DreamWorks Animation chief Jeffrey Katzenberg will receive a National Medal of Arts for 2013 from the White House and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Other recipients of the 2013 National Medal of Arts include: visual artist James Turrell, musician Linda Ronstadt, documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles, choreographer Bill T. Jones, author Maxine Hong Kingston and writer Julia Alvarez.
Katzenberg is the first movie executive who is not also a filmmaker to receive the award. Star Wars writer and director George Lucas received the honor last year.
Katzenberg was one of the largest donors to and fund-raisers for President Obama’s election campaigns.
The medals will be presented in a ceremony set for July 28 at the White House, with first lady Michelle Obama attending.
“Katzenberg was one of the largest donors to and fund-raisers for President Obama’s election campaigns.”
That explains it.