Kennedy Props to Martin, Scorsese

We always knew he was a goodfella.

Fresh off his long-coming Oscar win, Martin Scorsese is among the quintet of legendary artists being feted at the 30th Annual Kennedy Cneter Honors.

Scorsese will be joined in the 2007 class by celebrated funnyman Steve Martin, '60s music icons Brian Wilson and Diana Ross and classical musical whiz Leon Fleisher.

"With their extraordinary talent, creativity and perseverance, the five 2007 honorees have transformed the way we, as Americans, see, hear and feel the performing arts," Kennedy Center chairman Stephen A. Schwarzman said during Tuesday's announcement  "We will forever be thankful for the great gift they have shared with us."

Per tradition, the honorees will collect their hardware at a State Department dinner hosted by Condoleezza Rice on Dec. 1. The following evening, they'll meet with President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush at the White House, after which they'll head over to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to be saluted at a star-studded gala performance.

Here's a brief look at the class of 2007:

• Martin Scorsese:  Considered by many to be America's foremost filmmaker, the 64-year-old Scorsese has contributed many a classic to the nation's film canon over a four-decade career. His credits include Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Color of Money, GoodFellas, The Age of Innocence, Gangs of New York, The Aviator and The Departed, which won Best Picture and earned the helmer his first Academy Award in eight nominations. His trophy case also includes a Grammy Award and lifetime achievement awards from the Directors Guild and American Film Institute.

• Steve Martin:  A gut-busting comedian, bestselling writer, award-winning playwright, master magician and virtuoso banjo player and composer, Martin first shot to fame in the late 1970s with his hugely popular Wild and Crazy Guy stand-up act and appearances on NBC's Saturday Night Live. He scored a hit single with "King Tut" and launched a film career that includes such box-office smashes as The Jerk, All of Me, Roxanne, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Parenthood and Father of the Bride. Martin has won three Grammys and an Emmy and has twice hosted the Academy Awards.

• Diana Ross:  The supreme Ross is the most successful female music artist of the 20th century, having scored 18 number one hits, from "Stop in the Name of Love" with her fellow Supremes to the disco anthem "Upside Down" and "Endless Love," her popular duet with Lionel Richie. She won a Tony Award for her Broadway show An Evening with Diana Ross and received a special Golden Globe for her role as Billie Holiday in the biopic Lady Sings the Blues, which also earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. Her latest album, I Love You, was released in the U.S. last January and peaked at number 32 on the pop charts.

• Brian Wilson:  Hailed as a creative genius and incessant perfectionist, Wilson was the driving force behind the Beach Boys, writing such indelible summertime anthems as "Fun Fun Fun," "I Get Around," "Surfin' USA," "Help Me Rhonda," "California Girls" and "Good Vibrations." His landmark 1966 album, Pet Sounds, is considered one of the best rock albums ever, but it wasn't until he resuscitated the previously scrapped Smile project in 2004 that Wilson earned his first Grammy Award. Like Ross' Supremes, Wilson's Beach Boys are card-carrying members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

• Leon Fleisher:  A child prodigy, Fleisher started playing piano at age four and quickly ascended the ranks of the classical world. By eight, he was playing with the New York Philharmonic and in his teens made a lauded series of recordings that culminated in his notable interpretations of Brahms and Beethoven. He's celebrated for overcoming focal dystonia, a neurological condition that caused him to lose the use of his right hand, and continuing to perform. He's also a conductor, a teacher and the subject of last year's Oscar-nominated documentary short Two Hands.

The Kennedy Center Honors were established in 1978 to pay tribute to excellence in the performing arts. Previous recipients include Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood, James Stewart, Liz Taylor, Bill Cosby, Johnny Carson, Arthur Miller, Katharine Hepburn, Dolly Parton, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon and James Brown.

CBS will air the gala as a prime-time two-hour special on Dec. 26.