Mark Twain Prize for American Humor


The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor is an American award presented by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts annually since 1998. 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 JFK Center chose Twain due to his status 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 an autumn ceremony at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall in Washington, D.C., during which the honoree 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.

Recipients

, 22 individuals have been awarded the honor: six women and 16 men. One award was rescinded by the Kennedy Center in 2018.
The inaugural recipient of the award was comedian Richard Pryor. The first two years of The Mark Twain Prize were taped and broadcast on Comedy Central. Since then, the award presentations have been taped for broadcast on PBS. The oldest recipient was actress and comedian Carol Burnett, at age 80 in 2013. The youngest recipient was 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.
Bill Cosby accepted his award at the Kennedy Center in 2009. He had twice refused the honor, 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.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 ceremony has been delayed until June 20, 2021.
YearImageRecipientNotes
1998Those there to honor Pryor included: Chris Rock, Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, Chevy Chase, Tim Allen, Danny Glover, Damon Wayans, Kris Kristofferson, and Dick Gregory; Gene Wilder appeared in a pre-taped video.
1999Those there to honor Winters included: Steve Allen, Sid Caesar, Robin Williams, Eugene Levy, Bonnie Hunt, Michael McKean and Robert Wuhl.
2000Those there to honor Reiner included: Mel Brooks, Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Steve Martin, Rob Reiner, Jerry Seinfeld, Ray Romano, Joy Behar, and George Wallace
2001First female recipient of the award. Those there to honor Goldberg included: Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Wanda Sykes, Cedric the Entertainer, Chris Tucker, Alan King, and Harry Belafonte
2002Those there to honor Newhart included: Kelsey Grammer, David Hyde Pierce, The Smothers Brothers, Don Rickles, Tim Conway, Bernie Mac, Jane Curtin, Fred Willard, Steven Wright.
2003Those there to honor Tomlin included: Jane Fonda, Steve Martin, Robin Williams, Dave Chappelle, Elaine Stritch, Doris Roberts, George Lopez, and Dolly Parton.
2004Michaels, a Canadian-American, is the only recipient born and raised outside of the United States. Steve Martin, Dan Aykroyd, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Tim Meadows, David Spade, Paul Simon, Conan O'Brien, Christopher Walken, and Senator John McCain were among those who honored him.
2005Those who honored Martin included: Tom Hanks, Carl Reiner, Martin Short, Larry David, Dave Barry, Eric Idle, Diane Keaton, Claire Danes, Queen Latifah, Randy Newman, Paul Simon, and Mike Nichols
2006Those there to honor Simon included: Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Jason Alexander, Robert Klein, Paul Reiser, Christina Applegate, Richard Dreyfus, and Robert Redford.
2007Those who honored Crystal included: Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, Robert De Niro, Danny De Vito, John Goodman, Jimmy Fallon, Jon Lovitz, Martin Short, Rob Reiner, Barbara Walters.
2008The award is not intended to be given posthumously, but Carlin's death occurred between the announcement and the ceremony. Those there to honor Carlin included: Joan Rivers, Jon Stewart, Bill Maher, Lewis Black, Denis Leary, Margaret Cho, Garry Shandling, and Lily Tomlin.
2009Those who honored Cosby included: Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, Sinbad, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Steven Wright, Willie Nelson, Carl Reiner, Dick Gregory, Rita Moreno, and Phylicia Rashad. Cosby's award was rescinded in 2018 due to his sexual assault conviction.
2010Youngest recipient. Those who honored Fey included: Alec Baldwin, Amy Poehler, Steve Martin, Steve Carell, Jimmy Fallon, Jon Hamm, Fred Armisen, Jennifer Hudson, Betty White, and Lorne Michaels.
2011Those who honored Ferrell included: Conan O'Brien, John C. Reilly, Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Adam McKay, Tim Meadows, Matthew Broderick, and Ed Asner.
2012Those there to honor DeGeneres included: Jane Lynch, Sean Hayes, Jimmy Kimmel, John Leguizamo, John Krasinski, Steve Harvey, Kristin Chenoweth, and Lily Tomlin.
2013Oldest recipient. Those there to honor Burnett included: Julie Andrews, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Rashida Jones, Martin Short, Tony Bennett, Vicki Lawrence, and Tim Conway; Carl Reiner and Ellen DeGeneres appeared in pre-taped videos.
2014Those there to honor Leno included: Jerry Seinfeld, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Robert Klein, J.B. Smoove, Jamie Foxx, Wanda Sykes, Chelsea Handler, Kristin Chenoweth, and Garth Brooks.
2015Those there to honor Murphy included: Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Arsenio Hall, Jay Pharoah, Tracy Morgan, Trevor Noah, George Lopez, Kevin Nealon, and Kathy Griffin.
2016Those who honored Murray included: David Letterman, Emma Stone, Bill Hader, Aziz Ansari, Miley Cyrus, Jane Curtin, Jimmy Kimmel, Brian Doyle Murray, and Sigourney Weaver.
2017Those there to honor Letterman included: Bill Murray, Steve Martin, Martin Short, John Mulaney, Norm Macdonald, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmie Walker, and Eddie Vedder; Michelle Obama appeared in a pre-taped video. Al Franken appeared but was cut from the broadcast due to sexual harassment allegations against him.
2018Those there to honor Louis-Dreyfus included: Jerry Seinfeld, Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, Bryan Cranston, Tony Hale, Lisa Kudrow, Keegan-Michael Key, Kumail Nanjiani, Abbi Jacobson, Ilana Glazer, and Jack Johnson; Larry David appeared in a pre-taped video.
2019Those who honored Chappelle included Q-Tip, Jon Stewart, Bradley Cooper, Morgan Freeman, Aziz Ansari, Lorne Michaels, Mos Def, Erykah Badu, Sarah Silverman, Neal Brennan, Kenan Thompson, Michael Che, Colin Jost, Chris Tucker, Tiffany Haddish, rapper Common, John Legend, and Chrissy Teigen. Eddie Murphy appeared in a pre-taped video.