Presenting the Latest Mark Twain Prize Winner: Conan O’Brien

The “performatively rubbing hot sauce on your nipples”–to–“winning the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor” pipeline has been completed. On March 23, Conan O’Brien, the former Conan and The Tonight Show host, current travel-show innovator and podcast-empire overlord, and recent subject of the most bonkers Hot Ones episode in the show’s history, will be awarded the distinguished honor during a ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. In winning this award, O’Brien joins the ranks of a esteemed group of previous recipients including Richard Pryor, Jon Stewart, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and last year’s recipient, Kevin Hart.

“I am honored to be the first winner of the Mark Twain Prize recognized not for humor, but for my work as a riverboat pilot,” O’Brien said in a characteristically whimsical statement. Kennedy Center president Deborah F. Rutter’s comments went a more traditional route: “For four decades, Conan O’Brien has brought his unique blend of the smart, silly, insightful, and hilarious into our homes. From Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons — including the unbelievably funny monorail episode — to late night, podcasts, and all things Team Coco, Conan is a master of invention and reinvention, consistently pushing the envelope in search of new comedic heights.”

The award ceremony will be filmed for Netflix; the guests and air date are still to be announced. In the meantime, O’Brien will get yet another chance to cement his legacy as the host of this year’s Oscars on March 2.

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