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 Singer Justino Díaz and Motown
founder Berry Gordy rounded out the group of
artists selected by the Kennedy Center for top
honors this year at a show that had been upended
by politics and the restrictions of the COVID-19
pandemic.
"To all of the Kennedy Center honorees past and
present, thank you for sharing your gift with
the nation and ... with the world," Biden said
at a black-tie reception at the White House.
Trump did not hold such a reception during his
four years in office and did not attend the show
at the Kennedy Center.
The arts community largely did not object to
that absence. Singer and actress Cher, an
honoree in 2018 and an outspoken Trump critic,
said she would have had to accept the award in a
bathroom if Trump had come.
Biden, his wife, Jill, Vice President Kamala
Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, all
attended the ceremony, as did House of
Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Supreme
Court Chief Justice John Roberts.
"It is quite nice, very nice, to see the
presidential box once again being occupied,"
comedian David Letterman said at the beginning
of the show. The crowd rose in a standing
ovation.
The awards recognize a lifetime of achievement
in the performing arts. The show did not take
place in 2020 because of the pandemic. Instead,
last year's honorees were celebrated in a
scaled-down event earlier this year.
Audience members on Sunday had to provide proof
of vaccination against COVID-19.
Midler, a singer and actress, has received
Grammy, Emmy, Tony and Golden Globe awards for a
career spanning decades, with over 30 million
albums sold around the world. Actresses Goldie
Hawn, Scarlett Johansson and Barbara Hershey
paid tribute to her at the event. "Nothing stops
Bette," Hawn said.
Midler dished to reporters about the reception
on her way into the Kennedy Center. "It was
divine at the White House," she said. "Very
clean. Lovely. Great staff. Food was excellent.
Wine was a little sweet."
'I THINK I'M IN A DREAM'
Singer-songwriter Mitchell, a Canadian known for
songs such as "Both Sides, Now" and "Big Yellow
Taxi," is a multi-Grammy recipient and an
inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The
show opened with performances of her songs "The
Circle Game" and "A Case of You" by Norah Jones
and a soaring rendition of "River" by Brandi
Carlile.
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 Michaels, also a native of
Canada, is the creator and executive producer of
the long-running NBC sketch comedy show
"Saturday Night Live." Biden
noted SNL had used seven comics to play him over
the years.
"If you can't laugh at yourself, we're in real
trouble, and you make me laugh at myself a lot,"
Biden said during his remarks at the White
House, referring to Michaels. Current and former
SNL cast members lauded and roasted the producer
during the show and singer Paul Simon sang
"America."
Diaz, a bass-baritone opera singer from Puerto
Rico, was celebrated with performances from
"Carmen" and "Faust."
"It's like coming home again," Diaz told
reporters as he entered the Kennedy Center.
"Except a different part of the house: I'll be
in a very easy chair and I don't have to sing."
Gordy, a songwriter and record producer from
Detroit, founded the Motown record label that
became synonymous with a jazz- and
blues-influenced musical sound popularized by
Black artists including Diana Ross, Stevie
Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Lionel Richie, whose
careers he helped shape.
Wonder sang and played from the Kennedy Center
stage, including "You are the Sunshine of My
Life" and "Superstition." Smokey Robinson also
sang and paid tribute to his friend.
"I think I'm in a dream ... and it's a wonderful
dream," Gordy told reporters.
The Kennedy Center Honors will be broadcast on
CBS television network on Dec. 22.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason and Trevor Hunnicutt;
Editing by Peter Cooney and Karishma Singh)
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