky bar — the type Clooney might enjoy. The actor's father, Nick Clooney, regaled the crowd with stories of a young George, including the time the 7-year-old — heartbroken over the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968 — gave his father all his toy guns.
Damon took the funny road, joking about how Clooney once stole then-President Bill Clinton's stationery and wrote notes to fellow actors on it. Cheadle highlighted Clooney's philanthropic work. But it was Clooney's father who probably had the strongest praise, telling the crowd and his son, sitting in the balcony between León and U2's Bono, "George's best and most important work is still ahead of him.
Standing on a stage lit by a massive sign reading "Gladys," LaBelle called Knight her "everything," saying they had been friends for six decades and had seen each other through laughter and tears. "We do everything together," LaBelle said. "I am honored to honor you tonight."
Actor and hip-hop star LL Cool J said that whenever Knight sings she connects with people. "I once heard Gladys sing the ABCs and I thought I was in church," he said.
WASHINGTON — A heartfelt Patti LaBelle praised her lifelong friend Gladys Knight. Sean Penn called U2 "four scrappy Dublin punks." Ballet dancers performed for conductor and composer Tania León. Matt Damon playfully teased his friend George Clooney — a lot — while Sheryl Crow delivered a heartfelt rendition of "Baby Baby" to Amy Grant during Sunday's Kennedy Center Honors.
Knight, Clooney, Grant, León and U2 were all celebrated at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which annually honors a select group of people for their artistic influences on American culture. President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and their respective spouses were in attendance, as were members the President's Cabinet and Congress.
One audience member from the political world — Paul Pelosi, husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — drew some attention. He is recovering from a brutal attack in the Pelosis' San Francisco home in October. The couple received a standing ovation from the crowd.
Normally performers like U2 or Knight would be headlining such a show, but during the Kennedy Center event the honorees sit in the balcony and watch as their peers laud them and perform their works.
On the red carpet, Clooney, with his wife, Amal, beside him, joked that after seeing friends like Don Cheadle and Julia Roberts in attendance he was worried his tribute would be more of a "roast." And it was a bit like that, though his friends and family showed obvious respect.
Roberts set the tone by coming out onstage with a dress emblazoned with photos of Clooney. After an introduction that alternated between funny and heartfelt she turned to a set designed to look like a smoky bar — the type Clooney might enjoy. The actor's father, Nick Clooney, regaled the crowd with stories of a young George, including the time the 7-year-old — heartbroken over the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968 — gave his father all his toy guns.
Damon took the funny road, joking about how Clooney once stole then-President Bill Clinton's stationery and wrote notes to fellow actors on it. Cheadle highlighted Clooney's philanthropic work. But it was Clooney's father who probably had the strongest praise, telling the crowd and his son, sitting in the balcony between León and U2's Bono, "George's best and most important work is still ahead of him.
Standing on a stage lit by a massive sign reading "Gladys," LaBelle called Knight her "everything," saying they had been friends for six decades and had seen each other through laughter and tears. "We do everything together," LaBelle said. "I am honored to honor you tonight."
Actor and hip-hop star LL Cool J said that whenever Knight sings she connects with people. "I once heard Gladys sing the ABCs and I thought I was in church," he said.
