The Annual Kennedy Center Honors (CBS) - General Discussion

[Inquisitionist]

Quite the line-up of honorees this year:  Tom Hanks, Lily Tomlin, Al Green, Sting, and Patricia McBride.  The program will be taped in early December, and broadcast on CBS on December 30, 2014.  I need to mark it on my calendar, as I always forget things around the holidaze!

[jah1986]

Thanks for posting this.  I always make plans to watch this.  Interesting line-up.  Tom Hanks seems a bit too soon.

[Inquisitionist]

At 58, Hanks would be among the youngest honorees, I think -- at least among recent honorees.  Steve Wonder was 49 when he was honored in 1999.

[ruby24]

I suppose he is a bit young, but I do think his body of work is already enough to warrant it. If in ten more years he still just had the filmography he has now, he'd be plenty deserving, so it seems fine to me.

[AimingforYoko]

I love Sting (as a musician), but they have to end the show with Al Green.

[Inquisitionist]

The ceremony was held yesterday; CBS will air the program on Dec. 30.  Here's a rundown from the NY Times. 

 

With Stephen Colbert serving as host, it was a vibrant night of tributes and performances. Audacious ballet duets honoring Ms. McBride, 72, who for 28 years was a principal dancer and George Balanchine’s muse at New York City Ballet, were mixed with showstoppers like Mavis Staples and Sam Moore’s stirring rendition of “Take Me to the River” for Mr. Green, a writer of the song.

 

I'm marking my calendar so that I don't forget to record this one!

[MyAimIsTrue]

This show and the Tony's are the only awards shows I watch.  Looking forward to it!

[Kindred Spirit]

Just a quick reminder that the show's on tomorrow night. Now, I'm off to set my DVR!

[Inquisitionist]

12/30/2014 on CBS, 9e/8c.  My DVR is ready to roll!

[Inquisitionist]

Here's a p/review from Variety: 

TV Review: ‘The Kennedy Center Honors’

 

Broadcast TV’s classiest event carries some additional benefits for CBS this year, with future “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert emceeing the 37th annual Kennedy Center Honors, and even engaging in an amusing bit of mid-show business with David Letterman, on hand to honor Tom Hanks. Beyond that, the presentation was marked by the usual mix of glowing tributes, occasionally odd performances and fantastic reaction shots, like watching the assembled luminaries (including the first couple) participate in an impromptu sing-along of honoree Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together.” For CBS, this pre-New Year’s telecast remains a golden oldie that’s worth keeping around.

 

[chitowngirl]

I love this show!

[AimingforYoko]

I was disappointed they didn't end with Al Green, but I can't knock his tribute performances, Usher's "Let's Stay Together" and Mavis Staples' and Sam Moore's "Take Me To The River" were awesome. Sting's tributes seemed kinda blah, save Bruno Mars.

The actors' (Lily Tomlin and Tom Hanks) tributes seemed kinda all over the place.

[maraleia]

The thing that stood out for me the most was how wonderful Lady Gaga was. She truly is a great performer and will IMO surpass Madonna when all is said and done. I also loved that Kate McKinnon was asked to help honor Lily Tomlin. Loved seeing Jane Wagner right behind Lily. It's only been in recent years that lesbian and gay honorees were able to have their significant others present in the box with them.

[Amethyst]

Good show, but I probably would have ended with Every Breath You Take over Message in a Bottle.  I was impressed with Bruno Mars and Esperanza Spalding in particular.  Can someone tell me what Bruce Springsteen sang?  I didn't recognize that one.

 

EDIT: Also, were all those people who joined the stage in the end part of the The Last Ship cast?  

Edited December 31, 2014 by Amethyst

[Trini]

Blah blah blah, the honorees, blah blah, they're awesome, ... that Asian ballet dancer was hot.

 

But seriously, I didn't know Kate McKinnon was going to in the show. That was a nice surprise. The music performances were great.

[Inquisitionist]

I thought the Tomlin tribute worked better than the Hanks segment.  That Yankee Doodle Dandy business was cringe-worthy. 

 

One thing is for sure:  If I ever receive a lifetime achievement award, I want my fictional BFF, Meryl Streep, to introduce me!

[wonderwoman]

"I love Sting (as a musician), but they have to end the show with Al Green."

