And the Honorees Should Be: Part 10. Kennedy Center Honors Suggestions

The only known photograph of David Letterman treating a woman with respect.

It's now been ten recommendations of Kennedy Center Honorees that I've made.  So far, only one, Dustin Hoffman, has been selected.  Yep, it's a pretty lousy record, but here's hoping that next year I'll have a bumper crop.

For my part, I remain undaunted, and I really want to end this series.  Therefore, my newest batch of potential Honorees (to perhaps the surprise of those at the Kennedy Center, I did manage to find at least one Hispanic, something they insist they haven't been able to do since 2002). 

Emanuel Ax

Emanuel Ax has been a passionate proponent of more contemporary composers along with the standards.  His masterful piano playing is still studied, especially by his students at the Julliard.  Ax continues to perform and inspire with his virtuosity on the keys.

David Bowie

David Bowie no longer performs, which is a real shame given his long and varied career in music.  From the Ziggy Stardust persona right on down to his more commercial work, Bowie has constantly reinvented himself to be a singer/songwriter that continues to influence succeeding generations.

Moreover, his acting career has been quite remarkable, from The Man Who Fell to Earth to Labyrinth right down to The Prestige, where his performance as Nikola Tesla was shamefully ignored by the Academy.  Musically and artistically, David Bowie has created a great body of work worthy of recognition.

Monserrat Caballé

Monserrat Caballé no longer has the voice she once had, but in her prime the power of her soprano was unequalled.  Caballé is one that I am placing more by virtue of her reputation since I'm not an opera expert, but having heard some of her recordings, Caballé's voice is one that had a great beauty and power, never overpowering while still maintaining a clarity not often achieved in the rarified world of opera.

Keiko Matsui

Keiko Matsui is a bit of an oddity: a Japanese jazz fusion virtuoso.  She blends music into something uniquely her own which can bridge so many genres: jazz, New Age, world, even pop or rock.  Matsui's artistry with the piano has earned her the respect and admiration of fans of music.  Not just jazz music (although she usually is placed in the jazz category), but in music overall.

Rita Moreno

Here's that fabled Hispanic that I really think will be honored next year.  There will be probably some clown who will say that Rita Moreno receiving a Kennedy Center Honor will be tokenism rewarded, but a look at her career shows she EARNED every accolade she's received.

Let's see: there's that Oscar (Best Supporting Actress: West Side Story), that Tony (Best Featured--Supporting--Actress in a Play: The Ritz), those Emmys (Outstanding Guest Actress: The Rockford Files and The Muppet Show), and that Grammy (The Electric Company Album).  Oh yes, there's that little bit of being a pioneer for other Hispanics.

I think that should be enough for her to be a Kennedy Center Honoree in 2013 without a quota.

Bill Murray

Bill Murray is best described as eccentric, perhaps mercurial, but let's not also forget extremely talented and respected.  Coming from the original Not Ready For Primetime Players on Saturday Night Live, Murray has carved a great career on screen.

From his much-imitated turn in Caddyshack (a film every guy knows) to Groundhog Day, Ghostbusters, and What About Bob?, he's moved on from straight comedies to more nuanced roles in such films as Lost in Translation and the films of Wes Anderson: Rushmore, The Royal Tennebaums, and Moonrise Kingdom.

Franco Zeffirelli

Franco Zeffirelli has done so much to popularize Shakespeare with his film versions of Romeo & Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, and Hamlet.  His television miniseries of Jesus of Nazareth is still viewed and admired for the respectful and dramatic telling of the life of Christ, and Zeffirelli has become a highly respected opera director both for the stage and film.

That now wraps up ten essays of artists in film, television, stage, dance and music of all types from classical to opera to country to rock that would in my view make worthy recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors.   Whether they will be heeded is up to them, but somehow I fear we will be seeing these artists ignored in favor of others, such as...

Who wouldn't want a musical tribute from the Funky Bunch?

And The Honoress Should Be: Part 9. Kennedy Center Honors Suggestions

Giving New Meaning to the Term
"YUCK It Up"...

