The Kennedy Center Honors requires that the honoree actually show up to receive the award. In the case of Doris Day she would've received the award but she no longer wants to travel that far, and has a fear of flying. Several years ago she received the Presidential Award of Freedom from George Bush, but didn't have to go to Washington to receive it.

think that is sad,,why no DORIS DAY,MAUREEN O'HARA,SO HOPE THEY HONOR CHARLEY PRIDE JOHNNY MATHIS BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE,LIKE MR GARNER,ANDY,MR ROONEY

yes..and people such as Oprah Winfrey are MUCH more deserving than people like Garner, Griffith and Rooneyjust some ordinary 'white' guys~like Led Zeppelin and The Who
Capricious, arbitrary and down right biased!
"Ev'ryone deserves the chance to fly!"

This may be a simple reply to I'm sure is a complex process, but it seems to me that the KCH picked are unusually talented, innovative or mostly beloved by a majority of Americans. Or at least unobjectionable to tv audiences. There's usually a woman and a minority. People like Garner, or Andy Griffith or Mickey Rooney, while very talented and beloved, were just some more white guys in show business without an extraordinary something that prevented them from receiving lifetime achievement awards.