Streisand, Freeman, Tharp Among Kennedy Center Fab Six

By Jacqueline Trescott
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Her name is Barbra. She got her first Tony nomination 46 years ago and has sold nearly 71 million records since, more than any other female recording artist.

And now Barbra Streisand will receive one of the only artistic awards that has eluded her: The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announced yesterday that she will be one of six 2008 honorees. Sharing the tributes on Dec. 7 will be actor Morgan Freeman, choreographer Twyla Tharp, country crooner George Jones and two of the Who's original members -- Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey.

"I'm thrilled and delighted," said Streisand, 66, speaking in that distinctive Brooklyn accent from her Malibu office. "This is a special recognition. It is also one of my favorite shows to watch because it is well-produced, and gives an extraordinary tribute to each honoree. And I love what President Kennedy said about the arts; they 'knew the midnight as well as the high noon and understood the ordeal as well as the triumph of the human spirit.' "

The Kennedy Center Honors, now in the 31st year, celebrate five or six artists who have made contributions to culture worldwide, but primarily showcase the impact of American performing arts. The Who, for instance, have long testified that their inspirations were American musicians.

"As a teenager growing up in the austerity of postwar England, it was the music I heard emanating from America that gave me a dream to hang my life on," said Daltrey, speaking from his home in England. "That dream was to make music and make it there."

When he and bandmate Townshend realized that dream, they "transformed the sights and sounds of rock-and-roll," said Stephen A. Schwarzman, the center's chairman, who applauded the six for their "extraordinary genius and tenacity."

"Morgan Freeman's name is synonymous with great screen acting and is one of the most respected performers in American cinema," Schwarzman said. "With his unique voice and extraordinary career endurance, singer George Jones has been instrumental in making country music a vital force in American life. Barbra Streisand's trailblazing career in music, theater, films and television is one of the most thrilling spectacles of our culture."

He called Tharp"an American original," one whose choreography "has indelibly enriched the vocabulary of modern dance, contemporary ballet and the Broadway musical." Some of her choreography has premiered at the center.

The Kennedy Center Honors gala performance will be taped to air later in December on CBS. The recipients are chosen by past honorees, the center's artists committee and the board.

Freeman, who is recovering from a serious car accident last month, said in a statement that he was "grateful for this recognition from a great institution, especially one which honors the memory of President Kennedy. The Kennedy Center reaches multitudes around the country with their programs, but this very special, annual event is a pinnacle."

The long career of Freeman, 71, covers film, theater and television. A native of Memphis, his professional work was first recognized in New York, where after a decade in the theater he received a Tony nomination for "The Mighty Gents." He is the only African American actor who has appeared in three Best Picture winners -- "Unforgiven," "Driving Miss Daisy" and "Million Dollar Baby," the latter of which earned him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

Since 1963, the year she finished Barnard College, Tharp has created 123 dances. They have been performed by leading companies around the world and praised for both their postmodern rigor and urban humor. She has choreographed for five movies, written two bestsellers and won a Tony for "Movin' Out," based on the music of Billy Joel.

A native of Portland, Ind., the indefatigable Tharp, 67, is currently rehearsing two new works with the Pacific Ballet. Her ties to the Kennedy Center Honors are very personal. "I went for Martha [Graham], I was there for Sinatra. Because I have these personal connections, it is special. And I guess receiving it means you have grown up," she said.

Next year marks the 40th anniversary of the Who's performance at Woodstock and the band's rock opera, "Tommy." "I know these anniversaries are coming up. But it seems like yesterday to me," said Daltrey, 64.

"I am so grateful that people still like the music and it still has a resonance. But we have to talk about Pete, and without his genius the music wouldn't have been so insightful. The way he moved rock-and-roll from a three-chord, basic funk into a more classical form and still was rock-and-roll, that was genius."

Townshend, 63, released a statement: "Roger and I both feel our work in the United States has been as important as our work at home. Because our medium rock music is quintessentially American music with broad and deep international and multicultural roots, this honour is especially meaningful to we Brits."

In a couple of days, Jones will be 77; he, too, is still working -- traveling to promote a new album and "looking forward to a heavy schedule next year," he said.

"I tell you, all I ever wanted to do is sing, and I never thought it would lead to this award," said the Saratoga, Tex., native, whose first song hit the charts in 1955. Since then, he has racked up 166 hits. No matter where he goes, he is asked to sing "He Stopped Loving Her Today," named the all-time greatest country song in 1992. "It is just one of those sad, beautiful songs, but I thought it would never be made because it was so sad. I carried the song with me almost a year before I recorded it. How wrong can I be."

His new album features duets from an earlier recording session. "These are the songs which were left in the can," said Jones of his collaboration with Keith Richards and Georgette Jones, his daughter with Tammy Wynette. They sing a song she wrote "about herself and I -- 'You and Me and Time.' It is a true story because we weren't allowed to be together for many years because of the divorce. Now we are family again."

Streisand first emerged as a singular talent on Broadway in 1962, receiving a Tony nomination for "I Can Get It for You Wholesale," and two years later for "Funny Girl." The Oscars followed, with a Best Actress award in 1969 for "Funny Girl," the year she tied with Katharine Hepburn. Then came a songwriting Oscar in 1977 for "Evergreen" from "A Star Is Born."

Streisand has 50 gold and 30 platinum albums, plus a cabinet of Grammys, Emmys and other salutes.

"Well, I've been recording a long time," she said. "Yet I never keep count of anything."

"Directing is the most interesting," said Streisand, the first female director to get a best director nomination from the Directors Guild for "The Prince of Tides." "It combines all that you know, your sense of composition, graphics dealing with actors and telling a story. Directing is being in the moment and using reality and being open."

Over the years Streisand has used her voice to share her views on politics, environment and arts education. But she says, "In the end, art does transcend politics."