Kennedy event bestows honor on Estefan
Donald and Melania Trump didn’t attend this year’s Kennedy Center Honors, but Meryl Streep, Stevie Wonder and Caroline Kennedy were there.
Kennedy’s presence, in the building that honors her father, keeps a strong Washington connection to the classiest show of the awards season.
CBS presents the honors, which taped Dec. 3, at 9 p.m. Tuesday in a two-hour telecast. The honorees at the 40th annual event are, in order, singer Gloria Estefan, TV producer Norman Lear (“All in the Family”), rapper-actor LL Cool J, actressdancer-choreographer Carmen de Lavallade and singer Lionel Richie.
The Estefan tribute offers spoken tributes from Eva Longoria and Jon Secada. The music is the main thing and starts with the cast of the musical “On Your Feet!” delivering “1, 2, 3.” Chaka Khan sings “Coming Out of the Dark,” and Becky G
contributes “Mi Tierra.”
Emily Estefan, daughter of Gloria and Emilio Estefan, performs “Reach.” Miami Sound Machine offers a medley including “Conga,” “Turn the Beat Around” and “Get on Your Feet.”
The Lear tribute uses short performances to recall his landmark sitcoms. You’ll see Rob Reiner in “All in the Family,” Rachel Bloom in “Maude,” Kenya Barris in “Good Times,” Anthony Anderson in “The Jeffersons” and Rita Moreno in “One Day at a Time.” Producer J.J. Abrams and Dave Chappelle deliver remarks.
Spoken tributes for LL Cool J come from Queen Latifah and Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson. There are performances from DJ Z-Trip, Busta Rhymes (“Mama Said Knock You Out”), MC Lyte (“I’m Bad”), Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter (“It Gets No Rougher”) and Darryl “D.M.C.” McDaniels (“Rock the Bells”).
Streep honors de Lavallade, her teacher at Yale University. Dancing accompanies performances by Jon Batiste, Sheléa Frazier and Jacqueline Bolier. Rebecca Luker sings “Bill” as Misty Copeland and Robert Fairchild dance. The tribute ends with “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.”
The Richie segment offers Wonder on “Hello” and “Easy,” Luke Bryan on “Penny Lover” and “Sail On,” and Leona Lewis on “Say You Say Me” and “All Night Long.” Kenny Rogers, Quincy Jones and Nicole Richie, Lionel’s daughter, speak.