I like Sting too, but no one was swaying and clapping the way they were with Al Green's tribute. I guess the producers feels as though they need to close the show with something more cerebral. Although, a couple if years ago when Led Zepplin was honored, they closed with an amazing version of "Staircase to Heaven."

[AimingforYoko]

Can someone tell me what Bruce Springsteen sang?  I didn't recognize that one.

"I Hung My Head" from the 1996 album Mercury Falling.

[vb68]

 

I was disappointed they didn't end with Al Green

 

I know.  That's what I was expecting.  But Bruno Mars was jamming there at the end.

 

Really liked what I saw of the show.   It was wonderful seeing Kate McKinnon there and how moved she was to honor Lily. And maybe I'm alone in this, but I kinda would have liked to  have seen Jane Fonda actually try to do Ernestine.  The thought just amuses me.

 

Meryl is always such a hoot.   I keep saying she should host the Oscars, but nobody ever listens to me.

Edited December 31, 2014 by vb68

[Amethyst]

"I Hung My Head" from the 1996 album Mercury Falling.

 

Thank you!  

 

Something else I forgot: Misty Copeland as one of the dancers in Patricia McBride's tribute.  I've been wanting to see her perform live and she did not disappoint.

[Rickster]

"I love Sting (as a musician), but they have to end the show with Al Green."

I like Sting too, but no one was swaying and clapping the way they were with Al Green's tribute. I guess the producers feels as though they need to close the show with something more cerebral. Although, a couple if years ago when Led Zepplin was honored, they closed with an amazing version of "Staircase to Heaven."

I don't think it had to do with being cerebral, it had to do with ratings. They were going to bookend the show with the two musical honorees. I think they figured to keep the home viewers hooked in to the end, Sting had a bigger popular appeal plus they had Lady Gaga, Springsteen and Bruno Mars performing. You're not going to put them in the first 15 minutes. The funny thing though is that the Al Green tribute did end up being much better than the Sting one, especially Mavis Staples and Sam Moore' performance.

Just my opinion, but sitting through this, I thought Lily Tomlin had sort of a thin resume to be honored.

I agree that the Yankee Doodle bit was silly. I also thought they did a pretty good job with the ballet tribute.

[MyAimIsTrue]

Mavis Staples may not have the vocal chops she once did but she's still one of my favorite vocalists of all times.  The Al Green tribute was the best of the night and I too thought he should have been the closing honoree.

 

That being said I really watched for Tom Hanks and had tears in my eyes during his film retrospective.  Yes, the Yankee Doodle part was a bit over the top but I also thought it was cute and fun and Tom seemed to be enjoying it.  Best part, though?  Watching Tom "dancing" and grooving during the Al Green segment.

 

I like Sting well enough since I love The Police but blah, otherwise he really doesn't interest me.

 

Michelle Obama's dress was really pretty and a great color.

[Inquisitionist]

EDIT: Also, were all those people who joined the stage in the end part of the The Last Ship cast?  

 

That's what I assumed.  I didn't recognize any of the faces, but Sting obviously did.

 

I shouldn't have watched Heart's tribute to Led Zeppelin earlier in the day, as it set my expectations way too high.  I may have enjoyed the McBride tribute most simply because I don't expect much from ballet, and yet those performances actually moved me. 

[vb68]

 

Just my opinion, but sitting through this, I thought Lily Tomlin had sort of a thin resume to be honored.

 

I disagree.   Maybe the format of the show didn't do her any favors, but her impact in the comedy world is pretty huge, especially for women.   I really liked the subtlety of having Kate McKinnon  acknowledge Lily's impact.    I never remember anybody making a big deal out of Lily's sexual status, but there she was blazing a trail through the '70s and '80s.    It maybe hard to remember, but she was writing and doing comedy specials all the time.

[Kromm]

I disagree.   Maybe the format of the show didn't do her any favors, but her impact in the comedy world is pretty huge, especially for women.   I really liked the subtlety of having Kate McKinnon  acknowledge Lily's impact.    I never remember anybody making a big deal out of Lily's sexual status, but there she was blazing a trail through the '70s and '80s.    It maybe hard to remember, but she was writing and doing comedy specials all the time.

Lily is basically in the Big Four.  Lucille Ball (who wasn't even formally a comedian, but was a comic actor), then Carol Burnett, then Lily, then maybe Joan Rivers.

