The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Thursday announced the recipients of its 47th class of honorees for lifetime artistic achievement.
This year’s recipients are 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 in the 1960s and ’70s. “The Godfather,” which premiered in 1972, won three Academy Awards: lead actor for Marlon Brando, adapted screenplay and best picture.
“Francis Ford Coppola’s films have become embedded in the very idea of American culture; a social and cultural phenomenon since 1965, the Grateful Dead’s music has never stopped being a true American original, while inspiring a fan culture like no other,” Kennedy Center Chairman David M. Rubenstein said in a statement.
The Apollo, an institution known since the 1930s for celebrating, creating and presenting work that centers Black artists and voices from across the African diaspora, will be the first organization of its kind to be recognized by the Kennedy Center. The honorees will be celebrated at a ceremony in December in Washington, D.C.
“In December, we are thrilled to pay special tribute to New York City’s renowned Apollo Theater on its 90th anniversary,” Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter said in the same statement. “Throughout its history, the Apollo has guided us and the world forward by discovering and nurturing raw talent, molding a unique cultural identity that defines American culture still today. Across 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,” Raitt said. “I have long been an admirer of the Awards and have been so blessed to be able to participate in several shows honoring others. There is no higher level of esteem nor as delightful a celebration and I want to extend my sincere thanks to all who have chosen me to receive this honor.”
Last year, the Kennedy Center paid tribute to the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, including rapper and actor Queen Latifah as an honoree. The recipients also included singer-actor Dionne Warwick, “America’s soprano” Renée Fleming, actor-comedian Billy Crystal and Barry Gibb, the last surviving member of the Bee Gees.
