"During its year-long celebration of its Bicentennial, the Library of Congress is recognizing a number of Americans whose varied creative contributions to American life have made them living legends," said Librarian of Congress James Billington. "Selected by the Library's curators and subject specialists, those honored include artists, writers, activists, film makers, physicians, entertainers, sports figures, and public servants. Each in his or her own way has advanced and embodied the quintessentially American ideal of individual creativity, conviction, dedication, and exuberance. Their professional accomplishments and sense of commitment have enabled them to provide examples of personal excellence that have benefitted others and enriched our nation in a variety of ways."
The list of "Living Legends" reflects the breadth and diversity of America's cultural and civic heritage, which is mirrored in the Library's unparalleled collections of more than 119 million items in some 460 languages. Among those in 10 disciplines who have been selected are children's author and illustrator Maurice Sendak, whose works enrich the Library's Children's Literature collection; author William Styron, who has worked with the Library's Center for the Book to promote literacy and some of whose personal papers are housed in the Library's Manuscript Division; caricaturist Al Hirshfeld, whose craft is honored by the Library's Swann Gallery of Caricature and Cartoon; composer Stephen Sondheim, whose 70th birthday will be celebrated on May 22 at a special musical tribute in the Library's Coolidge Auditorium; filmmaker Steven Spielberg, two of whose films are included in the Library's National Film Registry (E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and Raiders of the Lost Ark); percussionist Mickey Hart and folk singer Pete Seeger, who have worked with the Library's American Folklife Center to preserve the nation's musical heritage; and comedian Bob Hope, whose field will be honored on May 10 with the opening of the Library's Bob Hope Gallery of Entertainment.
The Library of Congress National Birthday Party and outdoor concert, which is free and open to the public from noon to 2:30 p.m., will celebrate two centuries of America's cultural and historical legacy, and emphasize the importance of preserving the books, music, films, radio, and television moments and memories of the men and women who have helped shape our nation. Hosted by ABC journalist Cokie Roberts, program participants include Gen. Colin Powell, who will discusses the legacy of Abraham Lincoln as seen through the Library's Lincoln collection; illusionist David Copperfield on the influence of Harry Houdini, whose papers are housed in the Library; and "Living Legend" Mickey Hart, who will underscore the importance of preserving our musical heritage. Sesame Street's Big Bird, a "Living Legend" for his work in children's education, will be on hand with his co-star, Maria, to underscore the Library's commitment to making the Library's collections accessible to children and families through its new "America's Library" Web site.
The show will culminate in a performance representing the variety and diversity of American musical forms, including Latin, pop, rock, jazz, folk, bluegrass, and country. Performers include the Saturday Night Live Band, the U.S. Army Band, Rori Godsey, Kathy Mattea, Maurice Sendak, Roger Baum, Pete Seeger, Tao Rodriguez, Mickey Hart and Bob Weir, Tito Puente, Giovanni Hidalgo, David Sanchez, the Chi-Lites, Dianne Reeves, the Kan Kouran dancers, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys, the Smokey Town Singers, and the Eastern High School Choir. The program will conclude with a joint arrangement of Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land."
ATTENDING APRIL 24 EVENT:
Big Bird
Herbert Block (Herblock)
Dr. T. Berry Brazelton
Vinton Cerf
Linda Chavez
Beverly Cleary
David Copperfield
Dr. Michael DeBakey
Dr. Sylvia Earle
Ahmet Ertegun
Suzanne Farrell
John Kenneth Galbraith
General Andrew J. Goodpastor
Dr. Stephen Jay Gould
Katharine Graham
Mickey Hart
Al Hirshfeld
Jenette Kahn (for Superman)
Ambassador Max Kampelman
Jeanne Kirkpatrick
Annie Leibovitz
Alan Lomax
Katherine Paterson
Dr. Jaroslav Pelikan
General Colin Powell
Tito Puente
Pete Seeger
Maurice Sendak
Bobby Short
Ralph Stanley
Gloria Steinem
Isaac Stern
William Styron
Dr. Harold Varmus
Dr. Fred L. Whipple
From http://www.loc.gov/about/awards/legends/index.html :
Established during its Bicentennial celebration in 2000, the Library of Congress' "Living Legend" award is selected by the Library's curators and subject specialists to honor artists, writers, activists, filmmakers, physicians, entertainers, sports figures and public servants who have made significant contributions to America's diverse cultural, scientific and social heritage. The professional accomplishments of the Living Legends have enabled them to provide examples of personal excellence that have benefited others and enriched the nation in a variety of ways.
And that page also describes everyone who got the award.
underneath the file name (just above the picture). Spammers need not apply.
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I love well-behaved spiders! They are, in fact, how most people find my site. Unfortunately, my network has a limited bandwidth and pictures take up bandwidth. Spiders ask for lots and lots of pages and chew up lots and lots of bandwidth which slows things down considerably for regular folk. To counter this, you'll see all the text on the page but the images are being suppressed. Also, some system options like merges are being blocked for you.
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") are described as follows: