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Jon Stewart: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor

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Jon Stewart: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor
GenreVariety
Directed byMarcus Raboy
StarringDave Chappelle
Steve Carell
Stephen Colbert
John Oliver
Ed Helms
Olivia Munn
Samantha Bee
Bassem Youssef
Jon Meacham
Jimmy Kimmel
Bruce Springsteen
Pete Davidson
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducersKevin Hermanson
Connor Malbeuf
Michael B. Matuza
Phil Rosenberg
EditorAaron Champion
Running time90 minutes
Original release
NetworkPBS
ReleaseJune 21, 2022 (2022-06-21)

Jon Stewart: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor was a variety special that aired June 21, 2022 on PBS.[1][2] The show honored comedian Jon Stewart who was being awarded with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor which was presented at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C.[3] Those who helped celebrate his accomplishments included Dave Chappelle, Steve Carell, John Oliver, Stephen Colbert, Ed Helms, Olivia Munn, Samantha Bee, Bassem Youssef, Jon Meacham, Jimmy Kimmel, Pete Davidson and Bruce Springsteen.

The event was filmed and shown on PBS. The broadcast of the ceremony was similar to the previous ceremony, Dave Chappelle: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2019, in that it used archival footage of Dave Chappelle performing standup, clips from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Stewart's testimony at the congressional hearing for the 9/11 Victim's Compensation Fund.

Speakers

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In order of appearance[4][5]

Performer Occupation Notes
Bruce Springsteen Musician opens the show singing The Beatles' "Come Together" with Gary Clark Jr.
Dave Chappelle Comedian Discussed his personal and professional relationship with Stewart at The Comedy Cellar in the 1990s.
Pete Davidson Comedian Discussed Stewarts impact working with the 9/11 first responders
and the Congressional testimony he gave on their behalf
Olivia Munn Former The Daily Show correspondent Talked about her working relationship with Stewart on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Samantha Bee Former The Daily Show correspondent praised Stewart for highlighting racial and gender diversity among The Daily Show
Steve Carell Former The Daily Show correspondent Talked about the field assignments he would have to do on The Daily Show
Jimmy Kimmel Comedian Made jokes at himself and working at The Man Show on Comedy Central
Bassem Youssef Comedian Talked about Stewarts influence on him in Egypt and the impact he has had internationally
John Oliver Former The Daily Show correspondent Sent in a pre-taped video making jokes about Stewart's death
Ed Helms Former The Daily Show correspondent Sang a various songs dressed as a dapper dan
Jon Meacham Journalist Talked about Stewart's love of country, and ability to speak truth to power.
Bruce Springsteen Musician sang an acoustic version of his song "Born to Run"
Stephen Colbert Former The Daily Show correspondent Spoke about his personal and professional friendship with Stewart at The Daily Show
Jon Feil
Israel Guiterez Del Toro
9/11 first responders Presented Stewart with the prize.

When accepting the award, Stewart spoke about the threats to comedy saying:

"Comedy doesn’t change the world, but it’s a bellwether. We’re the banana peel in the coal mine. When a society is under threat, comedians are the ones who get sent away first. It’s just a reminder to people that democracy is under threat. Authoritarians are the threat to comedy, to art, to music, to thought, to poetry, to progress, to all those things.”[6]

In the audience:[7]
Members of the audience included John Mulaney, Kim Kardashian, Yvonne Orji, Jason Jones, as well as Jen Psaki, Pete Buttigieg, Chasten Buttigieg, and Nancy Pelosi

Production

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The broadcast of the ceremony was similar to the previous ceremony, Dave Chappelle: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2019, in that it used archival footage of Stewart's career. The clips included were from the 1990s MTV late-night program, The Jon Stewart Show, his Comedy Central show The Daily Show and his advocacy work for 9/11 first responders including his testimony at the congressional hearing for the 9/11 Victim's Compensation Fund.[8]

Clips were interspersed of Stewart with fellow comedians, family members, producers and Pete Buttigieg at the Winebar in Washington, D.C.

References

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  1. ^ "Jon Stewart: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize". PBS. Archived from the original on June 22, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  2. ^ "Jon Stewart Receives the Mark Twain Prize". CPB. Archived from the original on June 18, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  3. ^ "2022 Winner The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor". The Kennedy Center Honors. Archived from the original on June 23, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  4. ^ "Jon Stewart says the 'fragility of leaders' is the real threat to humor". NPR. Archived from the original on June 9, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  5. ^ "Bruce Springsteen plays two songs in Jon Stewart Mark Twain Prize fete at Kennedy Center". USA Today. Archived from the original on June 23, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  6. ^ "JON STEWART RECEIVES THE 23RD ANNUAL MARK TWAIN PRIZE FOR AMERICAN HUMOR". Allarts. Archived from the original on June 23, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  7. ^ "Jon Stewart receives Mark Twain Prize: See Pete Davidson and Kim Kardashian, more stars". USA Today. Archived from the original on June 22, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  8. ^ "The gala night Jon Stewart got the Mark Twain Prize at Kennedy Center". DC Theatre Arts. Archived from the original on June 13, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
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