STREEP A HUMBLE HONOREE.

Byline: Valerie Kuklenski Staff Writer

PERHAPS NO ONE in the film business puts more effort into each and every role than Meryl Streep, whether it involves fighting off a lunging lioness in ``Out of Africa,'' navigating roaring rapids for ``The River Wild'' or playing a violin concerto in Carnegie Hall for ``Music of the Heart.''

It is that combination of talent, passion and craft that brought the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award to Streep Thursday evening at the Kodak Theatre.

There are few people of quality in show business who have not yet crossed paths with Streep, as was evident in tributes from co-stars such as Kurt Russell (``Silkwood''), Shirley MacLaine (``Postcards From the Edge''), Goldie Hawn (``Death Becomes Her''), Jack Nicholson (``Ironweed''), Robert De Niro (``The Deer Hunter''), Diane Keaton (``Marvin's Room'') and Clint Eastwood (``The Bridges of Madison County'').

``She's had a greater variety of roles than Katharine Hepburn, she's used more voices than Peter Sellars or Laurence Olivier ... and in 'Angels in America' she crossed the gender divide by playing an 80-year-old rabbi,'' said AFI chairman Howard Stringer.

Streep, who turns 55 on June 22, is no stranger to award recognition, with two Oscars and a record 13 nominations, but she said in an interview she was ``really shocked'' to learn that she would be the 2004 AFI honoree, joining the ranks of Orson Welles, Henry Fonda, James Stewart, Bette Davis and Barbara Stanwyck.

``I also thought I'm much too young for it,'' she said with a laugh.

While Streep is most widely recognized for meaty dramatic roles, she has a charming sense of humor, and there were many laughs in the three- hour-plus program.

James Woods talked about faking a romance with Streep while they were shooting the miniseries ``Holocaust'' just so they could avoid the boring, self-promoting stories at the cast's group meals. ``I can't even tell you how unbelievably delicious it is to dine with Meryl Streep every night for 4 1/2 months,'' he said.

Tracey Ullman (``Plenty'') saluted Streep for earning this title ``not by playing a coquette or flaunting your sexuality in this still male-dominated business.''

She wondered, though, about the timing of such ``thespian of the millennium'' honors.

``They're happening now, and this is puzzling to me because you're only in your early 50s - a wonderful time for most actresses,'' Ullman added with a sarcastic snort.

Writer Nora Ephron talked about Streep playing her in the autobiographical script ``Heartburn,'' which she considers ``the true stretch'' of the actress's career.

``I highly recommend having Meryl Streep play you,'' Ephron said. ``She plays all of us better than we play ourselves, although it's a little depressing knowing that if you went to audition to play yourself, you would lose out to her.''

Streep accepted the star-shaped award with a deep curtsy.

``Can't we just do this every year?'' she said. Then she reminded the group of the continuing dangers of a degenerative condition known as ``tributiasis.''

``There are many chronic sufferers in this room,'' she said of the ailment, whose symptoms include ``swelling, especially of the head.''

``There is no known cure,'' she said. ``Humility, which is a homeopathic remedy, is largely ineffective.''

She thanked her husband, sculptor Don Gummer, for his strength and his ``gorgeous DNA'' that gave them their four children - Henry, Mamie, Grace and Louisa.

Streep also expressed her gratitude to several people important to her who have died, among them actor John Cazale; her parents, who she said ``fought with each other for 60 years and taught me everything I know about drama''; and actress Colleen Dewhurst, ``who taught me you can have a drink between the matinee and the evening show.''

The event will be telecast at 9 p.m. June 21 on the USA Network.

Valerie Kuklenski, [phone]

valerie.kuklenski(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

On the red carpet before receiving her AFI Lifetime Achievement Award, Meryl Streep quickly pulled out her own camera.

Chris Polk/Associated Press