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. with
Will Ferrell and
Viveca Paulin in 2011 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.
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. with awardee Carol Burnett in 2013 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 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." == Recipients ==