All-Star Tribute to Winners of Cultural Award : Reagan Hails Kennedy Center Honorees

President Reagan joined a glittery array of political and entertainment luminaries Sunday night in hailing six recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors, telling them at a White House reception: “You moved us. You made us laugh and cheer.”

This year’s winners of the honors--the nation’s highest tribute to performing artists--were actress Irene Dunne, comedian Bob Hope, dancer Merce Cunningham, opera star Beverly Sills and the song-writing team of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe.

The Honors, voted by a Kennedy Center committee, have been awarded since 1978 for lifetime achievement and contribution to American culture.

Paying Tribute

Actor James Stewart, dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, comedian Chevy Chase and comedienne Carol Burnett were among those who paid tribute to the honorees in a gala performance at the Kennedy Center Sunday night.

Popular nighttime soap opera stars Larry Hagman (“Dallas”) and Michelle Lee (“Knotts Landing”), along with Robert Goulet, Anthony Newley and Brooke Shields also paid tribute to the honorees.

The gala, which was filmed for a Dec. 27 television special, featured film clips and still photographs of the honorees’ careers, as well as performances.

The winners joined Reagan and his wife, Nancy, in the presidential box at the Kennedy Center to view the performance.

Some 300 people earlier attended the White House reception, where Reagan lauded each of the recipients.

Surrounded by six towering Christmas trees in the East Room, the President spoke to the gathering as the honorees--minus an ailing Dunne--sat next to him on a small stage, wearing multicolored ribbons around their necks. Dunne, who is suffering from back problems, was unable to attend either the reception or the gala.

Cunningham, 66, staged “the longest and most influential rebellion in dance,” said Reagan. “He made it new. He’s an American original.”

A former member of the Martha Graham Dance Company, Cunningham has choreographed more than 100 works for his own company, eschewing traditional music in favor of the pure movement of chance.

Reagan talked about how Dunne, 80, landed the part of Magnolia in the first road company of “Show Boat” after a chance meeting with Flo Ziegfeld in an elevator in 1929.

“Oh, to have been a fly on the wall,” Reagan said.

Dunne went on to be nominated for the Academy Award for best actress five times with her roles in “Cimarron,” “Theodora Goes Wild,” “The Awful Truth,” “Love Affair,” and “I Remember Mama.”

“She never got silly,” said Reagan. “Hers has been a life of integrity, a life of intelligence.”

Reagan called Hope, 82, “truly a national treasure, one of the greatest stars of this century. You’ve kept our country laughing through war and peace.

“On behalf of a grateful nation, thanks for the memories.”

Reagan praised Sills, 56, not only for bringing opera “down to earth” but also for helping to raise “a mere $70 million for the March of Dimes.”

To lyricist Lerner and composer Loewe, paraphrasing their lyrics from the song “Thank Heaven for Little Girls,” Reagan said:

“Thank heaven for Lerner and Loewe. Without them, what would music lovers do?”

Since the honors were first given out, the gala evening has become one of Washington’s most glamorous social events, as well as a profitable one for the Kennedy Center. With some choice seats in the four-figure range, the Kennedy Center expected to raise about $1 million for its performing arts programs, as it did last year.