Talk:Mark Twain Prize for American Humor

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BetacommandBot (talk) 16:28, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

"foremost"

Says them? Says who else? Thmazing (talk) 06:16, 15 November 2010 (UTC)

What happened to the selection process?

What happened to the selection process that started with long-time, universally accepted greats and is now giving us somewhat popular, but less skilled comics (Ferrell, DeGeneres). I think the most recent choices are funny & skilled performers, but I don't think they are in the same league as previous winners (Winters, Tomlin, Williams, Calin, Newhart). The earliest recipients changed the nature of entertainment and/or comedy, while the last few winners are merely among the more talented comics in recent years. Perhaps I'm relying to heavily on personal opinion, but somehow I don't see the same group that picked Richard Pryor ever considering Will Ferrell or Ellen DeGeneres.

If something changed in the process, I think it would important to include in the article. At the very least, the article should include a description of the nominating process, the selection process, and whether there has been any open debate about either the process or the choices. 75.36.178.24 (talk) 02:41, 13 April 2013 (UTC)

There simply aren't enough worthy candidates to justify an annual award, at least not if it can't be posthumous. The result is merely a list of famous comedians. TheScotch (talk) 08:37, 26 June 2022 (UTC)

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Who votes?

Who votes, exactly? Kennedy Center, Board of Directors I am guessing? Hyperbolick (talk) 23:03, 31 July 2017 (UTC)

I agree, the article is missing important information (see also "What happened to the selection process?" above. Also, the Kennedy Center doesn't seem to understand, and is blurring the distinction between comedians (to whom they gave 18 of the 20 awards so far) and actual humorists like Twain. I think it would be useful to tag the article for missing information about the selection process. (That's why the article is rated Start-class.) JustinTime55 (talk) 16:46, 9 February 2018 (UTC)

I have reviewed all the sources available online including the Kennedy Center website, and there is NOTHING published about the process other than comments by co-founder Cappy McGarr that certain individuals had been contacted about accepting the award and declined. It looks like original research would be required to answer those questions... Mgrē@sŏn (Talk) 00:44, 11 February 2022 (UTC)

I've merged everything into "History"; still needs more work of course. Is there any reason to restore the section "selection process" and keep it separate? FacetsOfNonStickPans (talk) 13:50, 14 August 2022 (UTC)

Images

I've placed two images (no. 2,3) with this edit, just wanted to leave some comments regarding the presence of suitable substitutes.

1. Karl Gerhardt's 1884 bust of Twain
2. Venue, the Kennedy Center - There are a couple of suitable images of the Kennedy Center which could be used.
3. Honoree meeting President - There are currently two images over at Commons, Carol Burnett (2013) and Will Ferrell (2011).

FacetsOfNonStickPans (talk) 13:46, 14 August 2022 (UTC)

Recipients' Images

It can't be that difficult to find images of the recipients that are more appropriate. For example, showing Richard Pryor and Bill Cosby in their latter years is disingenuous. Images that people would recognize for the time the recipients were most famous would be far better (granted, someone like Cosby, whose humor spanned decades would be difficult to narrow down, but, I would choose one of his albums or his family show, which, despite his guilty verdict, is still being shown in syndication, just as Will Smith's show is, despite his public violence to Chris Rock; we are a strange and confused planet). Skaizun (talk) 19:22, 25 March 2024 (UTC)

Edit request

I work in the Kennedy Center Archives, and we are proposing changes in good faith to clarify, update, and provide context to information on this page. Please let me know if I can provide more information relating to suggested changes, but as per WP:SCOIC, I will minimize my participation in the discussion and defer to editors' assessments of appropriate changes.

Info Box

Change "Currently held by" to "Most recent recipient" The original text implies that the Prize is passed from recipient to recipient rather than each recipient of the Prize receiving their own.

First Section

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A copy of Karl Gerhardt's 1884 bust of Twain is presented in an autumn ceremony at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall, during which the honoree is celebrated by his or her peers.

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A copy of Karl Gerhardt's 1884 bust of Twain is presented in a ceremony usually in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall, during which the recipient is celebrated by his or her peers.

Since 2022, the ceremony has taken place in the spring (see: https://www.app.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/04/25/jon-stewart-bruce-springsteen-mark-twain-prize-2022-kennedy-center/7440753001/). The 2007 ceremony took place in the Center's Opera House, not Concert Hall (see: https://variety.com/2007/film/news/kennedy-center-honors-billy-crystal-1117973916/). The recipient of the Mark Twain Prize is referred to as a recipient, rather than an honoree so as not to be confused with the Kennedy Center Honorees.

History

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Since then, the award presentations have been taped for broadcast on PBS.

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From 2000 to 2022, the award presentations have been taped for broadcast on PBS. In 2023, the broadcaster for the award was CNN, and in 2024, a multi-year partnership with Netflix was announced.

This updates information on the broadcast partner for the Prize (see:https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/kevin-hart-netflix-mark-twain-prize-american-humor-1235941611/)

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McGarr, a Kennedy Center board member

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McGarr, a former Kennedy Center board member

McGarr is not a current Board member (see:https://www.kennedy-center.org/about-us/leadership/trustees/ , under section "Members Appointment by the President of the United States" for the current list)

KenCenArchCoordHM (talk) 18:20, 19 September 2024 (UTC)

 Go ahead: I have reviewed these proposed changes and suggest that you go ahead and make the proposed changes to the page. . If these edits have already been made, please ignore me. McYeee (talk) 02:39, 24 September 2024 (UTC)