Tom Hanks, Sting among five Kennedy Center honorees
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 11 years AGO
WASHINGTON (AP) - Tom Hanks and Sting joined Lily Tomlin, singer Al Green and ballerina Patricia McBride in being awarded this year's Kennedy Center Honors for influencing American culture through the arts.
Top performers and power players from Hollywood, Broadway and Washington gathered Sunday to salute them in a gala performance. The show hosted by Stephen Colbert will be broadcast Dec. 30 on CBS.
David Letterman led a series of tributes for Hanks, reciting some of the actor's unforgettable lines from his movies:
"Momma always said life is like a box of chocolates."
"There's no crying in baseball!"
"Houston, we have a problem."
Filmmaker Steven Spielberg, who collaborated with Hanks on many projects, said "America's favorite son" has opened a window on the nation with movies that include "Philadelphia," "A League of Their Own," "Forrest Gump," "Apollo 13" and "Saving Private Ryan."
"Tom loves his country," Spielberg said.
Before the show, Hanks, 58, joked that a mistake must have been made in the choice for a fifth honoree.
"This is the work I started in 1981, so it all works out OK," he said.
Sting, 63, made it big in 1978 with his band The Police with such hits as "Roxanne" and later "Every Breath You Take" before starting his solo career. He has been performing for four decades and has won 16 Grammy Awards.