Kennedy Center Honors - Prospective Honorees Who Declined, Canceled or Postponed

Prospective Honorees Who Declined, Canceled or Postponed

Pianist Vladimir Horowitz was to be an honoree, but the selection committee withdrew the offer when Horowitz conditioned his acceptance on being honored alone and at 4 in the afternoon. Actress Katharine Hepburn declined the committee's first offer, though she relented in 1990.

The Center, criticized for not honoring composer Irving Berlin, paid tribute to him at the 1987 Gala. Berlin wanted to be honored only if he surpassed his 100th birthday, which was rejected. Also, he had to appear in person to receive this honor; however, he was in failing health, being confined to wheelchair, following a series of strokes, and could not attend any public event in person.

Paul McCartney was selected as an honoree in 2002, but the award was postponed a year when McCartney was unable to attend because of an "inescapable personal obligation". The obligation was the marriage of his cousin that had been previously planned months before the invitation. In August 2003 the Kennedy Center issued a one-sentence statement saying that "Paul McCartney will not be receiving a Kennedy Center Honor."McCartney later became a 2010 honoree.