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On Saturday, Meryl Streep was among the inductees of the 16th Annual New Jersey Hall of Fame. No winners appeared in person, all thank you messages were previously taped. Meryl’s honor was introduced by her friend and co-star Cher, reminiscing on meeting Meryl for the first time on the set of “Silkwood”:
When Mike Nichols cast me in “Silkwood”, I felt so out of my league. Meryl had already won two Academy Awards, one for “Kramer vs. Kramer” and one for “Sophie’s Choice”, and had been nominated for “The Deer Hunter” and “The French Lieutenant’s Woman”. This chick was so impressive. It’s a little bit annoying, right? Anyway, it was 1982 and I’m getting ready to go to Texas to make my first real movie with Miss Award winner Meryl Streep. In the middle of packing I got a full blown anxiety attack and started to unpack my suitcase, saying “I can’t go to Texas to make a movie with Meryl Streep.” As I unpacked, my sister Georganne was repacking and I finally made it to Dallas. I saw her from across the room. She was wearing a long white dress. Her hair was light blonde and she looked like an angel. The moment she saw me she smiled and started walking towards me. As she got closer, she put her arms around me and said, “I’m so glad you’re here”. From that moment on I wasn’t afraid anymore. […] I want to tell you exactly what you told me when we first met. I’m so glad you’re here.
Here’s Meryl’s thank you speech. The full ceremony was live streamed on Youtube and can be watched in the video archive. Screencaptures have been added to the photo gallery.
I am thrilled and honored to be inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame alongside my heroes and the greats of our state. Thomas Edison and me. Me, a person whose name is in lights and the other person who invented lights. I mean, yikes. Back in high school in Bernardsville I never in my wildest dreams imagined I’d ever be here. But it is my imagination that got me here. Because all my life I’ve imagined what it’s like to be other people. People not like me, not necessarily from New Jersey, people from other countries, other centuries, even. As actors, we’re encouraged to make that leap. But I know that curiosity is something that we all have in us from birth. We all wonder what it’s like to walk in someone else’s shoes. Imagination. It’s how we fly up and out of our own lives into the world that we share. And it’s where empathy and understanding are born. My dreams were born in New Jersey and my imagination was nurtured in her public schools. And for that I’m very, very grateful. Thank you for this wonderful honor.
Video Archive – Award Shows – 16th Annual New Jersey Hall of Fame (2024)
Photo Gallery – TV & Online Appearances – 16th Annual New Jersey Hall of Fame (Nov. 16, 2024)
