Conan O'Brien accepts Mark Twain Prize for humor as politics roils the
Kennedy Center
[March 24, 2025]
By ASHRAF KHALIL
WASHINGTON (AP) — On a night when half a dozen people made jokes about
this being the last-ever Mark Twain Prize, Conan O'Brien made sure the
ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts ended on
a high note.
O’Brien accepted the award for lifetime achievement in comedy Sunday
night while acknowledging the backstage turmoil that hangs over the
future of the cultural center in Washington.
O’Brien, 61, was named the 26th recipient of the Mark Twain Prize in
mid-January, about three weeks before President Donald Trump upended the
Kennedy Center by ousting longtime president Deborah Rutter and board
chairman David Rubenstein. Trump dismissed the board of trustees and
replaced them with loyalists, who then elected him as chairman.
On Sunday, O'Brien specifically thanked Rubenstein and Rutter — drawing
an extended round of applause — and also Kennedy Center staffers who, he
said, were “worried about what the future might bring.”
He said the example of Mark Twain's own life and career was particularly
resonant at this moment in American history.
“Twain hated bullies. ... He punched up, not down, and he deeply
empathized with the weak,” O'Brien said. “Twain loved America, but he
knew it was deeply flawed.”
A Mark Twain impersonator then emerged from the audience. After a
back-and-forth debate with O'Brien, he joined him on stage and the pair
slow danced for a while. They were then joined by a dozen more Twain
impersonators and previous Twain Prize recipient Adam Sandler for a
raucous rendition of Neil Young’s “Rockin in the Free World.”
That musical ending capped off a night when the uncertain fate of the
Kennedy Center itself was woven through the multiple tributes and
testimonials to O’Brien.
“I think it would be insane not to address the elephant in the room,”
comic Nikki Glaser said on the red carpet before the ceremony. “It’s in
the air tonight. This night is about Conan, but it can be both.”
Once the festivities began, Stephen Colbert joked that the Kennedy
Center had announced two new board members: Bashar Assad, the ousted
president of Syria, and Skeletor, a fictional supervillain.
John Mulaney quipped that the entire building would soon be renamed “the
Roy Cohn Pavilion” after one of Trump’s mentors. And Sarah Silverman
made multiple Trump jokes that were too vulgar to print.
Trump, in announcing the Kennedy Center changes, posted on social media
that those who were dismissed "do not share our Vision for a Golden Age
in Arts and Culture.”
How that vision takes shape remains to be seen, but Trump has spoken
about wanting to book more Broadway shows there and floated the idea of
granting Kennedy Center Honors status to actor Sylvester Stallone and
singer-songwriter Paul Anka.
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Comedian Conan O'Brien walks out on stage at the start of the 25th
Annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor Celebrating Conan
O'Brien, Sunday, March 23, 2025, at the Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
 Into this maelstrom stepped O'Brien,
whose comedic persona has never been particularly political. The
comic has always tended more toward goofiness and self-deprecation.
But he has also leaned into sensitive societal issues at times. In
2011, O'Brien officiated a gay wedding live on his show, overseeing
the marriage of his longtime costume designer Scott Cronick and his
partner David Gorshein.
O’Brien vaulted into the spotlight from near-total obscurity in 1993
when he was chosen to replace David Letterman as host of “Late
Night” despite no significant on-camera experience. The former
Harvard Lampoon editor had spent the previous years as a writer for
“Saturday Night Live” and “The Simpsons,” appearing on camera only
as an occasional background extra in “SNL” skits.
He went on to host “Late Night” for 16 years, longer than any other
host. O'Brien was later tapped to replace Jay Leno as host of “The
Tonight Show,” but that experiment ended in public failure. After
seven months of declining ratings, NBC executives brought Leno back
for a new show that would bump “The Tonight Show” back. O’Brien
refused to accept the move, leading to a public spat that ended with
a multimillion-dollar payout for O’Brien and his staff to exit the
network in early 2010.
O'Brien went on to host another talk show on the cable station TBS,
while launching successful podcasts and travel shows. He is
currently on a late-career elder statesman hot streak. His travel
series, “Conan O’Brien Must Go,” drew popular and critical acclaim,
with a second season coming. His recent gig hosting the Academy
Awards was so well received that the producers announced they are
bringing him back next year.
In the wake of Trump's takeover of the Kennedy Center, several
artists, including the producers of “Hamilton” and actress and
writer Issa Rae, announced they were canceling appearances at the
venue.
Others have chosen to perform while making their sentiments known
from the stage. Leftist comic W. Kamau Bell directly addressed the
controversy in his performance just days after the shake-up. Earlier
this month, cellist Erin Murphy Snedecor ended her set with a
performance of the Woody Guthrie protest anthem “All You Fascists
Bound to Lose.”
Other comedians receiving the lifetime achievement award include
both Letterman and Leno, along with George Carlin, Whoopi Goldberg,
Bob Newhart, Carol Burnett, Bill Murray and Dave Chappelle.
The ceremony will be streamed on Netflix on May 4.
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