Ray Charles, Cab Calloway among arts awardees at gala White House ceremony

Jet, Oct 25, 1993

It wasn't just business--or polities--as usual at the White House when the President presented 13 arts and humanities legends with the coveted National Medal of the Arts.

As an illustrious array of glitterati looked on, bandleader Cab Calloway, singer/musician Ray Charles (See Week's Best Photos, page 44) and theatrical director and educator Lloyd Richards received their sterling silver medals. during a joyous ceremony.

"These extraordinary individuals have made a gift to American cultural life that is beyond measure," President Clinton said referring to the recipients.

Having the opportunity to present Ray Charles with his award, announced Clinton, was "a particular honor ... because I suppose no singer ever had a bigger impact on my musical life."

Standing beside First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, Charles, whose musical career began nearly five decades ago, listened as Clinton told the gathering--which included author Terry McMillan--about the influence Charles' career has had on the Arkansan.

"I still remember," said Clinton, the June 24, 1967 Ray Charles concert he attended in the nation's capital. "I was notable for being one of a few members of my race in the audience. And Ray Charles electrified that crowd so much that night, I literally could not go to sleep until 5 a.m. in the morning. I went out and ran three miles to get the energy out."

"That," added Clinton, "is testament to the enduring impact of this phenomenal American original."

In introducing Cab Calloway, Clinton called the bandleader "one of the originators of American can jazz. An enduring figure in popular music."

"And for those of us who have lived a while, we can enjoy seeing the brightness of his smile in our memories going back for decades," said Clinton.

A Tony Award winner and educator, Lloyd Richards, said Clinton, "has devoted his career to promoting theater in America."

"As Dean of the Yale School of Drama and Artistic Director of the Yale Repertory Theater, he has trained some of our nation's finest young talents," related Clinton, thus "helping to make for him a remarkable legacy for which we are all grateful."

Also honored were: philanthropists Walter and Leonore Annenberg, folklorist Bess Lomax Hawes, poet Stanley Knnitz, opera singer Robert Merrill, playwright Arthur Miller, artist Robert Rauschenberg, author William Styron, dancer/choreographer Paul Taylor, and director/ writer/producer Billy Wilder.

In addition to presenting the National Medal of the Arts, Clinton also presented five people with the illustrious Charles Frankel Prize for their work in the humanities.

Among the five recipients was historian John Hope Franklin, who has been a leading scholar in African American studies for 50 years.

"One of the great moments of our 1992 campaign was when John Hope Franklin came on one of our bus trips with us," pointed out Clinton. "And Al Gore, and Tipper, and Hillary, and I sat had a chance to visit with him, and really learn something from a man who has mastered the mystery of America."

Later, honorees were again toasted during a formal black-tie dinner at the White House, during which opera diva Leontyne Price gave a spontaneous rendition of Stardust Memories.

Also in attendance at the affair were Library of Congress Poet Laureate Rita Dove, and playwright August Wilson.