In their eternal "wisdom", David Letterman, a man who hasn't made me laugh since Larry "Bud" Melman left us, has been decreed a Kennedy Center Honoree.  He might have been funny once, but now he's not.  Furthermore, given how President Obama won re-election in part due to the Republican Party's "War on Women", isn't there something disingenuous in celebrating a man who has shown nothing but contempt for both female comics AND female staff?  Perhaps that 'war' doesn't exist when it's your own supporters doing the fighting.

Then again, that's just me. 

Well, I decided to try to wrap up some of these lingering suggestions this Christmas season, when the Kennedy Center Honors are broadcast.  This year's, which include both the aforementioned Letterman and the defunct band Led Zeppelin, is the first I will be skipping in a long time.  Frankly, I don't think it's worth my time.  However, since I have a few more names to throw out (and have ignored), I figure, well, why not.

With that, here are more recommendations for Kennedy Center Honorees.

Vladimir Ashkenazy

Vladimir Ashkenazy has been a master of the piano for more than sixty years. A champion of music from his native Russia, Ashkenazy has risen to become a respected conductor as well as a sought-out pianist. 

Burt Bacharach

Burt Bacharach has been dismissed as either old-fashioned or trite with his songs of love.  However, he has won Oscars (for Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid's Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head and Arthur's Theme) and earned a nomination for The Look of Love (from the original Casino Royale).

No matter how much people may say they don't like his smooth style, few people can really not go without knowing his other songs, such as Walk On By or  I Say A Little Prayer.  His influence is still going strong, and his songs are now standards in the popular culture.  Besides, it's true: What the World Needs Now is Love, Sweet Love...

Frank Langella

Yes, I suppose many people saw Frank Langella as the romantic Dracula.  I however, never thought of him in such lush terms.  Instead, I saw Frank Langella as one of the best actors working despite not being a major star (or star at all).

Langella has made his mistakes (Masters of the Universe, Eddie, Cutthroat Island), but at least his stage work, along with some new work such as in Frost/Nixon and Robot & Frank, show him to be a much better actor than most of the parts he's played. 

Marian McPartland

A true jazz legend, Marian McPartland is perhaps the only surviving artist from the famous Great Day in Harlem photograph still with us.  At 94, her career as a premiere jazz pianist has been even more unusual given her proper British birth and training.  Still, her love for the American art-form ensures that future generations will turn to McPartland long after her actual piano-playing days have passed into history, especially if they were fortunate enough to hear her radio program Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz. 

Given her age, perhaps Marian McPartland should be given special consideration for next year's Kennedy Center Honors, unless the Spice Girls have renewed success.

Carlos Santana

OMG--could that be...an actual HISPANIC?!  Since we know the Kennedy Center can't find any Hispanics worthy of recognition, I did manage to dig at least one up.

Carlos Santana's musicianship has been unrivaled for his career.  Still playing and influencing musicians old enough to be his grandchildren, Santana has had a long range of memorable songs.  He has blended rock with Latin music, creating a uniquely American sound (except to the Kennedy Center, which doesn't think Hispanics are actual people). 

I have one message to the Kennedy Center Honors Board...You've Got to Change Your Evil Ways.

Kiri Te Kanawa

I would imagine that the term "diva" would have been created for Dame Kiri Te Kanawa if it hadn't been around.

Te Kanawa's legendary voice has made her one of the great sopranos of our time. Dame Kiri has gained respect for the beauty and clarity of her opera performances.  She has also been a bridge between the grand European culture and that of her Maori heritage.

Nancy Wilson

Nancy Wilson is not just a jazz legend but one of its great proponents in the popular culture.  While health issues have slowed her down, she still has a long record of recordings to back up her reputation as a great singer.

She also is someone who was a trailblazer, having her own eponymous television show in the 1960s when the civil rights movement (which she actively supported) still made something so commonplace today (an African-American woman on television) a rarity indeed.

Well, those are my suggestions for now.  Of course, given the Kennedy Center's penchant for more relevant choices for artists, I expect this person to follow David Letterman in terms of comedic genius...

Come now... didn't we all find Good Luck Chuck to be funnier than anything the Marx Brothers ever did? 

And the Honorees Should Be: Part 8. Kennedy Center Honors Suggestions

We're Kennedy Center Honorees,
And It Makes Me Wonder...

