The ratings are in for last night. The Kennedy Center Honors pulled in 7 million viewers, almost none of whom weren’t on breathing machines or getting their pills before sleep. I thought it was the best show in years, with amazing jazz and opera performances, a great tribute to Billy Joel, an entertaining segment on Shirley MacLaine.
But I did think that during the tribute to opera legend Maria Arroyo almost everyone would leave. And they did. I thought they might come back for Billy Joel. They didn’t.
The Herbie Hancock section should win some kind of prize, it was so amazing. Wayne Shorter, everybody! But NFL Football just wiped them out, right off the tube.
There are only 7 million people left in the U.S. who care about the fine arts. If CBS hadn’t had football first between 7 and 9pm they would have gone out of business. I give Les Moonves credit for sticking with the Kennedy Center and the Tony Awards. And for not having the foul “Raising Hope” on his network.
