[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 49 (Monday, December 12, 2005)]
[Pages 1812-1815]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at the Kennedy Center Honors Reception

December 4, 2005

    Please be seated. Thanks for coming, and welcome to the White House. 
The annual reception for the Kennedy Center Honors is always a memorable 
event, and Laura and I are happy you all could join us. We extend a 
special welcome to this year's honorees and to their families and 
friends.
    The Kennedy Center Honors are presented for exceptional 
accomplishment in the performing arts. Once again, the Center has 
selected five extraordinary Americans for this high distinction. Each of 
these honorees, in a lifetime of achievement, has set a standard of 
excellence that is admired throughout the world. All of them have earned 
a unique place in the cultural life of the United States and a special 
respect among their fellow Americans.
    The first Kennedy Center Honors were presented in 1978 to a group 
that included the eminent choreographer, George Balanchine. And on that 
stage that evening, dancing in tribute was the great Suzanne Farrell. 
Together, Balanchine and Farrell gave the world of ballet one of the 
rarest and most successful collaborations in history. He created 
masterpieces just for her, and no one epitomizes the style and grace of 
Balanchine choreography as much as Suzanne Farrell.
    She first came to New York from Cincinnati. And only after a year at 
the American School of Ballet, she made her professional debut in 1961. 
Before long, word began to circulate there was something new--someone 
new, someone very special at the New York City Ballet. When she took the 
stage as Dulcinea in Don Quixote, she became a sensation. In that 
performance, a reviewer said, Suzanne Farrell was ``absolutely flawless, 
technically impeccable, light as a bubble, perfect in line and style.''
    In hundreds of performances over a 28-year period, Suzanne Farrell 
was never known to depart from that standard. This was a ballerina who 
had it all, grace, strength, and the ability to act, turn, and jump with 
perfection. During classes, Balanchine often coached dancers with three 
words: ``Do like Suzanne.'' [Laughter]
    In performances as diverse as ``Agon,'' ``Theme and Variations,'' 
``Scotch Symphony,'' and ``Clarinade,'' she had a mesmerizing effect on 
her audiences. Watching her was said to be ``one of the sublime 
theatrical experiences of an era.'' One admirer said that Suzanne was a 
dancer who ``made audiences sweat.'' This remarkable lady is now guiding 
a new generation of dancers as the leader of the Suzanne Farrell Ballet.
    In the words of one of her dancers, Suzanne ``inspires you. You want 
to give her everything you have because she meets you each step of the 
way.'' She does this every day with the spirit and the patience and the 
kindess of a truly lovely woman. She is widely appreciated as the 
greatest ballerina this country has produced, and the United States of 
America is proud to honor Suzanne Farrell.
    Julie Harris discovered very early in life she loved to act, and the 
world discovered that she was better at the craft than almost anyone 
else. Fifty years ago, when her beautiful face was on the cover of Time 
Magazine, the story inside offered the confident and accurate prediction 
that she would be a star ``for the rest of her life.''
    Julie Harris has excelled in every forum she has attempted, from 
historical drama to tragedy, to musical comedy, to Shakespeare. She is 
known for one of the most hauntingly loving--lovely voices in theater, 
and she

[[Page 1813]]