Eventually, I figured I would get one right (Thank you Mr. Hoffman). Still, on the whole I have an abysmal record for selecting Kennedy Center Honorees. 

Then again, so does the Kennedy Center.

Be that as it may I remain undeterred, even as they start gleefully slipping into irrelevance, even parody (OPRAH WINFREY?!  LED ZEPPELIN?!)

Therefore, I present more suggestions for candidates for the Kennedy Center Honors.

Shirley Bassey

Please, her rendition of Goldfinger is enough to ensure Dame Shirley Bassey immortality.  Dame Shirley has overcome circumstances that would have sunk almost anyone else (questionable birth, death of a child) and has continued to amaze the public with the power of her voice.

While not as big a star in the United States as she is just about everywhere else, Bassey still continues to interpret songs from the past and present in her own extraordinary voice.  Personally, I prefer her rendition of Get the Party Started over Pink's, but that's just me. 

John Fogerty

I imagine John Fogerty to be a cantankerous man (his feud with the other members of Creedance Clearwater Revival being notorious, making the De Havilland-Fontaine feud seem downright genteel).  Still, his output of songs, both with CCR as well as on his own, has been extraordinary, from his fury in Fortunate Son to his whimsy in Lookin' Out My Backdoor and the nostalgia-tinged Centerfield. 

Fogerty's music is one that both the working-class and the intelligentsia can embrace.  We've been singing his songs for more than half a century.  It's time we acknowledge his contribution to American music.

Billy Joel

Yeah, I'd say he was a Big Shot.  How can you go wrong with the Piano Man? One is always in a New York State of Mind when listening to Billy Joel. 

Billy Joel has been crafting some of the most memorable pop songs for close to forty years, and although he's turned his attention more to composition than songwriting, his legacy is still secure.  In his career Joel has always sought new ways of expressing music, be they soft ballads, doo-wop, or even one with a harder edge to it...It's Still Rock and Roll to Me.   The scope of songs Joel has written is one to marvel at.  We all know at least ONE Billy Joel song.

What can one say?  Billy, we love you Just the Way You Are.

Shirley MacLaine

If nothing else, we could get some good jokes about aliens and past lives.

So Shirley MacLaine may be a bit nutty, but she still is a first-rate actress. Starting out working with the likes of Frank Sinatra (in Some Came Running) and David Niven (in Around the World in 80 Days...and sorry, but I never believed she could be an Indian princess), MacLaine has been in some important films (such as her debut in The Trouble With Harry--one of Alfred Hitchcock's rare forays into comedy, albeit black, The Apartment and Terms of Endearment).  She is still working at 78, having made a film (Bernie) and going on to Downton Abbey. 

Besides, her brother Warren Beatty has already been honored, so now let's put it all in the family.

Wynton Marsalis

One of the great proponents of the great American art form of jazz, Wynton Marsalis has set a standard of excellence throughout his career.  A member of the influential Marsalis musical family, Wynton has not only been a master musician in his own right, but a goodwill ambassador of both the U.S. and his beloved jazz around the world.

Liza Minnelli

Maybe Liza Minnelli is bonkers.  At the very least, she has a certain joie de vivre that makes her look rather unstable.  However, Minnelli has earned the praise she has received, whether it is with her turn in Cabaret or her one-woman show Minnelli on Minnelli. 

Liza (with a Z) if nothing else is a survivor, both of her own personal issues and career setbacks.  Certainly nowhere as big as she was in her Cabaret/Arthur days, Minnelli still draws crowds, whether it was her performance in Arrested Development or on stage, she still a trooper. 

Diana Rigg

You start out as Miss Peel, one of the hottest agents on television, in The Avengers.  You then become one of the best Bond Girls in On Her Majesty's Secret Service.  Somewhere in all that you become one of the most respected Shakespearean and theatrical actresses still working today.  Isn't that enough for a Kennedy Center Honor?

Diana Rigg in her career has kept a balance between being hot (see The Avengers), the respected (her theater work) and the comic (I have a soft spot for The Great Muppet Caper).  She still is working, appearing in both Doctor Who and Game of Thrones.  Through it all, Dame Diana Rigg has earned the respect of her peers for her dedication to her craft.

