MULTIPLE AWARD-WINNER STEPHEN COLBERT OF CBS'S "THE LATE SHOW" RETURNS TO HOST "THE 39TH ANNUAL KENNEDY CENTER HONORS," TO BE BROADCAST TUESDAY, DEC. 27, ON CBS

Pianist Martha Argerich, Rock Band Eagles, Actor Al Pacino, Singer Mavis Staples and Musician James Taylor to Be Honored

Multiple award-winner Stephen Colbert will host THE 39TH ANNUAL KENNEDY CENTER HONORS, to be broadcast Tuesday, Dec. 27 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. This will be Colbert's third year hosting the special, having done so since 2014.

In a star-studded celebration on the Kennedy Center Opera House stage, Martha Argerich, Eagles, Al Pacino, Mavis Staples and James Taylor 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 Dec. 4. The 2016 Kennedy Center Honors Gala concludes with a supper dance in the Grand Foyer.

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.

Stephen Colbert is the host, executive producer and writer of THE LATE SHOW with STEPHEN COLBERT, which launched in September 2015 on the Network. Previously, he served as host, executive producer and writer of the long-running, multiple Emmy and Peabody Award-winning series "The Colbert Report" on Comedy Central. Colbert has written multiple New York Times bestsellers, including I AM AMERICA (And So Can You!) (2007) and AMERICA AGAIN: Re-Becoming The Greatness We Never Weren't (2012). He also won a Grammy Award in 2010 for his one-hour original musical holiday special, "A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!" Before hosting the show in 2014, Mr. Colbert appeared at the Kennedy Center Honors during a 2011 tribute to Yo-Yo Ma.

Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss of White Cherry Entertainment are executive producers of the special. White Cherry Entertainment is well known for producing the award-winning Tony Awards(R) for the last 14 consecutive years, and also for producing NFL Opening Kickoff and Super Bowl Halftime Shows, the Democratic National Convention, Presidential Inaugural Galas, and many others. To date, White Cherry Entertainment has won eight Emmy Awards, while Kirshner and Weiss have individually received an additional four Emmy Awards, six Directors Guild Awards, a Peabody Award and more than 30 Emmy nominations. This is the second consecutive year White Cherry will produce the Kennedy Center Honors. The Kennedy Center Honors Founding Producer is George Stevens Jr.

RATING: To Be Announced