Dick Van Dyke, Garth Brooks, Joan Baez amongst new Kennedy Heart Honors recipients
Kennedy Center’s upcoming recipients include a Cockney chimney sweep, a Woodstock icon, and a singer with friends in low places.
Dick Van Dyke, folk singer Joan Baez and country star Garth Brooks covered The Mary Reporter on Wednesday.
Also honored for the ceremony in May are violinist Midori and choreographer / actress Debbie Allen.
The Kennedy Center Honors normally air in December, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the television ceremony has been postponed to June 6, according to reporters.
Dick Van Dyke is among the youngest recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors.
Dick Van Dyke is among the youngest recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors. (VALERIE MACON /)
“The past year has taught us many things, including the need to be flexible and adaptable,” said Deborah Rutter, president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. “They say that necessity is the mother of all inventions. The unusual circumstances have inspired us and opened up new opportunities to experience and hopefully understand the art and life’s work of our award winners more deeply. “
Van Dyke becomes one of the Kennedy Center’s oldest recipients at the age of 95.
He started out as a radio DJ in the 1940s and later became a Broadway star who received a Tony Award for “Bye Bye Birdie”.
In the 1960s he starred in “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and in many popular films, notably “Mary Poppins” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”.
58-year-old Brooks is one of the greatest recording artists in the country. His 1990 album “No Fences” sold a staggering 17 million copies and produced the classic “Friends in Low Places”.
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80-year-old Baez, also a well-known activist, performed on the first night of the 1969 Woodstock Festival.
Midori, the 49-year-old Japanese-born musician, made her debut with the New York Philharmonic when she was 11; and Allen, 70, starred in the 1980s series “Fame” and has coached numerous dancers, including Paula Abdul.