These are new suggestions, but perhaps the Kennedy Center Honors would like instead to honor instead a far worthier group of performers, such as these:

Personally, I don't see what the fuss is all about.  I couldn't tell a Liam from a Harry from a Zayn (they all look pretty much the same to me), but if they want ratings....

And The Honorees Should Be: Part 7. Kennedy Center Honors Suggestions

There are six people I wouldn't vote for in this picture...

I'll be skipping this year's Kennedy Center Honors since the idea of honoring both David Letterman (who frankly is no longer funny) and Led Zeppelin (which A.) isn't an individual and B.) technically is no longer around since John Bonham's death) are not worthy of what is suppose to be America's highest artistic award of merit.  Yes, the Zeppers have passionate devotees, and I'm not saying they aren't a good band.  Led Zeppelin is a great band, worthy members of teh Rock & Roll Hall of Fame...where they belong, not at the Kennedy Center's desperate grab at ratings.

It's just that we once honored people, or duos (the Nicholas Brothers, Kander & Ebb, Lerner & Lowe, Davis & Dee, Comden & Green) not groups.  Why didn't the Kennedy Center Honors say The Who (rather than just Daltry and Townshend) or The Beatles (poor Ringo, always getting left off while Sir Paul McCartney takes the bows)?

My reason for objecting to presenting Led Zeppelin a Kennedy Center Honor is very simple: it opens the floodgates to making this award a quasi-Hall of Fame situation.  On the official KCH website people are already suggesting Rush.  RUSH!  I can't fathom the idea of the Foo Fighters giving us their version of Tom Sawyer.  THis is what happens when a defunct rock band is seen as more worthy than say someone who has won an Oscar, a Tony, a Grammy, and an Emmy.  She just happens to be Hispanic, and we know what the Kennedy Center thinks of them...

Well, now I have not offered suggestions in a while, so I'm taking this Christmas Week to submit names once again, ones that will be ignored as the Kennedy Center gets ready to salute The Beastie Boys and Pia Zadora.   In the times I've offered my suggestions only one, director Sidney Lumet, has died, so hopefully these candidates of mine will still be around next year.

Carol Channing

Imitation is suppose to be the greatest form of flattery, and few stars have been as widely imitated as the delightfully daffy Carol Channing.  The original Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly!, she also originated the role of unabashed golddigger Lorelei Lee in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (a somewhat ironic feat given that Channing is part African-American, the daugher of a biracial father).

Channing has been performing on stage for 70+ years (top THAT, Zep) as well as occassionally entering film (earning an Oscar nomination for Thoroughly Modern Millie) and is one of the last stars of the Golden Age of Broadway still performing. 

Francis Ford Coppola

The films that Francis Ford Coppola has written and/or directed are an astonishing body of work.  The first two Godfather films alone would make him worthy of all the honors that can be given (the less said about The Godfather Part III the better).   However, look at some of his other films which he's worked on: Patton, The Conversation, Apocalypse Now.

Francis Ford Coppola has been at the forefront of independent films, and he still works today.  There are other films that perhaps have not gotten the due they deserve (Peggy Sue Got Married, Tucker: The Man and His Dream, Bram Stoker's Dracula), but Coppola continues to be an inspiration for future filmmakers seeking to tell their own stories as how they see them. 

Annie Lennox

Grammy and Oscar-winner Annie Lennox has reinvented herself time and time again, producing with both The Eurythmics and on her own.  Her unique voice has been heard for more than thirty years, creating some of the most memorable songs such as Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), Here Comes the Rain Again, Walking on Broken Glass, Why, and the theme to The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Into the West.   In all her incarnations, Lennox has continued to be an innovator for women singers.

Moreover, Annie Lennox's charity work, particularly on AIDS (an issue sadly no longer at the forefront) has raised millions for research and treatment.  An activist and singer, Annie Lennox has never wavered on either front. 

Ian McKellen

Ian McKellen's second act has been nothing short of astonishing.  A whole generation will know him as either Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy or as Magneto in the X-Men trilogy.  However, there is more to McKellen than either a wizard or a mutant.

