Stephen Fry is a great choice.
Well, speaking from the UK, I feel little enthusiasm for this one. Is that just me?
On the other hand, how could I forget Billy Connolly?
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Lord Webber, peer of the realm by Grace of the Tory Party, is UK also.
He does good tunes, but his politics are going to be a turn off for a sizeable minority.
How about the crew of Apollo 8? Last I checked, they were all alive.
I had the privilege of seeing them–all three together, sitting on stage in the same configuration as they sat in their Apollo 8 capsule, in Chicago, in (IIRC) 2018. Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, Bill Anders.
Apollo 8 is, to many who follow the history of the space race, the mission in which the USA “won.” It wasn’t the landing, but it certainly was the first time humankind had reached and orbited the moon. And Anders’ “Earthrise” photo helped kick off the environmental movement.
Fair point. There are all still alive and will certainly be mourned on passing.
The graceless way he closed a show that wasn’t making enough for the size of the theatre that (presumably) he had chosen gave his reputation a bit of a knock.
Sir Edmund Hillary?
Deceased in 2008
I don’t know very much about New Zealand, but my first thought were the Finn brothers.
Stephen King
Bob Dylan
Willie Nelson
Jimmy Carter
Bill Murray
Muhammad Ali
Fair call. A lot of musicians would fit. Dave Dobbyn, Annie Crummer, Margaret Urlich, but I’m not sure how relevant they are to a current generation. They may have all faded from the Zeitgeist.
Dave Dobbyn is a definite yes, and Neil Finn, but the others mentioned keep much lower profiles.
My first thought was Suzy Cato, but she perhaps is a more generational icon who also hasnt been seen much after leaving childrens tv.
I don’t think President Obama’s value as a role model should be underestimated so I would nominate him as a national treasure
A friend of mine was a camera operator on You and Me with Suzy Cato. I was well jealous.
I’m surprised I have to be the one to name Bruce Springsteen.
Italy: Sophia Loren
A fashionable but IMO valid addition for the UK: Kate Bush
Jon Stewart. His show jump started the careers of a bunch of comics who have gone on to bigger things, and his advocacy for the 9/11 responders is phenomenal.
There were a few videos put out yesterday from the ceremony for Jon’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. They’re very touching and funny and worth checking out.
For a list of people who were selected by representatives of the United States Government, you might want to check the recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, or the
Congressional Gold Medal.
The awards for the latter have tended to be for groups, such as: “The United States Capitol Police and those who protected the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021”.