[lovett1979]

EDIT: Also, were all those people who joined the stage in the end part of the The Last Ship cast?

 

Yes they were. I have a friend in the cast and she said they had a matinee and then rushed to a plane to get down there in time. Sting had no idea they were going to be there.

 

The Kennedy Center Honors is really one of the best events on TV all year. My favorite parts:

-POTUS being the first (and most enthusiastic) applause at Colbert's "most powerful person in America-Michelle Obama" joke

-Meryl, Rita Wilson, Pres and FLOTUS, and Jessye Norman (opera singer) rocking out to Al Green tribute

-Meryl's intro to Sting

-beautiful ballet dancing (something we rarely get to see on network TV)

-Tom's Yankee Doodle Dandy number may have been odd, but he clearly loved it and appreciated everyone in it

[designing1]

 

Lily is basically in the Big Four.  Lucille Ball (who wasn't even formally a comedian, but was a comic actor), then Carol Burnett, then Lily, then maybe Joan Rivers.

 

Yes, she really is a trailblazer but I think the presentation put together for her didn't do her justice. It's nice that Jane Lynch found her inspirational, that Jane Fonda changed the direction of a film from drama to comedy because of Lily's involvement, and that Reba thinks she's a great friend, but the only one who came close to putting her finger on Lily's impact was Kate McKinnon (and honestly, I don't watch SNL and didn't know who she was.) In fact, when I saw Whoopi begin the first presentation I thought she'd be introducing Lily, as their character-based, soul-behind-the-surface comedy is quite similar.

 

I loved, loved, loved the Al Green tribute. I'm glad Bruno Mars showed up to save the Sting tribute, as I'm still not sure what Bruce was mumble-singing about or why Lady Gaga was yelling at me. Tributes to actors are always tricky, and the salute to Tom Hanks was...bizarre, which is strangely OK because Tom can be kind of out there at times himself. I do love how he always seems to be having the best time. The ballet segments usually bore the heck out of me, but this one was extraordinarily well done and thoroughly moving and enjoyable.

 

All in all, this was a mixed bag of a show which is unusual for KCH, as they typically knock it out of the park year after year.

[vb68]

 

Lily is basically in the Big Four.  Lucille Ball (who wasn't even formally a comedian, but was a comic actor), then Carol Burnett, then Lily, then maybe Joan Rivers.

 

Yeah, I was thinking that with Joan and Phyllis Diller both gone now, you could certainly argue that she's the first lady of American comedy, especially coming from the stand-up/improv/sketch comedy wing of it.

[Taylorh2]

Heart's tribute to LED Zeppelin was so amazing that now I'm comparing every show to that one.

 

Jennifer Hudson: That girl can SING!!!

[MyAimIsTrue]

and the salute to Tom Hanks was...bizarre, which is strangely OK because Tom can be kind of out there at times himself. I do love how he always seems to be having the best time.

 

Perfect description as he does always seem to be having the best time and that's one of the reasons I find Tom Hanks so endearing.  He's like the rest of us only much more famous.

 

In talking about Al Green and Mavis Staples previously I forgot to mention that I slapped myself on the wrist for forgetting "Take Me To the River" was his composition as I always associate that song with the Talking Heads.  Bad me.

[kib]

In recent years I've drifted away from 'awards' shows.  I don't use premium cable so the "Emmys" are useless to try and keep up with. In some ways it's similar with the "Grammys", if you're not dialed into whatever is commercially hot at the time, you won't be seeing an act you like, alternative or not.  The Oscars confirm what the Sony hack revealed, the film business is basically high school with money.  The "Tonys" might be interesting if I lived in NYC and could attend the shows featured.  I mention all this to praise the Kennedy Center Honors.

 

Yes, the honorees qualify for AARP cards, but the joy of it is seeing younger gifted performers picking right up where the honoree left off.  A few randoms about last nights show:

 

The Al Green segment was wonderful, nice old school R&B.  Green was on Letterman the other night (more about Letterman later) and can still get it done. Too bad the producers couldn't have broke with tradition and let Al do a number.

 

As an Alpha male, ballet isn't often on my radar but Misty Copeland's performance couldn't have been more pleasant, as was the entire segment.  By the way, my wife offered me a short course of 'Ballet Boobs' (???)

