President Clinton announced Thursday he is giving a National Medal of Arts to Utah actor/director/producer Robert Redford.
The president and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton will present that award to Red-ford and 11 other recipients at a ceremony next Thursday in the Andrew W. Mellon auditorium near the White House.Other winners include playwright Edward Albee, Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim, band-leader Lionel Hampton and the Boys Choir of Harlem.
Also included are opera conductor Sarah Caldwell, photographer Harry Callahan, theater director Zelda Fichandler, composer Ed-uar-do "Lalo" Geurrero, dancer Bella Lewitzky, arts patron Vera List and author/designer/il-lus-tra-tor Maurice Sendak.
"The arts and humanities are essential to our growth and renewal as a people," Clinton said in a statement announcing the winners.
"Through these awards, we commemorate the contributions of distinguished artists and scholars whose work reflects the strength and diversity of America's cultural heritage," Clinton added.
Jane Alexander, chairwoman of the National Endowment for the Arts, added, "As we honor those who have reached the highest level of achievement in the visual, literary and performing arts, we also honor the arts themselves - which help us all understand and celebrate the richness and complexity of our lives."
The president annually selects winners from nominations made by the National Council on the Arts. In 1984, Congress authorized presidents to give the awards to honor "outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support and availability of the arts in the United States."
Redford is best known as an actor for his roles in such movies as "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," "All the President's Men," "The Candidate," "The Sting," "Downhill Racer" and last year's "Up Close and Personal."
He directed "Ordinary People" (for which he won an Academy Award), "A River Runs Through It," "Quiz Show" and "The Milagro Beanfield War."
He is also founder of the Sun-dance Institute, which helps independent filmmakers develop movies, and which provides a showcase for independent work at the Sundance Film Festival each January.
Outside of the arts, Redford is also one of the leading national spokesmen for environmental groups - and even shared the stage in October when President Clinton signed papers at the Grand Canyon to form the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah.