So the next Mark Twain Award for American Humor is going to Ellen DeGeneres. I like her but as folks say whenever Gilbert Gottfried opens his mouth, "Too soon!"
Let us remember some of the great living comic talents who have not received the Mark Twain Award: Sid Caesar, Stan Freberg, Shelley Berman, Don Rickles, Mort Sahl, Robert Klein, Carol Burnett, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, David Letterman, Tim Conway, Dan Aykroyd, Jerry Lewis, Jon Stewart, Dick Van Dyke…
For that matter, they seem to have decided that though Samuel "Mark Twain" Clemens was an author, the award in his name should go only to performers. What about someone who's funny in print? The website for the Kennedy Center not only says this but says it twice on the same page…
As a social commentator, satirist and creator of characters, Samuel Clemens was a fearless observer of society, who startled many while delighting and informing many more with his uncompromising perspective of social injustice and personal folly. He revealed the great truth of humor when he said "against the assault of laughter nothing can stand."
Wouldn't that apply to Garry Trudeau? Or Dave Barry? How about Norman Lear or James L. Brooks? How about giving it to one of the writers who created the material that some of the performer-winners performed?
Aah, why am I getting annoyed about this? It's not about honoring humorists. It's about selling tickets to the ceremony. Forget I said anything.