 

The Tom Hanks segment was a trainwreck starting with the sad realization that my TV friend of 30 years, David Letterman is in fact a really old guy.  His voice sounded so thready and weak during the clip narration.  Bummer.  Bringing me down further was that MGM-esqe musical tribute.  Did the producers ever see "That Thing You Do"?  It was about rock and roll, not the God damn Whiffenpoofs, so why were they there????  Just down hill from there, even Marty Short couldn't save the wreckage.

 

OTOH the Lily Tomlin segment was pitch perfect, even Garrison Keillor strangely enough seemed right being there. So glad they found room for Kate McKinnon, who like Tomlin is perfectly comfortable going all in playing the oddest of characters.  Props.

 

Sting.  My wife said "Look, he claps his hands like a toddler"  Whatdayaknow... she's right.  Lady Gaga was this year's Ann Wilson, just an electric performance.  Mars and Springsteen were top notch as usual.

 

Bonus points as always for the Honors show, see old white politicians attempting to keep rhythm with the likes of Al Green, Stevie Wonder, Led Zep etc. etc.  Get back to work you weasels, you're not allowed to go the the theater until you've fixed things!!!   

 

[Inquisitionist]

The Tom Hanks segment was a trainwreck starting with the sad realization that my TV friend of 30 years, David Letterman is in fact a really old guy.  His voice sounded so thready and weak during the clip narration.  Bummer.  Bringing me down further was that MGM-esqe musical tribute.  Did the producers ever see "That Thing You Do"?  It was about rock and roll, not the God damn Whiffenpoofs, so why were they there????  Just down hill from there, even Marty Short couldn't save the wreckage.

 

So I wasn't the only one.  Whew!

 

Lady Gaga was this year's Ann Wilson, just an electric performance.

 

As long as I didn't look at her. What was the crap on her eyelids?  And all that overwrought arm pumping and waving? She looked like a demented, silver-haired Liza Minnelli.

[chitowngirl]

I always like the audience shots to see who's there. I saw quite a few shots of Bill Irwin.

I also noticed the closing monologue is exactly the same every year. Why doesn't Caroline Kennedy host anymore?

[Inquisitionist]

Wow, it sounds like this may have been the last KC Honors program of its kind.  From Roger Friedman of Showbizz411:

 

What you won’t see tonight during the Kennedy Center Honors (9pm CBS) is what happened when we all returned from the intermission break at the December 7th taping. The group’s CEO, David Rubenstein, who is also head of the Caryle Group, the largest hedge fund in the world, came out and made some perfunctory comments. Then he thought he was introducing the show’s founding producer, George Stevens Jr., who created the Kennedy Center Honors 37 years ago with Nick Vanoff.

Stevens, who is a very spry 82, on his game, with lovely patrician manners, stepped on stage. He then shocked the audience with the emotional news that, essentially, he’d been ousted after 37 years. “This will be our last show,” he said. He thanked his son Michael who’s worked with him for years and whom he credits for really being the main producer of late. There was literally a gasp in the room. No one knew.

The Kennedy Center Honors was the last bastion of civility on broadcast TV. In a culture now where nothing is taboo, and the lowest of the lowest gets a reality show, it’s hard to believe that once there was theater, ballet, classical music, jazz and opera on regular channels. Now it’s relegated to PBS. The Kennedy Center Honors was the only PBS-like program on a main network. But Rubenstein and new president Deborah Rutter aren’t interested in that, sources say.

“They want something more like the Grammys, but the worst aspects of it,” says a source. “The glitz and the glamor. And young people.” In other words: Taylor Swift presenting an award to Jennifer Aniston. You get the picture.

 

 

You can read the rest here.  What a bummer.

[Kromm]

-Tom's Yankee Doodle Dandy number may have been odd, but he clearly loved it and appreciated everyone in it

To me it was kind of a groaner that crossed the line from comedy about something sappy to actual being sappy.  So I personally hated it.  Then again, it may have just been Martin Short I hated.

[Kromm]

The Tom Hanks segment was a trainwreck starting with the sad realization that my TV friend of 30 years, David Letterman is in fact a really old guy.  His voice sounded so thready and weak during the clip narration.  Bummer.  Bringing me down further was that MGM-esqe musical tribute.  Did the producers ever see "That Thing You Do"?  It was about rock and roll, not the God damn Whiffenpoofs, so why were they there????  Just down hill from there, even Marty Short couldn't save the wreckage.

