The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Thursday announced the recipients of its 47th class of lifetime artistic achievement honorees.
This year's honorees include director Francis Ford Coppola, singer Bonnie Raitt, jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh and Bobby Weir of the Grateful Dead. The Apollo Theater in New York City's Harlem neighborhood will receive special honors as an iconic American institution.
Coppola, best known for “The Godfather” trilogy, was a leading figure in the New Hollywood film movement of the 1960s and 1970s. “The Godfather,” which was released in 1972, won three Oscars: best actor for Marlon Brando, adapted screenplay and best picture.
“Francis Ford Coppola’s films have become integral to the very idea of American culture; a social and cultural phenomenon since 1965, the music of the Grateful Dead has never ceased to be an authentic American original, while inspiring a fan culture like no other,” Kennedy Center President David M. Rubenstein said in a statement.
The Apollo, an institution known since the 1930s for celebrating, creating and presenting works centered on Black artists and voices from across the African diaspora, will be the first such organization to be recognized by the Kennedy Center. Honorees will be honored at a ceremony in December in Washington, D.C.
“In December, we are thrilled to pay special tribute to New York City’s famed Apollo Theater on its 90th anniversary,” Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter said in the same statement. “Throughout its history, the Apollo has led us and the world forward by discovering and nurturing raw talent, shaping a unique cultural identity that defines American culture to this day. During the Honors weekend, artists with special connections to the Apollo will serve as ambassadors of the institution’s legacy.”
“I am deeply honored and thrilled to have been chosen to receive one of this year’s Kennedy Center Honors,” said Raitt. “I have long admired the awards and have been fortunate enough to be able to participate in several shows honoring others. There is no greater level of esteem or more enjoyable celebration, and I want to express my sincere gratitude to all who have chosen me to receive this honor.”
Last year, the Kennedy Center honored the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, including rapper and actress Queen Latifah as an honoree. Other honorees included singer and actress Dionne Warwick, “American soprano” Renée Fleming, actor and comedian Billy Crystal and Barry Gibb, the last surviving member of the Bee Gees.
