The Kennedy Center Honors w. Lucille Ball (1986)

[Music] [Music] [Laughter] gentlemen Walter Cronkite welcome to the ninth annual Kennedy Center Honors a celebration of the Performing Arts and their vital role in making this land America the Beautiful that most American of 20th century poets Robert Frost wrote when to the heart of a man was it ever anything but reason to go with the drift of things tonight we honor six individuals who have resisted the drift of things because they have been true to their visions each one has touched the hearts and souls of audiences the world over on this signature wall behind me are inscribed the names of our past honorees recognized for their excellence their contributions to the performing arts this roster we now add a porcelain beauty from London England and a feisty lad from London Canada whose life long love affair with the theater and with each other has made them the first couple of the American stage a violin prodigy from San Francisco who's gifted age 70 is as fresh as it was at age 7 a butcher's clerk from Britain left the old world of European dance to create a new world of American Ballet a kid with stars and rise from Jamestown New York who became the best-known and maybe the best comedian of all time an American original schooled in Sibelius Bach and art tatum who left the red clay Hills of Georgia to bring us all the sound of so would a few hours ago a few blocks from here the president welcomed our honorees to the White House and offered them the nation's gratitude good evening and welcome to the White House tonight we gather in this grand old house to pay tribute to six men and women to whom we Americans and indeed millions around the world find ourselves deeply in debt others in the life of our nation have seen to our material needs build our roads constructed our cities given us our daily bread still others have seen to the life of the mind founding our universities and expanding knowledge in every field but these six these six are artists and they're such they've performed a different and singular task to see that the deepest needs of the heart the seal ball Ray Charles Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy Yehudi Menuhin and Anthony to adore to all of you we give this evening this night of honor it's the least we can do after all that each of you has given to each of us god bless you [Music] General Motors is proud to make possible this presentation of the Kennedy Center Honors and celebration of excellence like those being honored tonight we are dedicated to highest achievement in ourselves and our products and the world around us this program is a General Motors mark of excellence presentation ladies and gentlemen firmata [Music] in late 1943 I was in the Army Air Corps and March field California waiting to be shipped out when Joe Lewis and Lucille Ball came to entertain the troops they did different thing he was the heavyweight champion of the world a kid out of Detroit who destroyed the invincible symbol of Nazism in one round him I knew of that Lucille Ball I thought she was just another tall leggy willowy beautiful showgirl but that she was also a superb clown of infinite range was not known to me until that moment in the early days at RKO Lucy would say yes to almost any part she would have swept the stage if that was the only way she could get on it 15 years later she owned the studio then Along Came TV a lot of people told her don't do it Lucy don't do it it's a dead end but Lucy said let me add it and at last it was the perfect role they let Lucy be Lucy every time she said Ethel I got an idea we knew what was going to happen next she was the incurable schemer and dreamer who had bad luck but it was her luminous innocence that always prevailed there was no dream she wouldn't reach for and no fool she wouldn't take her side-splitting buffoonery was carved into her bone marrow by an exquisite understanding of the tragic sense of life which she has turned into a delicious celebration [Music] every spring she tried to walk from her home in Jamestown New York to Broadway until finally she quit high school to take acting lessons and no you are go home drama coach told her you're just wasting your time and mine Lucy knew what you wanted and she wouldn't go home I took whatever job she could to stay in New York and keep trying modeling led to a national and which led to Hollywood [Music] from a - showgirl she progressed through a variety of miscast pots and stock hollywood tanks and grade B movies [Music] after years of taking every job that came her way Lucy was going nowhere we present to seal ball in my favorite husband and a successful radio series prompted the infant medium of television to ask her to try a domestic comedy one executives found preposterous her idea to co-star with her Cuban bandleader husband so they took their act on the road success convinced a reluctant Network to give them a chance what a chance to do pick up the bottle Oh little higher that's right the answer to all of your problems is in this little bottle vitamin E vitamin vitamin E vitamin contains vitamin meats vegetables and minerals yes invited me to Benjamin you can spoon your way to help do is take a tablespoon fall after every meal now it takes us oh it's so tasty too [Laughter] just like candy the girl who couldn't get Hollywood maker star now took television and made it her own and an entire nation awaited the birth of her son Ricky this is it [Music] [Music] every Monday at 9:00 all America stuff to laugh who created the standards against which other comedians would have to be measured the three series continue to be shown in 78 she's the world's most celebrated female clown in her spare time she starred in feature films and Broadway musicals like the great stars of silent films she creates a sublime balance between comedy and feeling a woman with a rare gift the world loves Lucy [Music] the government Robert step and I was offered the part of Eliot Ness in the Untouchables I can remember the lady sitting up there was sitting in the putt office she was the boss boss she owned the studio but it was her partner he persuaded me that I should do the show he said we going to make the best dumb television show I'm telling it wanted to be here tonight I'd like to read something that he wrote I love Lucia just one mission to make people laugh Lucy gave it a rare quality she can perform a wilders even the messiest physical comedy without losing her feminine appeal many York Times asked me to divide the credit for success between the writers directors in the cast I told them give Lucy 90% of the credit divide the other 10% among the rest of us desi concluded Lucy was the show then Fred and I were just prompts damn good props but props nevertheless PS I Love Lucy was never just a title we always do you remember the to establish the place in television for women there is some here tonight that has flown all the way out from Hollywood the pay respects to you ladies and gentlemen Golden Girls Bea Arthur's father Oh [Music] [Music] we love that right [Music] watch reruns of her each night to be sure that we do it right and then to me [Music] bastard every comedy tricks [Music] on top of every comedy she plans a simple housing together with her home before you know they're shouting and all of us alas and Dylan bring the television let's say you've earned a place on history's Hey or what you've done women here [Music] she got a few things that were not rehearsed like having a baby while on the air was white a famous person Oh all agree every single show [Laughter] my [Music] Hey [Music] [Laughter] lady [Music] oh don't [Music] you

Channel: Chronic Nostalgia

Views: 554,448

Keywords: Lucille Ball, I Love Lucy, The Kennedy Center Honors, JFK, Desi Arnaz, Desilu, Vivian Vance, William Frawley, Robert Stack, Robert Matthau, Mame, Walter Cronkite, Bea Arthur, The Golden Girls, Valerie Harper, Pam Dawber, Ray Charles, Ronald Reagan, Nancy Reagan, Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy

Id: 3V9prLbpEY8

Length: 18min 6sec (1086 seconds)

Published: Tue Dec 12 2017