Steve Carell - Steve Martin Tribute | 2007 Kennedy Center Honors

[orchestra plays ôComedy Tonightö from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum [applause] (unseen male announcer) Ladies and gentlemen, Steve Carell. [applause and music continue] Good evening. It is difficult for me to express what a personal thrill it is to pay tribute to Martin Scorsese. [laughter] Few people in the history of cinema have created such an enduring legacy. [laughter] His work transcends [light laughter] the craft of filmmaking. [a few claps] (Caroline Kennedy whispers inaudibly] [light laughter] [laughter starts and increases] Steve Martin is a national treasure. [laughter and applause] I first saw him perform in 1978. He was little more than a blurry white dot several thousand yards away. [light laughter] But I can tell you what I did see. I saw a man with an arrow through his head. [laughter] I witnessed the phenomenon of happy feet. [light laughter] I saw a balloon-animal depiction of venereal disease. [laughter] His act was that of an idiot savantů [laughter] minus the savant. [laughter] Much of what he did that night could be easily dismissed as abject silliness, pointless clowning, incomprehensible non sequitur. And, frankly, that's exactly what I think it was. [light laughter] Because even though I do believe Steve Martin to be a national treasure, in the loosest sense of the term, [light laughter] I also believe that he has deceived us. [laughter] He has led us to believe that he is both smart [emphasized]and dumb. [light laughter] Awkward yet refined. [a few murmurs] Illiterate and yetůnotůilliterate. [laughter] Perhaps I have chosen an inappropriate time for this. [laughter] And if I haveůwell, ex-cuůuse me. [laughter] The fact of the matter isůthat he's even smarter than he is letting on. He is toying with us. [chuckling] Look at him. [laughter] Look at his face. [laughter] He's laughing [emphasized] at you. [laughter] He mocks us for his own personal pleasure. [laughter] And for thisůI think we owe him our thanks. [laughter] I am in awe of Steve Martin. I admire his career. I respect him more than anyoneů with the possible exception of Martin Scorsese. [laughter and a few claps] It's truly the greatest honor of my life (um) to pay tribute to you. Our world is richer because you are a part of it. [applause] [applause]

Channel: The Kennedy Center

Views: 2,656,558

Keywords: kennedy center, kennedy, jfk, performing arts, steve martin, steve carrell, steve martin steve carrell, martin, carrell, 2007 honors, 2007 kennedy center honors, honors

Id: eWSKf75d8YM

Length: 3min 33sec (213 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 21 2017