Psssssst. That wasn't the Whiffenpoofs (just another normally better more contemporary acapella group forced by the producers to dress like a square 60s barbershop group and sing more in that style).

As for Martin Short?  Why would he save the wreckage?  He was the cause of most of it.  

[kib]

Psssssst. That wasn't the Whiffenpoofs (just another normally better more contemporary acapella group forced by the producers to dress like a square 60s barbershop group and sing more in that style) 

Metaphorical narrative description.  My heartfelt apologies to Yalies, past, present and future.  Point still holds, they had no business being there doing a song from a film that in some ways was the antithesis of that style of music performance. If one recalls in the film, The Wonders were just another sappy sockhop band until Tom Everett Scott screwed up the drum beat, did the song in double time and thus a hit was born.

Edited December 31, 2014 by kib

[Trini]

 

As long as I didn't look at her. What was the crap on her eyelids?  And all that overwrought arm pumping and waving? She looked like a demented, silver-haired Liza Minnelli.

Well, it's Gaga, so that could be the exact look she was going for. :)

[kib]

In talking about Al Green and Mavis Staples previously I forgot to mention that I slapped myself on the wrist for forgetting "Take Me To the River" was his composition as I always associate that song with the Talking Heads.  Bad me.

I was always partial to Annie Lennox's spin on it.  I guess that's the thing about an iconic song, huh?

[maraleia]

Well, it's Gaga, so that could be the exact look she was going for. :)

Very true and she did wear pants and a jacket which is different. Maybe her BF Taylor Kinney is rubbing off on her. He is very understated and Gaga is going that route more often now than not despite the glitter.

 

As for Caroline Kennedy, she is the Ambassador to Japan now so hence she isn't available to be there in early Dec. Maybe she needs to step in and make sure that the new producers keep the show at a high standard. It's her father's legacy after all.

[Mumbles]

I like Lady Gaga just fine but found her performance on the show to be self-indulgent and look-at-meeee! He didn't seem that enthused about it either. I wish they had shown the Last Ship cast do a performance, to show what he's up to artistically these days.

I love this show every year and find that it educates me about genres I don't necessarily keep up with, like opera and dance. The Patricia McBride segment was wonderful.

It is always hard for actors/directors to get an entertaining tribute. With musicians, you can hear their songs. With dancers, you can show routines they are famous for, or a piece they choreographed. With actors/writers/directors, you usually get a mess like the Hanks piece. (That "Thing You Do" performance managed to suck out the excitement and joy of the song, which was a theme of the movie.)

[Kris117]

I like Lady Gaga just fine but found her performance on the show to be self-indulgent and look-at-meeee! He didn't seem that enthused about it either. I wish they had shown the Last Ship cast do a performance, to show what he's up to artistically these days.

 

I thought he looked very moved—as if he were trying not to get teared up. I thought the performance was beautiful, and given what Lady Gaga has worn on a stage, her appearance that night was almost staid. It would have been great to see the Last Ship cast, although I'm glad they at least had a snippet of the music. 

 

I love Martin Short and his entire over-the-top Hollywood shtick, so I thought the song was fun. And the line at the beginning that Tom is "The me I am inside" was a perfect description. While Tom was being honored, I saw at least two shots of his son Colin Hanks. 

 

Lily Tomlin is an amazing artist, and they just brushed the surface of why. The tribute showed a brief clip of her in Robert Altman's Nashville, which is one of my favorite movies of all time. She was wonderful in that. 

 

When I saw Garrison Keillor on stage, I thought, "Why isn't he a Kennedy Center honoree yet?" I love his show and his humor, but even people who don't enjoy him know who he is and what he does. 

[Ohwell]

Add me to the list of those who were disappointed that Al Green's tribute didn't close the show.  That said, however, I thought the only act that really did him justice was Mavis Staples and Sam Moore singing "Take Me to the River."  I thought Usher's "Let's Stay Together" was nice but the vocals were kind of weak, and there is just something about Jennifer Hudson's voice, her tone or something, that I just cannot stand.  I hate to hear her sing.  I also thought Al deserved someone better than Whoopi to introduce him, maybe a previous honoree in the music business. 

