Warren Beatty Honored with AFI Life Achievement Award

Legendary Hollywood star Warren Beatty received the 36th AFI Life Achievement Award on June 12th. The special event will air on the USA Network on Tuesday, July 8th at 9 p.m. Guests who participated in the star-studded tribute included Beatty’s wife, Annette Bening, his sister Shirley MacLaine, Julie Christie, Robert Downey Jr., President Bill Clinton, Gene Hackman and old pal Jack Nicholson.

The event, which took place at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, celebrated Beatty’s exceptional film career with many of his colleagues, friends and family offering their congratulations to the Hollywood icon.

The actor’s entrance into the ballroom was accompanied by the song “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” (from Bonnie and Clyde) performed by bluegrass banjo pioneer Earl Scruggs. The evening also included a musical performance of “Ghetto Supastar” from the 1998 movie Bulworth (which Beatty directed, co-wrote and acted in) performed by Pras and Amerie. Last year’s AFI Life Achievement Award recipient, Al Pacino, presented Beatty with the prestigious honor at the end of the evening.

Although early in his career, Beatty seemed to be just another pretty-boy actor, he soon proved to be far more ambitious. Over the next four decades, Beatty became quite the Renaissance man—not only acting in, but also having a hand in directing, producing and writing such films as Bonnie and Clyde, Shampoo, Heaven Can Wait, Reds, Dick Tracy, Bugsy and Bulworth.

The AFI Life Achievement Award is widely regarded as the highest honor for a career in film. This year, they couldn’t have awarded it to a more deserving, multi-faceted moviemaker.