O’Brien offered his own tongue-in-cheek assessment, saying in the Kennedy Center statement that he would be “the first winner of the Mark Twain Prize recognized not for humor, but for my work as a riverboat pilot.” He will be honored on March 23 in a special ceremony in which he will receive a bronze bust of Twain, the iconic American writer and satirist whose real name was Samuel Clemens.
Conan O'Brien will receive the Mark Twain Prize for lifetime achievement in comedy Comedian and host Conan O'Brien was named the newest recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for lifetime achievement in comedy on Thursday.
Mark Twain recipients are honored with a night of testimonials and video tributes, often featuring previous award winners.
In March, O'Brien will host the Academy Awards three weeks before his own Mark Twain ceremony in Washington.
Deborah Rutter, president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, in a statement called O'Brien “a master of invention and reinvention, consistently pushing the envelope in search of new comedic heights.".
