KENNEDY CENTER HONORS 2000 {HONOREES: MIKHAIL BARYSHNIKOV, CHUCK BERRY, PLACIDO DOMINGO, CLINT EASTWOOD, ANGELA LANSBURY} (TV)

Summary

This program features the twenty-third annual special presentation of Kennedy Center honors for the performing arts held in Washington, D.C. Recipients of this year's honors are actress Angela Lansbury, actor/director Clint Eastwood, opera singer Placido Domingo, dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, and musician Chuck Berry.

Host Walter Cronkite offers opening remarks and introduces a performance by modern drum troupe Blast!. Actress Glenn Close introduces a clip reel of Lansbury's life and career, including her roles in many motion pictures, stage musicals and television shows, including her long run on the mystery series "Murder, She Wrote." Close then introduces Broadway performers Marin Mazzie, Donna Murphy, Karen Ziemba, Nathan Lane, and Len Cariou, who perform several of Lansbury's famous musical numbers, including "A Parade in Town" from "Anyone Can Whistle," "That's How Young I Feel" from "Mame," "I Don't Want to Know" from "Dear World," "You'll Never Get Away From Me" from "Gypsy," "The Worst Pies in London" from "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," and the title song from "Mame."

Next, actor Donald Sutherland honors Eastwood by introducing a series of clips describing his lifelong love of jazz, his early roles in "Rawhide" and in Sergio Leone's "Dollars" trilogy, and his transition to film directing. Actors Tommy Lee Jones, Forest Whitaker, and Morgan Freeman take the stage, joined by comic Don Rickles, to rib Eastwood about his idiosyncratic personality and directing style. Rickles, Whitaker, and Freeman then join pianist Billy Taylor to perform "Ain't Misbehavin'."

Singer Beverly Sills honors Domingo, describing his inspiration from his parents' singing careers and his love of opera, including his later work as an artistic director and educator. Cronkite then acknowledges the international Operalia competition, founded by Domingo in 1993 to inspire younger singers, and two of the 2000 winners, Virginia Tola and Konstyantyn Andreyev, perform "O Soave Fanciulla" from Puccini's "La bohème." The cast and crew of the Washington National Opera then take the stage to surprise Domingo.

Kennedy Center Chairman James A. Johnson offers brief remarks, after which dancer Gregory Hines celebrates Baryshnikov and introduces a clip reel of his long career, including his famous defection to Canada in 1974. Choreographer Mark Morris introduces The Mark Morris Dance Group, who perform a polka set to Lou Harrison's music, and a series of Baryshnikov's colleagues and dance partners, including several past Kennedy Center honorees, take the stage to honor him, including Natalia Makarova, Patricia McBride, Rob Besserer, Tricia Brown, Maria Tallchief, Edward Villella, Jacques d'Amboise, Arthur Mitchell, and Judith Jamison.

Finally, actress Goldie Hawn salutes Berry, introducing a series of clips detailing his early life and entry into rock 'n' roll history. Cronkite welcomes a series of "all-star" musicians, including The Black Crowes, Little Richard, and The B-52s, who perform "I'm Talking About You," "Roll Over Beethoven," "Rock and Roll Music," "Sweet Little 16," "Johnny B. Goode," and "Back in the U.S.A" in Berry's honor.

Cronkite then closes the program by commenting on the first-ever Kennedy Center Honors in 1978, and clips are shown from a number of ceremonies from years past. Commercials deleted.

Details

• NETWORK: CBS
• DATE: November 30, 1999 9:00 PM
• RUNNING TIME: 1:31:58
• COLOR/B&W: Color
• CATALOG ID: 100604
• GENRE: Specials
• SUBJECT HEADING: Specials; Music/Variety; Performing arts
• SERIES RUN: CBS - TV, 2000
• COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

• Don Mischer … Producer
• George Stevens Jr. … Producer, Writer
• Michael B. Seligman … Associate Producer
• Bonnie Sehenuk Fitzgerald … Co-Producer
• Sara Lukinson … Co-Producer, Writer
• Louis J. Horvitz … Director
• Don Baer … Writer
• Harry Miles Muheim … Writer
• Ray Charles … Music by
• Lou Harrison … Music by
• Giacomo Puccini … Music by
• Rob Fisher … Conductor
• Kathleen Marshall … Choreographer
• Mark Morris Dance Group, The … Dance Company
• James Earl Jones … Announcer
• Bill Clinton … Host
• Walter Cronkite … Host
• Blast! … Performer
• Marin Mazzie … Performer
• Donna Murphy … Performer
• Karen Ziemba … Performer
• Nathan Lane … Performer
• Len Cariou … Performer
• Glenn Close … Performer
• Billy Taylor … Performer
• Forest Whitaker … Performer
• Morgan Freeman … Performer
• Don Rickles … Performer
• Virginia Tola … Performer
• Konstyantyn Andreyev … Performer
• Gregory Hines … Performer
• Black Crowes, The … Performer
• Little Richard (see also: Richard Penniman) … Performer
• B-52s, The … Performer
• Washington National Opera, The … Guest
• Donald Sutherland … Guest
• Tommy Lee Jones … Guest
• Beverly Sills … Guest
• James A. Johnson … Guest
• Mark Morris … Guest
• Natalia Makarova … Guest
• Patricia McBride … Guest
• Rob Besserer … Guest
• Tricia Brown … Guest
• Maria Tallchief … Guest
• Edward Villella … Guest
• Jacques d'Amboise … Guest
• Arthur Mitchell … Guest
• Judith Jamison … Guest
• Goldie Hawn … Guest
• Angela Lansbury … Honoree
• Clint Eastwood … Honoree
• Placido Domingo … Honoree
• Mikhail Baryshnikov … Honoree
• Chuck Berry … Honoree
• Sergio Leone