A long stage career in his native Britain, his performances in such films as Gods and Monsters or in television miniseries such as Rasputin show his range as an actor.  McKellen has granted appeared in junk, but on the whole his entire career has been one where the respect other actors have for him is unquestioned.

Martin Sheen

Oh, look Kennedy Center: I managed to find a Hispanic!

It's a mere coincidence that I suggest both the director and star of Apocalypse Now, but while Sheen may be best known today for The West Wing (where he played an even more romanticized version of Barack Obama before the President was elected) Sheen has done much more work in film and television.

Look at his turn in Badlands, or The Subject Was Roses, or The Departed, or even The Amazing Spider-Man.  Sheen has had a long career in television, stage, and screen, and still at 72 has not let up either in his career or his outspoken political views (some that I share, some that I don't).

James Taylor

You've Got A Friend in James Taylor, with his sweet sound and gentle voice.  He's been singing and writing songs for now forty years, some which have become standards::Fire and Rain, Mexico, How Sweet It Is.

Taylor has never stopped working and is still influencing other singer/songwriters today.

Well, these are my newest crop of recommendations for the Kennedy Center Honors, unless of course they opt for more worthy honorees, such as...

WHAT?  I'm sure they're nice kids...

And The Honorees Should Be: Part 6. Kennedy Center Honors Suggestions

I've been making suggestions as to whom should receive a Kennedy Center Honors for some time, and it's a bit discouraging to see I'm batting zero.  One of my candidates (Sidney Lumet) has died since I mentioned his name.  However, I keep naming names, hoping against hope that each individual's achievements will be recognized.  Hopefully, this year's list of honorees will not only be worthy (sorry, Madame Winfrey) but will at last take my suggestions.  With that, I present my next batch.

John Adams
Born 1947

Few American composers have been as innovative as John Adams. There aren't many composers who would tackle as subjects for operas such events as President Nixon's visit to Communist China, a terrorist attack that led to the murder of an elderly wheelchair-bound man, or the Manhattan Project.  That Adams has with Nixon in China, The Death of Klinghoffer and Doctor Atomic shows he's willing to try to tie in the most grand of music with the most contemporary subject matter.  He continues to compose not just opera but music in the contemporary classical style. 

GLORIA ESTEFAN

She was the artist that opened the doors to the Latin wave in American music.  When the Hispanic population was slowly coming to its own, it was Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine began the melding of American pop and rock with the Latin style, bringing a new, and I'd argue, American style.  Surviving a horrifying bus crash, she came back to continue making music that is influencing new generations of American-born and bred Hispanic performers.

HERBIE HANCOCK

It's a strange thing to think that the best song for 'breakdancing' was from a jazz titan, but no self-respecting breakdancer would go without having Rockit playing in the background. Of course, I bet none of the kids spinning on their heads realized that they were doing it to jazz, but this is where Hancock's greatness lies.  He has been able to bring rock and jazz together into a sound that doesn't shortchange one for the other.  Hancock still is relevant to music: from jazz to pop and rock, he's explored and melded them all on a consistent level of quality.

LIONEL RITCHIE

As one listens to Lionel Ritchie's music, one starts to truly appreciate the artistry and talent in his songs.  Throughout his forty-plus year career, his songs have set the mood for romance.  He isn't afraid of going beyond a rhythm & blues style: Stuck on You is basically a country song, as is Lady, one of Kenny Rogers' signature songs.  While he specializes in ballads, from Three Times A Lady to Hello and Penny Lover, he also can bring upbeat numbers from his Commodores' hit Brick House to Dancing on the Ceiling.  One should also remember he co-wrote the seminal charity anthem We Are The World and has an Oscar for Say You, Say Me from White Nights. 

MAGGIE SMITH

She's the rare actress who manages to be the character while still being Maggie Smith.  She can do drama (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie) and comedy (California Suite), winning Oscars for both; there are film based on the classics (Othello) and camp (the original Clash of the Titans). 

I hope that she won't be remembered only for Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter films, but her career in film, on television (where I'd argue she specializes in grande dames), and stages both British and American.  All these merits pause to reflect on just how she has never failed to give a bad performance from the goofiest projects (Sister Act) to the most serious ones (Suddenly, Last Summer and Downton Abbey on television).