stands nearly alone in the depth and range of her talent. She became a 
star on Broadway at age 24, playing a 12-year-old girl in ``The Member 
of the Wedding,'' and was nominated for an Oscar when she played the 
same role for film. Whatever age or personality or struggle the role 
calls for, Julie Harris can fill it, with meaning and feeling and 
complete believability. She has thrilled audiences as St. Joan of Arc 
and Mary Todd Lincoln and Florence Nightingale, Queen Victoria, and 
Emily Dickinson.
    Her greatest admirers, perhaps, are her fellow actors. Boris Karloff 
said Julie ``is always in complete control of herself, just as a fine 
pianist is always the master of his music.'' The screen pioneer, Ethel 
Barrymore, put it even more simply. She said, ``The girl can do 
anything.'' [Laughter]
    The most respected actress in American theatre has received five 
Tony Awards--more than any other performer--plus a Special Tony Award 
for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. She has also won a Grammy and 
three Emmys and has appeared in many television plays and motion 
pictures. In her career, Julie Harris has starred with Robert Redford, 
George C. Scott, Lauren Bacall, Shelley Winters, and Sir Lawrence 
Olivier. She's the girl who appeared opposite James Dean in the ``East 
of Eden.''
    Julie Harris has been called Broadway's ``tiniest tower of 
strength,'' a woman of deep intelligence and discipline. She is known, 
as well, for her gentle spirit. As one stage manager put it, Julie 
Harris is ``an angel--everyone loves her.'' It's hard to imagine the 
American stage without the face, the voice, and the limitless talent of 
Julie Harris. She has found happiness in her life's work, and we thank 
her for sharing that happiness with the whole world.
    There was a time when Robert Redford thought his life's work might 
be as a baseball player. [Laughter] Well, he went to college on an 
athletic scholarship, but his interests soon turned to the arts and 
eventually to acting. Years later, when he was hitting home runs as the 
character, Roy Hobbs, a reviewer of the film said this: ``Robert Redford 
reminds those who need reminding that he is one of the perfect male film 
stars, extraordinarily handsome, effortlessly fascinating, and 
enormously talented. His role here gives us ample chance to see another 
kind of `natural' in his element.''
    For more than four decades, Robert Redford has been one of America's 
most watchable and credible actors. From early appearances and televised 
plays and on Broadway, he moved easily into the film and into film 
history. We all remember his finest dramatic roles, with Barbra 
Streisand in ``The Way We Were,'' with his notebook in ``All The 
President's Men,'' on the election trail in ``The Candidate,'' and in 
the Utah wilderness as ``Jeremiah Johnson.'' Paired with Paul Newman in 
two legendary films, Robert Redford also proved to be an actor with 
flawless comic timing, and he earned an Oscar nomination for his role in 
``The Sting.''
    In his capacity to grow and to excel as an artist, Robert Redford 
has shown very few limitations. In 1980, he decided to try working 
behind the camera. The result was ``Ordinary People,'' and it won him 
the Oscar for best actor [director] *. Soon afterward, he founded a 
workshop for independent American filmmakers at Sundance, which has done 
so much to encourage and teach emerging filmmakers.
    * White House correction.
    Robert Redford is a public-spirited man, a Westerner who cares about 
the issues. He knows what he believes, and he's not afraid to tell 
people. [Laughter] Over the years, he's had a strong influence on public 
policy. [Laughter] And it doesn't hurt--[laughter]--and it doesn't hurt 
that he's quite a charismatic guy. [Laughter] One time, he found himself 
speaking in front of a group of people in a profession he didn't think 
too much of. So he stepped to the mike and gave them a piece of his 
mind. When he finished, one of the people that he had just scolded 
rushed right up and said, ``Did you really make the jump off the cliff 
in `Butch Cassidy'?'' [Laughter]
    When Robert Redford speaks, you hear more than an actor or director. 
You hear the voice of an active, passionate, committed citizen. His 
family can be proud that this man they love is one of the most familiar 
faces in the world, one of the biggest names in

