Red Carpet at the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors Gala

December 2nd, in front of a crowded room of admirers and the President of the United States, funny-man David Letterman, the rock band Led Zeppelin, including John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, actor Dustin Hoffman, Chicago bluesman Buddy Guy, and ballerina Natalia Makarovo were honored with the nation's highest award for those who have influenced American culture through the arts: the Kennedy Center Honor.