The American Film Institute presented the 48th AFI Life Achievement Award to Oscar winner Julie Andrews June 9 in a gala tribute in Hollywood that was broadcast on TNT June 16 with an encore broadcast set for July 15 at 8 PM ET.
Tony winner Cynthia Erivo, who will star in the forthcoming Wicked film, was among those honoring stage and screen star Andrews. Watch Erivo perform The Sound of Music's "Edelweiss" in the video above.
Also paying tribute to Andrews were Siân Heder, Carol Burnett, Steve Carell, Bo Derek, Héctor Elizondo, Jane Seymour, Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, and Brandi Burkhardt as well as cast members from The Sound of Music film: Angela Cartwright, Duane Chase, Nicholas Hammond, Kym Karath, and Debbie Turner.
In honoring her friend of six decades, Burnett said, “This award is so very much deserved. She has constantly given us her all. And her ‘all’ is awe-inspiring. Congratulations, chum.”
In accepting the award, Andrews said, “This night reminds me with great clarity how many people are involved with making movies. What a huge collaborative effort it takes to bring film to the screen. My husband Blake never liked when people referred to filmmaking as the business or an industry. He insisted that film was an art form and should always be called that. And I know that is exactly the way the AFI feels also.”
Andrews spoke about reuniting with her Sound of Music family on the June 22 installment of Today. Watch that segment below.