Streisand, Berlin, Bernstein and Spielberg To Be Honored in Philadelphia's "Only in America" Hall of Fame

The American Museum of Jewish History in Philadelphia will honor Barbara Streisand, Irvin Berlin, Leonard Bernstein and Steven Spielberg among 18 inductees into its "Only in America" Hall of Fame, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Each of the honorees, will be the subject of an exhibit and a short video. Inductees were in part selected by a public vote of over 200 luminaries.

Streisand's newest CD, "Love Is the Answer," will be released on September 29. She appeared on Broadway in I CAN GET IT FOR YOU WHOLESALE and FUNNY GIRL, for which she won the Oscar for the film version. She has also won the Grammy and Emmy Awards, a special Tony Award, and is a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honor.

Irving Berlin is widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in history.  During his 60-year career he wrote an estimated 1,500 songs, including the scores for 19 Broadway shows and 18 Hollywood films, with his songs nominated eight times for Academy Awards. Many songs became popular themes and anthems, including "Easter Parade," "White Christmas," "Happy Holiday," "This is the Army, Mr. Jones," and "There's No Business Like Show Business." His Broadway musical and 1942 film, THIS IS THE ARMY, with Ronald Reagan, had Kate Smith singing Berlin's "God Bless America" which was first performed in 1938. Berlin's songs have reached the top of the charts 25 times and have been re-recorded countless times by singers including Frank Sinatra, Barbara Streisand, Linda Ronstadt, Rosemary Clooney, Diana Ross, Bing Crosby, Frankie Laine, Johnnie Ray, Al Jolson, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald. 

Leonard Bernstein is perhaps best known for his long conducting relationship with the New York Philharmonic and also for his compositions that scores for WEST SIDE STORY, CANDID, and ON THE TOWN. Bernstein was the first classical music conductor to make numerous television appearances, perhaps more than any other classical conductor, all between 1954 and 1989. He wrote three symphonies, two operas, five musicals, and numerous other pieces.

Steven Spielberg is one of the most famous film directors of all time, his career spanning four decades.  He won the Academy Award for Best Director for 1993's "Schindler's List" and 1998's "Saving Private Ryan." Three of Spielberg's films, "Jaws" (1975), "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" (1982), and "Jurassic Park" (1993), broke box office records, each becoming the highest-grossing film made at the time. To date, the unadjusted gross of all Spielberg-directed films exceeds $8.5 billion worldwide.  In 2006, Premiere listed him as the most powerful and influential figure in the motion picture industry. Time listed him as one of the 100 Most Important People of the Century. At the end of the twentieth century, Life named him the most influential person of his generation.

For more information, visit www.nmajh.org.