Opinion: Comedy’s Biggest Prize Has Shrinking Ambitions
The Kennedy Center Honors, with the sitting president of the United States in attendance, ends each year by celebrating lifetime achievements of our nation’s greatest performing artists. Since 1998, the center has also hosted a step-sibling event in the spring specifically for comedians: the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
Citing Twain for “his uncompromising perspective on social injustice and personal folly,” a select committee has bestowed this award in his name to now-late greats including Richard Pryor and Jonathan Winters, as well as to still-living legends such as Lily Tomlin and Carol Burnett.
This year, Kevin Hart has been named as the 25th recipient of the Mark Twain Prize (the Kennedy Center skipped 2020-21 due to the pandemic). And with absolutely no offense directed to Hart specifically, his selection begs the question: Why now? What has the 44-year-old stand-up comedian, movie star, and omnipresent TV commercial pitchman done to deserve singling out in 2024?