MIKE STOLLER

The recent passing of Jerry Leiber now makes it impossible to honor one of the most important songwriting duos in rock and pop music.  However, we still may be able to pay honor to one half of the legendary team Leiber & Stoller.  I'd argue that he and Leiber were one of the great songwriting teams in American pop music (putting them in the same league as Lennon/McCartney, Holland-Dozier-Holland, and going further to Rogers & Hammerstein, Lerner & Lowe, or Kander & Ebb). 

What would American pop and rock music be without the blues-tinged Hound Dog, the humor of Yakety Yak, the sadness of There Goes My Baby, or the tenderness of Stand By Me?  One thing that hasn't been commented on as much as perhaps it should is that R & B music, usually but not always associated with African-Americans, had its most memorable songs written by two nice Jewish boys.  In a certain manner, Leiber & Stoller's music showed that the barriers we placed on each other were no match against a beautiful melody and strong lyrics.

Well, that's it for this edition of my Kennedy Center Honoree suggestions.  When they are officially announced, I will comment on both those who were selected and continue to make more suggestions.

January 2018 Update:  Herbie Hancock was honored in 2013, and both Estefan and Richie were honored in 2017. The others as of this writing have yet to be selected.

And The Honorees Should Be: Part 5. Kennedy Center Honors Suggestions

It's been a while since I submitted names for consideration for the Kennedy Center Honors. I see no reason why I can't start up again.  Since my last submissions one (Sydney Lumet) has sadly passed away.  However, that's not a bad track record.  How strange that I can easily think of so many while the actual Kennedy Center has to scrape to find Oprah Winfrey, whose cultural contributions I still think are dubious.  Well, there it is.

Now, I give out six new names for consideration.

MICHAEL CAINE

Throughout his career Caine has given a consistent quality of performances.  From the shameless rake of Alfie through Sleuth, The Man Who Would Be King, Educating Rita, Is Anyone There?, Children of Men, his two Oscar-winning roles in Hannah & Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules, and now a whole generation will know him as Alfred Pennyworth in the Christopher Nolan Batman films.  Yes, he's made more than his fair share of clunkers, but at least he admits it and laughs about it all the way to the bank.  Not a lot of people know that.

REBA McENTIRE

Few artists can be instantly recognized by just one name.  However, all one has to do is say, "Reba", and just about everyone knows whom you are talking about.  You're talking about the Queen of Country Music.  Once she found her own voice: the traditional country sound, she took music by storm. She doesn't hasn't had a series of hit songs for over thirty years from Whoever's In New England to the iconic Fancy right on down to The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia and straight through to Turn On The Radio and If I Were A Boy; she's has branched out into theater (it almost seems that the title role in Annie Get Your Gun was meant for our country girl)and a hit television series...titled, what else, Reba.  She truly is A Survivor. 

LOREENA McKENNITT

If you wish to call her New Age, you can, but I think it's more accurate to refer to Loreena McKennitt's music as ethnic, specifically Celtic or Celtic-influenced. Her melodic voice and passion for music from around the world has created not so much a new genre but a brilliant melding of styles that show how music truly unites all cultures.  McKennitt's elegant compositions, sometimes mixed with writings from the classics, is truly some of the best music around today.  Granted, she's only had one major crossover hit (The Mummer's Dance), but she has remained true to herself and her muse. 

R. CARLOS NAKAI

The Native American has been treated shamefully and shabbily by the Europeans who've come to his continent.  Still, it's a credit to them as nations that they still have a rich culture, and R. Carlos Nakai has done the most to bring the beauty of Native American music to a wider audience.  Nakai has also, like McKennitt, not been afraid of blending traditional Native American music with that of other cultures, showing that one can be respectful of one's own culture while embracing a wider world.

MALCOLM JOHN "DR. JOHN" REBENNACK, JR.

I can't call Dr. John's music strictly jazz, or strictly rock, or Cajun, and not zydeco.  It might be best to call it pure Louisiana, a gumbo of sounds that he's perfected to an art form.  In terms of his style, he is truly unique, with his showmanship and musical abilities mixing brilliantly with his voice.  When New Orleans needs a champion and a reminder of what good music the Crescent City can produce, it's time to call on the good doctor.  Thanks to The Princess and the Frog, I'm slowly discovering Dr. John, and so far, it sounds good. 

