"An American Pageant of the Arts" with JFK, Yo-Yo Ma, Newhart, Belafonte, Bernstein, Frost... (1962)

An historic release from the Kennedy Center's archives -- Presidents John F. Kennedy and Dwight D. Eisenhower are special guests at "An American Pageant of the Arts" -- a fundraising event for the National Cultural Center, on November 29, 1962.
The main stage was at the D.C. National Guard Armory, where five thousand attendees paid $100 a plate to attend the black-tie event. Other performances were beamed in from Chicago, Illinois, and President Eisenhower attended from Augusta, Georgia.
Leonard Bernstein hosted the evening, expounding on the significance and importance of the arts while introducing some of the nation's top performers across music, dance and theater.
The lineup included actor/comedian Danny Kaye, singer Marian Anderson, poet Robert Frost, dancer Maria Tallchief, pianists Andre Previn and Van Cliburn, seven-year-old cellist Yo-Yo Ma and sister Yeou-Cheng Ma on piano, actor Hal Holbrook as Mark Twain, comedian Bob Newhart, singer Harry Belafonte, actors Frederic March, Florence Eldridge, Bradford Dillman, Colleen Dewhurst, and Jason Robards Jr. under the direction of Jose Quintero, soprano Dorothy Kiersten and tenor Richard Tucker, the United States Navy Band, the National Symphony Orchestra, and many more.
The purpose of the event was to raise funds for the National Cultural Center, begun under Eisenhower's administration and encouraged under Kennedy's. First Ladies Jacqueline Kennedy and Mamie Eisenhower were particularly involved as Honorary Chairs of the institution.
Two months after President Kennedy's assassination in November 1963, Congress passed and President Johnson signed into law legislation renaming the National Cultural Center (designed by Edward Durell Stone) as a "living memorial" to John F. Kennedy.
Source:
blogs.weta.org...
More info on the history of the Kennedy Center can be found here: www.kennedy-ce...
Subscribe to The Kennedy Center! bit.ly/2gNFrtb
#kennedycenter #jfk #eisenhower

[@RondaBernstein]

Beautiful event. Thank you for broadcasting in honor of President Kennedy's birthday. So perfect for these times as well with all the feeds from around the country. 🙏🏾

[@greatnorthernminiaturerail9456]

I remember seeing this as a kid! On TV maybe. Truly a time of the American Camelot. After Kennedy’s death, our leadership started the long down-ward spiral to where we are now. From Camelot to the darkness of Mordred.

[@sharondoner2569]

What a fabulous show and wonderful digitizing of the video so that we can enjoy it 58 years later. The Kennedy Center truly is a Mecca for entertainment and we enjoy everything that we see in the various theaters.

[@garyarlen]

Eloquent words about the arts as "calling forth creative genius from every sector of society." Goosebumps as JFK and Mrs. Kennedy describe "the beginning" of Mr. Stone's beautiful building beside the Potomac, which I have enjoyed MANY times. Also nice to see YOUNG Roger Stevens and so many others before the entertainment begins.

[@PersnicketyRed]

Thank you-how wonderful! My favorite part is my beloved Van Cliburn! 🥰

[@joelleson3313]

Marian Anderson graduated from South Philadelphia High School for Girls June 20,1921. She was inducted into the school's Cultural Hall of Fame in 1960.

[@rosettapizzuti9205]

Thanks you from Roma

[@aaronphillips6227]

Hello from New Zealand

[@oliverjh1281]

Fabulous 👏👏👏

[@micmac99]

JFK's speech should be seen in the context of the Cuban Missile Crisis, which was fresh on everyone's minds at this time, and also the Civil Rights Movement.

[@diannebettag9313]

An important remembrance of the outlook our nation once shared. The young of our country know nothing of this. Please share with every young person, or any born in the ‘70’s or beyond. They know nothing of a United States that loved cultural beauty.

[@gadfly2011]

JFK is my one of the greatest leader in history！You will always be remembered！

[@Twentythousandlps]

This was shown on closed-circuit television to elite groups throughout the nation, not commercial television. There is much of interest, but I would like to note that the cast performing the excerpts from Long Day's Journey into Night was the original Broadway cast.

[@kevincorcoran6493]

Didn't know there was closed circuit broadcasting then. The Beatles could have made even more millions by broadcasting their first American concert, ironically held in Washington DC.

[@SamWesting]

@@kevincorcoran6493 Closed-circuit TV in the 1960s meant watching a program in theaters/auditoriums, which usually charges admission. Back then, broadcast TV stations & cable TV services did not have the technology to offer pay-per-view.

[@micmac99]

I was wondering what network or station broadcast this originally. Do any printed programs exist of this event?

[@morefun2compute]

What the hell is up with the sound on this video? Did somebody compress it at 12Kbps?

[@morefun2compute]

There ain't no analogue device of any sort on this planet that can make sound waves sound so horrible.

[@lachlan2766]

Hello

[@saskoilersfan]

Remember the Kennedy Oz enigmas._.

[@MissCamilla77]

Thanks for posting this, but the sound seems garbled halfway through

[@kevincorcoran6493]

Videotape can deteriorate over time if not properly stored.

[@arricammarques1955]

Telecine transfer video-audio artifacts are finite.

[@bradypatrick5405]

1:50--Man in a dress in 1962???????????????????????????????????

[@vanessadias9525]

Hahaha

[@vanessadias9525]

😅

[@saskoilersfan]

Remember the Kennedy Oz enigmas._.

[@saskoilersfan]

Confession of a Dangerous man._. The Kennedy Oz enigmas._. Return of the living dead._.