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Stephen Colbert Returns To Host 'The Kennedy Center Honors'

NEW YORK (CBS) - Stephen Colbert returns to host "The 38th Annual Kennedy Center Honors," to be broadcast Tuesday, Dec. 29 (9:00 - 11:00 PM, ET/PT) on CBS. This will be Colbert's second year hosting the special, having done so in 2014.

In a star-studded celebration on the Kennedy Center Opera House stage, Carole King, George Lucas, Rita Moreno, Seiji Ozawa and Cicely Tyson will be saluted by great performers from Hollywood and the arts capitals of the world. Seated with President and Mrs. Obama, the Honorees will accept the thanks of their peers and fans through performances and heartfelt tributes.

The President and Mrs. Obama will receive the Honorees, members of the Artists Committee who nominate them, and the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees at the White House prior to the gala performance taping on Monday, Dec. 6. The 2015 Kennedy Center Honors Gala concludes with a supper dance in the Grand Foyer.

Related: Kennedy Center Honors Five Extraordinary Artists In 2014

The Honors recipients are recognized for their lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts – whether in dance, music, theater, opera, motion pictures or television – and are selected by the Center’s Board of Trustees. The primary criterion in the selection process is excellence. The Honors are not designated by art form or category of artistic achievement; over the years, the selection process has produced a balance among the various arts and artistic disciplines.

It was previously announced that the Eagles would be one of the honorees, due to the health of band member Glenn Frey, their ceremony has been moved to the 2016 "Kennedy Center Honors."

"The Eagles will be unable to participate in the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors on December 6 due to Glenn Frey's health," said the band in a statement. "The Kennedy Center has graciously agreed to postpone the Eagles' award presentation until next year, when all four Eagles, Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh, and Timothy B. Schmit, can attend."

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