Clinton Pays Tribute to Five Artists

Wrapping up a gala weekend in which the Kennedy Center honored some of the nation’s outstanding performers from the world of the arts, President Clinton paid tribute to five honorees for their dedication and commitment to their craft.

The president, speaking at a White House reception just before the annual Kennedy Center Honors program Sunday night, said: “In giving the world new ways to understand the human experience and celebrate the human spirit, the honorees are all leaving their own enduring moments” at the end of the century.

Entertainers joined with political and cultural leaders to honor popular music star Stevie Wonder, comedian-pianist Victor Borge, dancer and choreographer Judith Jamison and actors Sean Connery and Jason Robards.

The annual Kennedy Center honors are to be televised Dec. 29 on CBS. The show raises money for the Kennedy Center’s educational and public service programs.

But for official Washington, much of the focus is on the social events that precede and follow the awards show.

At a State Department dinner Saturday night, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright described the honorees as the most distinguished artists in their fields. “Tonight, we honor five magnificent artists who all have become influential cultural adapters by communicating with audiences around the world . . . ,” she said.

Albright injected a personal note into her appreciation of Connery’s work. What she yearned to see, Albright said, was not so much his portrayal of British secret agent James Bond. Rather, Albright jokingly said: “In a movie that I really want to see, he will be cast as a European foreign minister--eager to spend time with the American secretary of State.”

After a dinner of seafood pie, rack of lamb with potatoes, winter squash, chocolate mousse, frozen Clementines and berries, actor Laurence Fishburne read the citations that accompany the awards.

Gen. Colin L. Powell, whose wife is the vice chairwoman of the Kennedy Center, said organizers had “assembled a wonderful group of American performers, who have given so much to America.

“They are bringing pleasure to fellow citizens, and I think that’s what makes this evening so unique, tomorrow night so unique and these honorees so unique.”

Connery, a Scot, said he considers the Kennedy Center honor a “tremendous award” because it puts him on a level that encompasses dance, literature and other fine arts. “For me, I don’t know how many actors from America won this. But, I accept it on behalf of America and Scotland.”

Jamison, who runs the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, was anything but blase. Surrounded by tables topped with fresh fruit centerpieces in the Kennedy Center’s South Gallery, she reflected on her transformation from student to teacher.

It was 11 years ago that Ailey, her mentor, received the award, which honors a lifetime of contributions to the arts.

This year, when the Kennedy Center called, Jamison said, she assumed she was wanted as a presenter and was overwhelmed to learn she was wrong.

For Borge, the occasion brought out the sardonic wit that has been his hallmark for more than half a century. Asked if he felt happy, Borge replied, “I guess so.”

After all, he said, without the honor, “I would miss lunch.”

Wonder, who at 49 is the youngest ever to receive the honor, has been an integral part of the world of popular music for four decades.

He has also been an outspoken advocate in the political arena, criticizing apartheid in South Africa and lobbying for six years to make the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a national holiday.