This was a banner day at the Whitehouse.
:roll: :roll: Pathetic. Mostly.
http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/president-obama-bestows-medal-of-freedom/
http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/president-obama-bestows-medal-of-freedom/
This was a banner day at the Whitehouse.
White House releases star-studded list of Medal of Freedom recipients
The 21 recipients -- including famous names from Hollywood as well as architects, scientists, musicians and athletes -- will be honored at the White House on Tuesday.
Among the honored are Hollywood heavyweights Robert De Niro, Robert Redford and Cicely Tyson.
Comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres is also on the list. DeGeneres has been an outspoken supporter of President Barack Obama, including throwing a fundraiser for the President's re-election in 2012.
The Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian honor and is presented to individuals who have made significant contributions to "security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors." http://www.cnn.com
Springsteen was also a big supporter of Obama and Hillary Clinton. The night before the presidential election, Springsteen appeared at a rally alongside Obama and Clinton in Philadelphia.
Other notable names include baseball broadcaster Vin Scully, singer Diana Ross, architect Frank Gehry and the NBA's all-time leading scorer, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen DeGeneres is an award-winning comedian who has hosted her popular daytime talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, since 2003 with her trademarked humor, humility, and optimism. In 2003 Ellen lent her voice to a forgetful but unforgettable little fish named Dory in Finding Nemo. She reprised her role again in 2016 with the hugely successful Finding Dory. Ellen also hosted the Academy Awards twice, in 2007 and 2014. In 1997, after coming out herself, DeGeneres made TV history when her character on Ellen revealed she was a lesbian. In her work and in her life, she has been a passionate advocate for equality and fairness.
Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels is a producer and screenwriter, best known for creating and producing Saturday Night Live, which has run continuously for more than 40 years. In addition, Michaels has also produced The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and 30 Rock, among other popular, award-winning shows. He has won 13 Emmy Awards over the course of his lengthy career.
The commander-in-chief received many laughs from the assembled audience as he turned his attention to Michaels, praising his work in launching the influential “SNL.”
“On ‘Saturday Night Live,’ he’s created a world where a band of no-names become comedy’s biggest stars; where our friends the Coneheads and cheerleaders and land sharks and basement deadbeats and motivational speakers and an unfrozen caveman lawyer show up,” said Obama.
“After four decades, even in this fractured media culture that we’ve got, ‘SNL’ remains appointment-viewing.”
Following the president’s remarks, citations were read for each individual honouree, with Gehry described as an “exemplar scholar of American innovation,” and Michaels hailed as “one of the most transformative entertainment figures of our time.”
Canada's Lorne Michaels, Frank Gehry receive Presidential Medal of Freedom
Gehry is a world-renowned architect whose best-known buildings include the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Dancing House in Prague and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. He was also behind the redesign of the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto.