Crowning, Clowning at Kennedy Center

WASHINGTON —  After a celebratory weekend of hearing nothing but praise, comedian Bill Cosby, one of six recipients of this year’s Kennedy Center honors, acted his usual silly self from the box at the Kennedy Center Opera House he shared Sunday night with the first couple and the other honorees.

While comedian Sinbad told stories about Cosby on stage, Cosby pretended to escape from his front-row balcony seat, scampering to the exit and pounding on the walls as if he needed to get out.

Earlier in the evening, at a reception in the East Room of the White House, President Clinton praised Cosby for his “remarkable gift” of being able to “look inside the human experience in all its depth and diversity and hold it up to the universal light of laughter--in so doing, to allow all of us to return to our childhoods.”

The guest list for the weekend’s events read like a who’s who of Washington, Hollywood and Broadway as the worlds of politics and entertainment converged to applaud Cosby, the Broadway composer and lyricist team of John Kander and Fred Ebb, singer and songwriter Willie Nelson, composer and conductor Andre Previn, and actress Shirley Temple Black.

Of Temple Black, whose 56-movie career began at age 6 and ended at age 21, Clinton said: “She had the greatest short-lived career in movie history, then gracefully retired to, as we all know, the far less strenuous life of public service.”

Temple Black returned to the public eye in her 40s when President Nixon appointed her U.S. representative to the United Nations. Temple Black, now 70, ended her diplomatic career as ambassador to Czechoslovakia.

The Sunday gala featured spirited and heartfelt tributes to each honoree, including biographical documentary films followed by salutes from colleagues and friends.

Broadway stars Liza Minnelli, Bebe Neuwirth and Chita Rivera performed a medley of hits written by Kander and Ebb, including songs from “Chicago,” “Cabaret,” and “New York, New York.” The applause remained long and hearty throughout the night, with each honoree receiving an extended standing ovation from the star-studded audience.

At a State Department dinner on Saturday, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright likened the work of performing artists to her own work as a diplomat. Artists, she said, are “cultural ambassadors” whose movies and music can show that we all have “common strivings, common music and common laughter to unite us.”

After a dinner of Madeira crab casserole, stuffed breast of pheasant, roasted apples, ginger sorbet bombe and poached pears, actor and past honoree Jack Lemmon presented the awards.

Nelson, who donned a tuxedo instead of his usual jeans, admitted he hadn’t used the outfit in a while. He said that at the end of his career he hopes his fans can say “that they got their money’s worth.”

“I’m so excited for all of them,” said actress Lynn Redgrave, who is a member of the committee that nominates artists for their lifetime contributions to American culture. “Willie Nelson is making my heart go aflutter.”

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) ended Saturday’s dinner by recalling his brother’s appreciation for the arts. President John F. Kennedy “believed Washington could be more than the center of government but a center of the arts as well. Tonight we salute his belief.”

The gala serves as a fund-raising benefit for the Kennedy Center to support its education and public service efforts. The show will be nationally televised sometime in late December.