Illustrious Jewish Performers: Kennedy Center Honorees

A wealth of great Jewish artists in music, theater, film, and other arts have been honorees of the Kennedy Center over the last 50 years. The renown Washington, D.C. institution has, and hopefully will continue, featuring and paying tribute to the world’s top performers and entertainers of all faiths. For this program, Richie Unterberger presents and discusses film clips of several Jews who have achieved this significant accomplishment. Carole King, Paul Simon, Barbra Streisand, Sammy Davis Jr., Leonard Cohen, Bette Midler, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Mel Brooks, Mike Nichols, and others will be among the top talents spotlighted in this lecture.    

Richie Unterberger is the author of numerous rock music history books, including volumes on the Who, the Beatles, and 1960s folk-rock. His latest book, Do What You Fear Most: The History of the Velvet Underground, was published by Omnibus Press in spring 2026. He teaches non-credit adult education courses on rock music history at several Bay Area colleges, including the University of San Francisco, San Francisco State, and UC Berkeley.