Williams, Brooks inducted into Hall of Fame
Bowling them over in H'wood
(1 of 2 photos)
Pop star Christina Aguilera with honoree Garth Brooks at H'wood Bowl Hall of Fame ceremony. |
"It's a terrific honor and a great privilege and I'm very proud about it," said Williams, who, after accepting his award, took the baton from L.A. Philharmonic conductor John Mauceri and led the orchestra in a rendition of "Star Wars." theme.
Steven Spielberg along with Richard Dreyfuss, Jeff Goldblum, Penn & Teller and Charlize Theron were on hand to help honor the two inductees.
"I kind of wish I could do this every night for John. If I could be John's personal toastmaster, I would," said Spielberg, who confessed that the scores for "Schindler's List" and "Hook" tie as his favorite Williams' pieces.
"He's a big reason why a lot of these movies will be remembered and watched and listened to 100 years from now," added Dreyfuss, further commenting that he particularly enjoys the Williams' scores of his movies.
A musical dedication to Brooks was performed by 19-year-old songbird Christina Aguilera. Whoopi Goldberg toasted Brooks by saying, "anyone who can rock Central Park and then the Czech Republic is a bad Mo-Fo!"
Brooks accepted his award with an emotionally charged speech commenting on the death of his mother nine months ago, he then wowed gala goers with an enthusiastic three-song set that included "When You Come Back to Me Again" from the film "Frequency." Before saying it was the first piece of music he had written in over four years, Brooks thanked God and told the audience, "It's a good day for me."
