Twain humor prize is awarded to Leno
WASHINGTON — The joke was on Jay Leno as comedians saluted the former “Tonight Show” host Sunday when he received the nation’s top humor prize.
Jimmy Fallon, Jerry Seinfeld and Wanda Sykes celebrated Leno’s famous work ethic and poked fun as he received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center in Washington. Garth Brooks, Kevin Eubanks and Chelsea Handler also paid tribute. The show will be broadcast nationally Nov. 23 on PBS.
Fallon, who replaced Leno this year on “The Tonight Show” after Leno stepped down for the second time, said it was a good time to honor Leno, “a man who has done so much for NBC, so much that we had to celebrate his career on PBS.”
On the red carpet before the show, Leno, 64, said “The Tonight Show” years were the best of his life. He said Fallon is bringing “a new dynamic” to the show, and “it’s fun to see it change.”
The award honors people who have had an impact on American society in the tradition of Samuel Clemens, the writer, satirist and social commentator better known as Mark Twain. Past honorees include Carol Burnett, Ellen DeGeneres, Will Ferrell and Bill Cosby.
Leno built his career in standup comedy and still performs live. He inherited the “Tonight Show” from Johnny Carson in 1992, beating out David Letterman.
