WASHINGTON — Well, hello, Oprah! The Kennedy Center announced Tuesday that Oprah Winfrey, the doyenne of daytime television, will be among the five artists receiving this year’s Kennedy Center Honors.
The others are musician-songwriters Paul McCartney and Merle Haggard, dancer-choreographer Bill T. Jones, and composer-lyricist Jerry Herman of “Hello, Dolly!” fame.
The honorees are selected by the Kennedy Center board, its advisory panel of artists and past honorees. The public can also suggest candidates. The medallions will be presented Dec. 4 by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at a private dinner. The artists will be saluted Dec. 5 at an all-star gala to be broadcast Dec. 28 on CBS. The Washington Post
Oprah’s reaction
“I love surprising people. I don’t like being surprised. Releasing any kind of control over a show and allowing myself to sit there and be surprised is not going to be easy, but I’m willing to do that.”
Oprah Winfrey