ELI WALLACH

Master of stage, screen, and television, he spands nearly a century of great performances.  Just in terms of his film work, who can forget he was one of The Magnificent Seven or the ugly in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (though ugly is the last word I'd use to describe him as an actor or person).  He was one of the few good things in The Godfather Part III (an abysmal film with only Wallach and Andy Garcia making it bearable).  Let's also remember he's probably one of the last people around who worked with the likes of Tennessee Williams, Elia Kazan and Marilyn Monroe.   Even now, he still works: let's remember his most recent movie was Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.  It shows he doesn't rest on his laurels. 

Thus are my suggestions to the Kennedy Center.  When the announcement is made as to whom they will honor, I will finally see if I get one right. 

December 2017 Update: Eli Wallach died on June 24, 2014 at the age of 98. Reba McEntire is as of this update 62, one year older than Tom Hanks, who was honored at age 58.  None of the people on this list currently living have received a Kennedy Center Honor, but Led Zeppelin and The Eagles have.

And The Honorees Should Be: Part 4. Kennedy Center Honors Suggestions

Well, as we approach another year where the Kennedy Center Honors will be trotted out (we're pulling for you, Betty White), I'm throwing my two cents in and submitting my own suggestions.

Jane Fonda

I'm not fond of Fonda in terms of politics. She, to her credit, has kept a consistency in her thinking: from Hanoi Jane to Baghdad Barbarella. However, I will be the first to say that as an actress, few have come better. Over her career she has remarkable performances: Klute, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, On Golden Pond, The China Syndrome, Coming Home, Monster-In-Law (OK, maybe that wasn't her finest hour). Still, in spite of her views, she's still remained a star and a consummate actress.

Harrison Ford

How can it be that Harrison Ford has been nominated for an Oscar only once? Think of the films he wasn't nominated for: the Star Wars trilogy, the Indiana Jones trilogy, The Fugitive, Blade Runner, Air Force One, American Grafitti, The Mosquito Coast. His only nod came for Witness, and the fact that he didn't win isn't shocking--it's the fact that he's been consistently overlooked. Through it all, he's always been professional, a hallmark of a great actor as opposed to a great star (even if he is both).





Sidney Lumet

Few directors have been as well-respected as Lumet.  The extent of his work is among the best of any American director, one that hasn't been as well-appreciated as perhaps it should.

12 Angry Men. Long Day's Journey Into Night. The Pawnbroker. Fail-Safe. Murder on the Orient Express. Dog Day Afternoon. Network. The Verdict. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead.





Bernadette Peters

On this one, I'm going by reputation more than anything else. She is a Broadway legend. Her career has been made on the stage as one of the premiere divas of the Great White Way, and her résumé includes a galaxy of legendary shows: Sunday in the Park With George, Into the Woods, A Little Night Music. Now I confess, I don't know that much about stage musicals, but I do know that the name Bernadette Peters is held in high regard by critics and Broadway audiences. Therefore, I think this is a safe choice.

Carly Simon

This choice has nothing to do with the fact that You're So Vain. It's just that Nobody Does It Better. She holds her audiences in Anticipation and no matter how far one would Let The River Run her voice and songwriting are both inspiring new generations and remarkably current.

Neil Young

Cantankerous contrarian Canadian, isn't he? Whether mourning "four dead in Ohio", telling us of how The Needle & The Damage Done, or calling on us to "Let's Roll" after September 11th (especially given most artists still shy from addressing that particular event), he certainly hasn't been anything but brilliant in his songwriting. I have no idea if he has found one with a Heart of Gold under that Harvest Moon, but so long as he has anything to say (and he has plenty to say), we'll all keep on Rockin' In the Free World.

I don't know if we'll see any of these people get the Kennedy Center Honors they deserve this year, next year, or ever. I just think it's nice that we not forget that when it comes to the arts, we haven't done all that bad.

May 2017 Update: Sidney Lumet died April 9, 2011 at age 86.  As of 2016 the others have yet to be honored.