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The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor is an American award presented by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. annually since 1998. Named after t…
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Investigate this subjectThe Mark Twain Prize for American Humor is an American award presented by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor is an American award presented by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. annually since 1998 (except 2020–2021). Named after the 19th-century humorist Mark Twain, it is presented to individuals who have "had an impact on American society in ways similar to" Twain. The Kennedy Center chose Twain in recognition of his role as a controversial social commentator and his "uncompromising perspective of social injustice and personal folly." A copy of Karl Gerhardt's 1884 bust of Twain is presented in a ceremony usually in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall, during which the recipient is celebrated by his or her peers. The event is a significant fundraiser to benefit the Kennedy Center, which sells tickets as well as access to dinners and after-parties featuring the celebrities.
As of 2025, 26 individuals have been awarded the award: 20 men and 6 women (Bill Cosby's award was rescinded by the Kennedy Center in 2018). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were no awards in 2020 or 2021.
In 1997, Murray Horwitz brought the idea of a dedicated comedy award, on par with the Oscars, Grammy Awards or Tony Awards, to John Schreiber and Mark Krantz, partners in an entertainment firm. The original conceptualization was an award which would celebrate one comedian, unlike the Kennedy Center Honors, which were more all-encompassing, and the venue would be the White House. They took the idea to Ann Stock, then the White House social secretary. The White House was considered an inappropriate venue at the time, so the Kennedy Center was suggested. Bob Kaminsky, Peter Kaminsky and Cappy McGarr were brought onboard and Comedy Central would coproduce and broadcast the show. At this stage it was decided to name the prize after Mark Twain.
The inaugural recipient of the award was Richard Pryor. The first two years of the prize honoring Pryor and Jonathan Winters were taped and broadcast on Comedy Central.
From 2000 to 2022, the award presentations were taped for broadcast on PBS. (McGarr 2021, pp. 173, Chapter 27) In 2023, the broadcaster for the award was CNN, and in 2024, a multi-year partnership with Netflix was announced. Carol Burnett received the award at age 80 in 2013, while the youngest recipient has been actress and comedian Tina Fey, at age 40 in 2010. The Kennedy Center's intent is to give the award to living persons, but one recipient, George Carlin, died in 2008 before receiving his award. Carlin died five days after the official press release that he would be awarded the prize. Bill Cosby accepted his award at the Kennedy Center in 2009. He had twice refused the award, stating that he was disappointed with the profanity used in the inaugural ceremony honoring Richard Pryor. After Cosby was convicted of sexual assault in 2018, the Center stripped Cosby of his award and his 1998 Kennedy Center Honors. Mel Brooks has refused the award three times. Robin Williams had also refused the award.
Since Carl Reiner, honorees are given the opportunity to meet the president, although some refuse. Twain had interactions with Ulysses S. Grant and Theodore Roosevelt.
McGarr, a former Kennedy Center board member who is a co-founder and co-executive producer of the Twain Prize, writes in his book that the mission of the prize is "to honor the greatest contributors to American comedy of our time". Each awardee has a background in humor which has been a source of joy for many, showcased extensively on more than one occasion in more than one form, and as a part of the American comedic tradition having influenced industry and culture, is a legacy for American humorists to take inspiration from. Awardees have included a writer, an actor, a producer, a stand-up comedian and a media proprietor, among others. In awarding the prize to Lorne Michaels in 2004, a Canadian-American, McGarr explained that "the Mark Twain Prize honors American humor, not necessarily American humorists".
According to a 2013 article in The Washington Post, little is known about the selection process to receive the award. A Kennedy Center spokeswoman stated, "A short list is compiled by the executive producers [of the ceremony] and presented to a group comprised of representatives from the Kennedy Center board of trustees, as well as the Kennedy Center senior management and programming staff". But McGarr stated in 2013 that "there's really no committee... It's really a consensus decision. There's not any single person who decides." He also added the award's executive producers — McGarr, Mark Krantz and Peter and Bob Kaminsky — have always decided in consultation with the Kennedy Center's chairman and president, David Rubenstein and Michael Kaiser. He also stated that the primary criteria is "to choose people who've had a full lifetime of making us laugh and who've had a great influence on the people who've followed them."
The 26th Mark Twain Prize was awarded to Conan O'Brien at a ceremony held on March 23, 2025, in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall in Washington, D.C. The ceremony took place weeks after the Kennedy Center underwent a change in leadership following Donald Trump's appointment of new management in February 2025, a transition that briefly raised questions about whether the event would proceed as planned.
The special premiered on Netflix on May 4, 2025, as part of Netflix's exclusive arrangement as the award's broadcast home since 2024. It was produced by Done+Dusted — the Kennedy Center's producing partner for the Mark Twain Prize since 2018 — with executive producers David Jammy, Chris Convy, Kristen Wong, Rick Austin, Matthew Winer, and Monica Holt, and co-executive producers Bill Urban and Michael B. Matuza. The special subsequently won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) at the 77th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards in September 2025.
McGarr, Cappy (2021). The Man Who Made Mark Twain Famous. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-63758-168-1.
Source: Mark Twain Prize for American Humor (CC BY-SA)
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