 

So when all was said and done, I thought the Sting tribute actually was a better close for the show because the performances were better.  Even though I didn't understand why all the shouting from Lady Gaga, she really does have a beautiful voice;  I just wish she had sung more and shouted less.  Bruce mumbles but that's OK because he puts it all out there every time he sings.  I love Bruno Mars and he was the perfect choice to close out the show.

 

I usually skip the ballet acts but apparently this was pretty good so I'm sorry I took a bathroom break instead.  Never thought much about Lily Tomlin after her "one ringy dingy" skits on SNL.  The marching band tribute to Tom Hanks was OTT and I loved it.  I loved the expressions on his face when the acts got bigger and more outrageous.   And that kid:  I don't know who he was but he could tap dance his little buns off.  I'd love to see him again.

 

So all in all, this wasn't the best Kennedy Center honors show I've seen but it had its moments.

[kib]

When I saw Garrison Keillor on stage, I thought, "Why isn't he a Kennedy Center honoree yet?" I love his show and his humor, but even people who don't enjoy him know who he is and what he does. 

That is an excellent question. 

(Although as much trouble as they seem have making a coherent tribute to someone appearing in films, heads would explode ginning something up for an honoree in radio )

Edited January 1, 2015 by kib

[attica]

I don't remember Sting in Plenty. I do remember him in his interstellar diaper in Dune, however, and now I'm motivated to move the Meryl movie up in the ol' queue. You know, research. Heh.

 

Whoever dressed Baranski, Streep, and MoBam should dress everyone, all the time. They all looked smashing.

 

I consider my never having gone to a ballet one of the direst holes in my cultural literacy. Gotta fix that. New Year's Resolution!

[A Boston Gal]

I used to love Martin Short in his SCTV days, and really liked him in the few years that followed.

But now he's just a caricature of himself, and he makes everything he appears in seem that much more groan-worthy and tacky. Please Martin, just retire - you're not doing anyone any favors.

Edited January 2, 2015 by A Boston Gal

[Inquisitionist]

I don't remember Sting in Plenty. I do remember him in his interstellar diaper in Dune, however, and now I'm motivated to move the Meryl movie up in the ol' queue. You know, research. Heh.

 

 

You mean the scene of Meryl straddling Sting for armchair sex isn't burned into your retinas?

[attica]

Argh! No!

 

BRB, going to stream now.

[ebk57]

Just finished watching this.  A couple of thoughts:

 

Loved seeing the Broadway divas (Laura Benanti, Kelli O'Hara and Jessie Mueller).  I love that they usually manage to bring in the stage stars.

I love Kate McKinnon and thought she was wonderful.

It didn't sounds like Garrison Keillor narrating the filmed Tomlin tribute.  It may have been him, but it didn't sound like him.  And if it wasn't him. why wasn't it?

Tom Hanks looked like he had the best time of anyone in the whole house.  All evening. 

Sting's wife Trudy looked like she was having the worst time of anyone in the whole house.  Until Bruno Mars started singing.  Then she smiled  A lot. (So did I)

Christine Baranski looked fabulous, but I wonder if she has any personal connection to Patricia McBride.  Still, it was a lovely tribute.

Mavis Staples is the best.

I adore David Letterman.

 

All in all, it was a pretty good show, as usual.  I think I was spoiled by the 2012 tribute with Dustin Hoffman, Buddy Guy, David Letterman, Natalia Makarova and Led Zeppelin.  That was a spectacular evening.  This one was still very enjoyable.

[Linderhill]

Not being a Letterman fan I can't agree.  To me it would have been a better evening if he had been absent, I just don't find him funny, that's just me.  My favorite Honor's show was 2009 with Springsteen, Mel Brooks, etc.  It was one of the best that I've ever seen.  But then I'm a Jersey girl.  Despite by Bruce love I was not impressed by his Sting tribute (and I wanted him to wear his Honors ribbons).

 

I very much enjoyed watching the honorees reacting to everything going on.  Tom Hanks did look like he was having the best time up there.  I loved how he reacted to the ballet tributes.  As for that odd Yankee Doodle Dandy business, every year it seems that there has to be a tribute involving the military no matter how loosely linked it might be.  Hanks was apparently that guy this time around.  

 

I had no idea whole Kate McKinnon was since I never watch SNL anymore so it took me a while to warm up to her.  I wonder how the tribute would have gone if Joan Rivers was still around and if she'd have been involved.