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

Genre:Variety
Director:Marcus Raboy
Starring:Dave Chappelle
Steve Carell
Stephen Colbert
John Oliver
Ed Helms
Olivia Munn
Samantha Bee
Bassem Youssef
Jon Meacham
Jimmy Kimmel
Bruce Springsteen
Pete Davidson
Country:United States
Language:English
Producer:Kevin Hermanson
Connor Malbeuf
Michael B. Matuza
Phil Rosenberg
Editor:Aaron Champion
Runtime:90 minutes
Network:PBS

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, 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

In order of appearance[4] [5]

Performer Occupation Notes
Musician
Comedian Discussed his personal and professional relationship with Stewart at The Comedy Cellar in the 1990s.
Comedian Discussed Stewarts impact working with the 9/11 first responders
and the Congressional testimony he gave on their behalf
Former The Daily Show correspondent Talked about her working relationship with Stewart on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Former The Daily Show correspondent praised Stewart for highlighting racial and gender diversity among The Daily Show
Former The Daily Show correspondent Talked about the field assignments he would have to do on The Daily Show
Comedian Made jokes at himself and working at The Man Show on Comedy Central
Comedian Talked about Stewarts influence on him in Egypt and the impact he has had internationally
Former The Daily Show correspondent Sent in a pre-taped video making jokes about Stewart's death
Former The Daily Show correspondent Sang a various songs dressed as a dapper dan
Journalist Talked about Stewart's love of country, and ability to speak truth to power.
Musician sang an acoustic version of his song "Born to Run"
Former The Daily Show correspondent Spoke about his personal and professional friendship with Stewart at The Daily Show
Jon Feil
Israel Guiterez Del Toro
Presented Stewart with the prize.

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

In the audience:[6]
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

The broadcast of the ceremony was similar to the previous ceremony, 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.[7]

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

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Jon Stewart: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize. PBS. June 23, 2022. June 22, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220622171907/https://www.pbs.org/video/jon-stewart-kennedy-center-mark-twain-prize/. live.
  2. Web site: Jon Stewart Receives the Mark Twain Prize. CPB. June 23, 2022. June 18, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220618004057/https://cpb.org/spotlight/Jon-Stewart-Receives-Mark-Twain-Prize. live.
  3. Web site: 2022 Winner The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. The Kennedy Center Honors. June 23, 2022. June 23, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220623193214/https://www.kennedy-center.org/artists/c/ca-cn/jon-stewart/. live.
  4. Web site: Jon Stewart says the 'fragility of leaders' is the real threat to humor. NPR. June 23, 2022. June 9, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220609233828/https://www.npr.org/2022/04/25/1094390429/jon-stewart-says-fragility-of-leaders-is-the-threat-to-humor. live.
  5. Web site: Bruce Springsteen plays two songs in Jon Stewart Mark Twain Prize fete at Kennedy Center. USA Today. June 23, 2022. June 23, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220623193230/https://www.app.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/04/25/jon-stewart-bruce-springsteen-mark-twain-prize-2022-kennedy-center/7440753001/. live.
  6. Web site: Jon Stewart receives Mark Twain Prize: See Pete Davidson and Kim Kardashian, more stars. USA Today. June 23, 2022. June 22, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220622210746/https://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/entertainment/celebrities/2022/04/25/jon-stewart-mark-twain-prize-american-humor-photos/7435572001/. live.
  7. Web site: The gala night Jon Stewart got the Mark Twain Prize at Kennedy Center. DC Theatre Arts. June 23, 2022. June 13, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220613140241/https://dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2022/05/05/the-gala-night-jon-stewart-won-the-mark-twain-prize-at-kennedy-center/. live.