Five Performing Arts Legends Are Honored

Hollywood and Washington came together this weekend for two star-studded days that honored five performing arts legends, their careers and their contributions to American culture.

The achievements of conductor James Levine, actress and dancer Chita Rivera, singer and songwriter Paul Simon, actress Elizabeth Taylor and actor James Earl Jones were celebrated at the 25th annual Kennedy Center Honors.

“Each one of you is known to the American people in a way that runs deeper than fame,” President Bush told the honorees at a White House reception Sunday. “Each new group represents a picture to remember -- a conductor from the Met, a legend from Broadway, the composer of ‘Mrs. Robinson,’ the face of Cleopatra and the voice of Darth Vader.”

After hosting the reception at the White House, Bush and his wife, Laura, attended a gala celebration at Washington’s Kennedy Center.

On Saturday, Hollywood and political heavyweights attended a black-tie reception and dinner at the State Department, hosted by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell.

After dining on hickory-smoked salmon, golden corn risotto and chocolate cake, Powell paid tribute to the awardees. He began by comparing diplomacy and the performing arts:

“At its very best, diplomacy, like art, extends the realm of the possible. Each in their own way, American diplomacy and our performing artists have opened up new ways of proceeding and thinking. They have reached across cultures and borders.”

Powell also teased the honorees.

Jones, 71, whose first movie was Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 classic “Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb,” is perhaps best known for his voice work as Darth Vader in the “Star Wars” movies and King Mufasa in Disney’s “The Lion King.”

Jones “has been an inspiration to young people around the world, so much so that Warner Bros. wanted to make a movie of his life. They put it off, though -- I wasn’t available,” Powell quipped.

Rivera, who played Anita in the Broadway production of “West Side Story,” appeared in the film “Kiss of the Spider Woman” and performed with the School of American Ballet.

Simon, 59, who has won a dozen Grammys and is a two-time inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, was honored for his multifaceted musical career, bringing elements as wide-ranging as traditional African rhythms, rockabilly and salsa into his songs.

Levine, 58, was recognized for “bringing one of the world’s foremost opera companies to unsurpassed artistic excellence.” The longtime artistic director of the Metropolitan Opera will take over the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 2004.

Taylor, 70, was recognized by actress Glenn Close for her prolific career and commitment to AIDS research. “She commanded the screen with unparalleled power ... and she used her power to help the less fortunate, lending her money, her time, her passion, to causes most in need of her help,” Close said.