Kennedy Center honorees welcomed to White House

Filmmaker George Lucas attends the Kennedy Center Honorees Reception in the East Room of the White House December 6, 2015 in Washington, DC.

The difference among the 12 ovations, though, was in speed.

Renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who performed on stage, said that the Kennedy Awards “keeps away the darkness of fear, of terror, of hate, of violence”. It took a few seconds for everyone to stand up and applaud following a freakish orchestral tribute to Lucas’s filmography that featured smoke, lasers, and Imperial Stormtroopers.

Obama said King’s first solo album, “Tapestry”, was one of the first albums he ever bought; it’s also one of the highest-selling albums of any genre. Star Wars is “not a movie about spaceships…but about family”, she said, recalling how his long gaps between movies were because he wanted to spend time raising his children.

Star Wars madness is in the air.

Lucas was awarded the prestigious Kennedy Center Lifetime Artistic Achievement award for his contribution to American cinema. Continuing to commend the 73-year-old songwriter, Kerry said with a grin, “And I don’t say that just because she did for me the greatest favor that one can do for another human being, and that is help me pay off my campaign debt”. Aretha Franklin, clad in a floor-length fur coat, capped off the night with a booming performance of Natural Woman that had everyone – including all Honorees and the Obamas – on their feet.

“He’s a pathfinder and a pioneer like Edison and Bell and Tesla and Jobs”, Spielberg said.

The portion of the event honoring Lucas ended with an orchestral playing of themes from some of his most famous works, such as Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and The Goonies, with a light show as an accompaniment the music. 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. They said Moreno paved the way for themselves and other Latino actors. “She celebrated her heritage but did not stereotype it”.

King added: “We hope that we can, for a moment, having people think about music, and arts, and film, and dance”. “Each of these artists was born with something special to offer their country and the world”.

Obama may have made it, but one group of honorees – the Eagles – couldn’t come, citing singer Glenn Frey’s health issues.