Comedian Jon Stewart, whose disrespectful political and media satire has made him a popular TV figure, will receive the Mark Twain Prize for American humor at the Kennedy Center in Washington in April, becoming the third 23 award winner .
The National Award is named after novelist and writer Samuel Langhorne Clemens, who went by the nickname Mark Twain. Richard Pryor was the first recipient of the award; the final recipient was Dave Chappell.
“For more than three decades, Jon Stewart has conveyed current affairs and social irony with his trademark wit and wit, brightening our lives and challenging our minds,” the Kennedy Center said in a statement on Wednesday.
Stewart will receive the award for the first time since 2019 because of the COVID-19 pandemic at a television ceremony in Washington on April 24.
“It is a great honor for me to receive this award,” Stewart said in the statement.
In 2021, six years after he quit satirical The Daily Show, Stewart returned to television to investigate current affairs. Jon Stewart’s Problem launches Sept. 30 on the Apple TV + streaming platform.
Stewart’s satire made him a beloved figure, reaching well beyond the 2 million to 3 million nightly viewers of “The Daily Show” by Comedy Central. The Daily Show has won 20 Emmys in its 16 years as host and has driven the careers of other comedians, including Stephen Colbert, John Oliver and Samantha Bee. Her current host is Trevor Noah.
After stepping down in 2015, Stewart made few public appearances, including advocating for health care benefits for wounded veterans and first responders who fell ill after the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington, before returning to the stream on the Apple TV + platform. .
In 2020, he wrote and directed the political comedy “Irresistible,” starring Steve Carell, to mixed reviews.
