“He really, really, really intended on being here with us tonight. And I want you to know that he is here, very much here,” Rashida said, before sharing a speech her father had been working on before his death just two weeks ago.
Rashida Jones is paying homage to her late father, Quincy Jones.
While accepting the legendary music producer’s honorary Lifetime Achievement Oscar at the 15th Governor Awards with her family, Rashida revealed that her dad had prepared a speech and “intended” to be at the ceremony before his death on November 3.
“Our father passed away two weeks ago today. He was really excited to attend tonight, and a lot of his family are here,” Rashida began while joined onstage by her siblings Martina, Quincy III and Kenya.
She continued, getting emotional, “And he has so many friends in this room, well, actually probably in every room … because wherever he went, he made connections with everyone, real ones … And he really, really, really intended on being here with us tonight. And I want you to know that he is here, very much here.”
The Parks and Recreation actress also told the audience that the iconic music producer “had been working on his speech” before his death.
Sharing the speech “in his own words,” Rashida said that her father spoke of being “honored” to accept his award and how “as a teenager growing up in Seattle, I would sit for hours in the theater and dream about composing for films.”
He then looked back on the milestones of his career working with such artists as Sydney Pollack, Richard Brooks and “my friend Steven Spielberg.”
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“When I was a young film composer, you didn’t even see faces of color working in the studio commissaries. I’m so, so proud of the fact that my name and contributions can be included in that evolution,'” Rashida said, as she read from her father’s speech.
“I share this award and tonight’s honor with all the amazing directors, legendary actors, and of course exceptional songwriters, composers, and musicians who I’ve formed dear friendships with over my seven decades in this business, and know that I wouldn’t trade this night or those experiences for anything in the world.’ And that’s where his speech ends,” she continued.
Rashida also told the audience that while “it was a difficult decision for our family to be here tonight,” they all wanted “to celebrate his beautiful life and career.”
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She then invited the audience to listen to her father’s music in his memory on the way home.
“Hear how he infused love into every single second of music he made. That was his real legacy, love. He loved life, and he often said, ‘Live every day like it’s your last, and one day you’ll be right,'” Rashida said. “And you did, Dad. You did. You lived the biggest, best, most beautiful life of love every single day you were here.”
Jones died of pancreatic cancer, according to a death certificate obtained by TMZ. A private funeral was held and attended by his seven children and close family and friends in Los Angeles a week after his death, per the Associated Press. A second, larger ceremony that the public will be able to attend, is being planned, per the outlet.
