Kevin Hart received the top honor for seasoned comedians, the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, on March 24 at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. The ceremony where actors and comedians honored — and humiliated — the top-earning comedian will be available to stream on Netflix, May 11.
The ceremony featured entertainers Lil Dicky, Dave Chappelle, Jimmy Fallon, Tiffany Haddish, Regina Hall, Chelsea Handler, Plastic Cup Boyz, Keith Robinson, Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld, J.B. Smoove, Jimmy Fallon, Robin Thicke, and others. During the trailer, Seinfeld cracked, “I can’t think of much Kevin Hart could do for me. I don’t want to be in Jumanji.” Several jokes were pinned to Hart’s five-foot-five-inch stature. Handler, who began with gratitude toward the comedian cracked, “I am so glad that Kevin came into my life, because I always wanted to know what it would be like if 50 Cent and I had a baby.”
Fallon, strumming a guitar and wearing a bolo tie, also poked fun at his height, “He’s so humble and down to Earth, but his feet don’t touch the ground in a chair.”
Hart choked up while thanking his kids, “I breathe for you. I live for you,” he said, and credited his mother for shaping his career: “Take my mom away, and I don’t have an idea of what I want or who I want to be.”
“I fell in love with something I could do for the rest of my life,” he said. “I committed to comedy. I fell in love with something I can grab onto. All my eggs are in this basket and oh my God I’m happy with my choice.”
Harlem Nights’ Richard Pryor was the first to receive the prize in 1998, followed by the Lily Tomlin, Steve Martin, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, Carol Burnett, Eddie Murphy, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. More recently, Dave Chappelle, Jon Stewart, and Adam Sandler received the coveted statue.
