Kennedy Center to Honor George Lucas, the Eagles and More

Here is your lineup for this 38th annual Kennedy Center Honors, announced this week:

Three women—a quadruple threat actress who won two Emmys, an Oscar, a Tony and a Grammy; perhaps the best pop-rock singer-songwriter of the 1960s and 1970s, and an iconic, authoritative African American star of stage and screen­­. Also to be honored, the emblematic pop-rock band of the 1970s, a gifted film director who created more than one fantasy world for millions of movie goers, and a stellar conductor who set new standards at world-class orchestras.

That would be Rita Moreno, Carole King, Cicely Tyson, the Eagles, George Lucas and Seiji Ozawa.

They make up six honorees—one more than usual—for the annual salute to outstanding performance arts stars, honoring a lifetime of excellence. The Honors Gala will be held at the Kennedy Center’s Opera House on Sunday, December 6, preceded by the presentation of the Kennedy Center Honors medallions at a State Department dinner hosted by Secretary of State John Kerry.

The December 5 celebration at the Opera House will be recorded for broadcast on CBS on December 29.

This year’s production will be produced by Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss of White Cherry Productions, marking the first time in Kennedy Center history that the Honors have not been produced by George Stevens, Jr.

White Cherry Productions has produced the Tony Awards for 13 years along with the Emmy Awards, Super Bowl halftime shows, and the Democratic National Convention, among others.

“When I look at this year’s outstanding slate of Honorees, I am struck by a powerful common theme—artists as history-makers, artists who defy both convention and category,” Kennedy Center President Deborah Rutter said. “Each Honoree and their career-spanning achievements exemplify a rare quality of artistic bravery. Their individual paths to excellence are inspirational and their contributions to the fabric of American culture are equally permanent and timeless.”

Rita Moreno was a five-year-old immigrant from Puerto Rico who came with her 23-old mother to the United States and carved out a distinguished, eclectic and often electric performance arts career as a singer and actress on stage, screen, television and in the music industry. She is one of four artists who has won the top awards in show business: a best supporting actress Oscar for “West Side Story, the Tony, two Emmys and a Grammy and is a recipient of the National Medal of Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Beautiful, graceful and witty, she paid her dues in Hollywood being cast often in ethnic roles, including Native Americans in westerns. She was seen in Washington in a female version of Neil Simon’s “The Odd Couple,” playing the slob to Sally Struther’s nervous neatnik.

Carole King’s album “Tapestry” is one of those rare achievements, a work of popular art without a single song that was anything less than memorable—we’re still singing those songs, as did many performers for whom she wrote—with Gerry Goffin, such hits as “Will You Love Me Tomorrow, “One Fine Day” “Natural Woman” and “You’ve Got a Friend.”

The Eagles—Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmit and Joe Walsh—were the pre-eminent pop rock group bringing a touch of country to a distinctly Southern California sound, selling over 120 million albums that included songs like “Hotel California,” “Desperado,” “Already Gone” and “Take It Easy.”

George Lucas—What can you say: Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Luke, Princess Leia, Hans Solo, Harrison Ford, American Graffiti, creatures from the farthest corners of the universe that exists in the noted director’s imagination. More “Star Wars” tales are coming. A new movie will premiere Dec. 18.

Seiji Ozawa—The native of Shenyang, China, he was a force among the top orchestras of the world and the United States, including the San Francisco Symphony, Tanglewood, the New York Philharmonic and Boston Symphony.

Cicely Tyson—Strength is something that seems to come out of Tyson’s every breath as an actress, now and pretty much forever. Tyson, after a 30-year absence from the stage, returned in 2013, starring as Mother Carrie Watts in Horton Foote’s “The Trip to Bountiful.” She will be back on Broadway this year with James Earl Jones in “The Gin Game.” She won an Emmy for her performance in “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. An iconic African American actress who made the stories of race in America come fervently to life.