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movies, and an alltime favorite of his fellow Americans. 
Congratulations.
    Tina Turner's life began in Tennessee in a town called Nutbush. 
[Laughter] I've never been there, but--[laughter]--I've passed a few 
sign wavers who apparently want me to know about it. [Laughter] As a 
girl, she worked in the cotton fields and sang in the church choir. In 
her amazing journey, Tina Turner went on to sell tens of millions of 
records and earned a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
    She's written music classics and a bestselling book. And a movie 
about her life was nominated for two Oscars. As a performer, Tina Turner 
is known to ``transcend age, gender, race, and social status.'' On one 
of her tour stops in Texas, a concert reviewer described an audience 
that included ``college students, and biker chicks wearing jeans and 
leather vests, ten-gallon-hat-wearing cowboys, and finger-snapping 
grandpas.'' [Laughter] Everyone was there for the same reason--to see 
one of the greatest live entertainers ever to come out of the United 
States.
    Tina Turner, it has been said, ``commands that stage with the sheer 
force of her full-throttle voice and magnetic presence.'' People stand 
in wonder at the natural skill, the energy and sensuality, and the most 
famous legs in show business. [Laughter] Behave yourself. [Laughter]
    Her voice has been described as combining ``Otis Redding's husky 
break and James Brown's growl with some of Aretha Franklin's soaring 
cadences.'' She moves better and faster than dancers less than half her 
age; she does it all in four-inch high heels. [Laughter]
    She first became a star in the ``Ike and Tina Turner Revue.'' She 
made music history with a rendition of ``Proud Mary'' that no artist 
could ever hope to match. It won the Grammy and still wins her fans.
    In the 1970s, the brave lady had to start over again, on her own. It 
was a hard time. All she owned in the world was her stage name and her 
God-given talent. These, combined with her persevering character, led to 
a phenomenal solo career. A single album, ``Private Dancer,'' sold more 
than 12 million copies, and the year it was released won her three 
Grammys. She has produced a string of hits that are familiar across the 
world, including ``What's Love Got To Do With It?'' and ``Simply The 
Best.'' She has played before some of the largest concert crowds ever 
assembled, and each time, every eye is trained on the stage, not wanting 
to miss a single note or a single move by this electrifying artist.
    There's nobody quite like Tina Turner, and in the arc of her life, 
there is so much to admire--the incredible musical gifts, the inner 
strength, and the moral courage. She's a woman of achievement and 
elegance and class. And it's an honor to welcome you to the White House.
    Tony Bennett once said, ``What I try to do is give a performance and 
have everybody say, `God, I love that song.' '' Well, he's known that 
satisfaction throughout his career. When you hear the title of a Tony 
Bennett song, all at once you can hear the man singing it--``Fly Me To 
The Moon,'' ``The Good Life,'' ``The Best Is Yet To Come,'' ``Just In 
Time.''
    This son of New York made his singing debut as a little boy in 1936, 
standing beside Mayor LaGuardia at the opening of the Triborough Bridge. 
Much time has passed, and at this point, the Triborough Bridge is 
showing some age. [Laughter] The little boy who sang that day is still 
looking pretty good. [Laughter]
    Perhaps his biggest professional break came in the late 1940s, when 
he was opening for Pearl Bailey in Greenwich Village, and she introduced 
him to Bob Hope. When he learned this young man's name was Anthony 
Dominick Benedetto, Mr. Hope said, ``That's too long for the marquee, 
let's simplify it and call you Tony Bennett.''
    Soon he was one of the great nightclub singers, performing through 
the years with the likes of Duke Ellington and Count Basie and appearing 
on the ``Tonight Show'' as Johnny Carson's first guest. When Tony 
recorded ``I Left My Heart In San Francisco,'' he won his first Grammy, 
and the song took him from the clubs to Carnegie Hall. From that day to 
this, he's been playing to sellout crowds. He's won a total of 11 
Grammys and a lifetime achievement award.
    And it's a symbol of his endurance that this man who was making 
records when

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Harry Truman lived in the White House has become a favorite of the MTV 
generation. As one newspaper declared, ``Tony Bennett has not just 
bridged the generation gap, he demolished it.'' [Laughter] The vocal 
style and interpretive skill of Tony Bennett are without equal. And no 
other singer is held in higher regard by his fellow entertainers. B.B. 
King once said, ``To be near him is a highlight of my life. I've met two 
Presidents in office; I've met the Pope, Pavarotti--and Tony Bennett.'' 
[Laughter] Frank Sinatra declared that Tony Bennett was the best singer 
in his lifetime.
    His vocal talent and love for music came from his dad, John 
Benedetto, who passed away when Tony was 10 years old. In his memoir, 
Tony writes that John was a ``very poetic man, full of love and warmth, 
who sang with a gentle, sensitive voice I can still hear.'' Tony's mom, 
Anna, undoubtedly saw those same qualities in her son. He called her, 
``my one guiding star.'' And in a long life, Anna watched her boy rise 
to the top and remain there.
    Tony Bennett is also a very talented painter whose work is widely 
exhibited and admired. He's a deeply committed humanitarian. He's a man 
of character who served in the U.S. Army in World War II, and he marched 
for civil rights with Martin Luther King, Jr.
    Of his career, Tony Bennett has said, ``The audience has been 
beautiful to me.'' And the sentiment is entirely mutual. Everybody likes 
the man. He's been aptly described as ``the kind of celebrity who 
cabdrivers call by his first name.'' We're joyful that he remains a 
friendly presence in American life, an entertainer still at the top of 
his game, and a voice we love to hear. Tonight our Nation honors Mr. 
Tony Bennett.
    Each of these honorees has enriched our culture and reflected credit 
on our great country. It's a true pleasure to be in their company and to 
let them know just how much they mean to the people of the United 
States. Congratulations. Thanks for coming.

Note: The President spoke at 5:13 p.m. on the State Floor at the White 
House.