Kennedy Center Honors - 2014

The Kennedy Center Honors will take place at the White House on December 7, 2014 and will be broadcast on CBS on December 30, 2014.

Al Green (Singer and songwriter, born April 13, 1946 in Forrest City, Arkansas) (R&B, soul, smooth soul, blues, gospel)

He has sold more than 20 million albums, won 11 Grammy, and received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2002 Grammy Awards.  Rolling Stone ranked him as one of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.

Green's first single was a cover of the Beatles "I Want to Hold Your Hand," under Memphis's Hi Records.

His first gold single was "Tired of being Alone," which reached No. 11 on the pop charts and No. 7 on the R&B charts in 1971.  Other gold singles included, "You Ought to Be with Me," "Here I Am (Come and Take Me)," and "Take Me to the River."

In 1976, Green was ordained pastor of the full Gospel Tabernacle Church, but he continued to pursue his pop career.  In 1979 he limited his public appearances to religious services in churches across the country.

At the 2009 Grammy Awards, he performed "Let's Stay Together" with Justin Timberlake.

Tom Hanks (Actor, director, producer, writer, born July 9, 1956 in Concord, California)

In 1980, Hanks dropped out of California State University and was cast as Kip Wilson on the sitcom Bosom Buddies.  He later appeared on Happy Days, Taxi, The Love Boat, and Family Ties.  In 1984 he starred in Ron Howard's hit Splash and later they would work together on Apollo 13, The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons.

In 1988, he was cast in Big, which earned him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.  He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the movie Philadelphia, as well as Forest Gump in 1994.

Hanks has worked with Steven Speilberg in Saving Private Ryan, Catch Me If You Can and The Terminal, as well as Band of Brothers and The Pacific.  Spielberg's tribute to Hanks when he won his AFI Life Achievement Award - "Tom Hanks' achievements in film are very many, but perhaps his greatest contribution so far is that he instills a great hope in us all for a world where ordinary people have a voice."

Among his other achievements, Broadway Lucky Guy - 2013 Tony Award nomination, the Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award, honorary member of the United States Army Rangers Hall of Fame, national spokesperson for the World War II Memorial Campaign and honorary chairperson of the D-Day Museum Capital Campaign.

Patricia McBride (Ballerina and teacher, born August 23, 1942 in Teaneck, New Jersey)

At the age of 14 McBride moved to New York City where she was a scholarship student at George Balanchine's School of American Ballet.  At 18, she became the company's youngest principal dancer.

McBride performed many dance choreographed by Balanchine at the New York City Ballet, including Columbine in Harlequinade, Tarantella, Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet, Rubies, and Who Cares?  Jerome Robbins created "Girl in Pink" in Dances at a Gathering and "Fall" in The Four Seasons.

In 1970, Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux joined New York City Ballet and in 1973 the two were married.  In 1979, she became Mikhail Baryshnikov's new partner and performed in Coppella.

In June 1989, McBride gave her farewell performance.  She has since become the Associate Artistic Director and a Master Teacher at Charlotte Ballet were her husband serves as President and Artistic Director.

Sting (Musician, composer, author and actor, born Gordon Sumner on October 2, 1951 in Wallsend, England)

Sting was born Gordon Sumner and was named of of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world in 2011.  He has earned 16 Grammy Awards, an Emmy Award and three Oscar nominations.

A fellow band member in the Phoenix Jazzmen nicknamed him Sting after Gordeon was wearing a yellow striped sweater.

While with the band The Police, its 1978 debut album Outlandos d'Amour had the hits "ROxanne," "Can't Stand Losing You," and "So Lonely."  Their final studio album was Synchronicity.

After leaving The Police, Sting had the lead role in the films Brimstone and Treacle, Stormy Monday and The Bridge and had supporting parts in Plenty, Dune and Julia and Julia.  He also starred as Machealth in Kurt Weill's 3 Penny Opera and as himself in the film Lock, Stock, and Two smoling Barrels.

His first solo album was The Dream of the Blue Turtles in 1985 and reunited with former members for The Police Reunion Tour in 2007.

In 2014, Sting wrote The Last Ship which is set in the Swan Hunter shipyard where Sting grew up.  It features character from his past and his imagination.

He was made a Commander of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Lily Tomlin (Actress, comedian, writer and producer born September 1, 1939 in Detroit, Michigan) Lily Tomlin was born Mary Jean Tomlin. 

Her favorite women comedians included Lucille Ball, Bea Lilie, Imogene Coca and Jean Carroll.  She left college to become a performer at local coffee houses and performed at The Improv, the Bitter End and Upstairs at the Downstairs.

Her television debut was in 1966 on The Garry Moore Show.  Later is appeared on The Merv Griffin Show, and Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In in 1969.  Her favorite characters were Ernestine, the power-mad telephone operator and six year old Edith Ann.

In addition to producing her own Emmy Award winning comedy television special, she has guest starred on The Carol Burnett Show, Homicide, X-Files, Will and Grace, Desperate Housewives, NCIS, Eastbound and Down, Damages, and Sesame Street.  She starred in And the Band Played On, Murphy Brown, The West Wing and Ms. Frizzle on The Magic School Bus.

On Broadway, she appeard in Appearing Nitely (1977) and The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe (1985)

Tomlin's films include Nashville, 9 to 5, The Incredible Shrinking Woman, The Late Show, Beverly Hillbillies, All of Me, Disney's The Kid, big Business and Short Cuts and I Heart Huckabees, Prairie Home Companion and Admission.

In 2009, her show debuted at The MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas - Not Playing with a Full Deck.  She won the 2003 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, seven Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, a Grammy, and two Peabody Awards.