The Mark Twain Prize is awarded to humorists who affect American society in a approach just like Samuel Clemens, the esteemed Nineteenth-century novelist and essayist also called Mark Twain. Established in 1998 and first awarded to Richard Pryor, the award has been given lately to veteran comedians comparable to Invoice Murray, David Letterman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jon Stewart and Adam Sandler.
“Kevin Hart has been a supply of laughter throughout America and world wide along with his iconic characters, inimitable bodily comedy and relatable storytelling,” Kennedy Heart President Deborah F. Rutter stated in an announcement . “An completed author, producer, actor and comic, he made an enduring contribution to the comedy panorama and represents our celebration of American humor on the Kennedy Heart. We specific our gratitude to Kevin for enriching American tradition and sit up for celebrating his distinctive profession.
Hart would be the youngest recipient, other than Tina Feywho was 40 when she accepted the award in 2010, and Will Ferrell, who was 44 when he was honored the next yr. Hart would be the sixth black winner, following Pryor, Whoopi Goldberg, Eddie Murphy, Dave Chappelle and Invoice Cosby (whose award was canceled in 2018 following his convictions for sexual assault).
“I’ve been doing comedy since this award was established 25 years in the past,” Hart stated within the Kennedy Heart press launch. “Being honored on this memorial yr appears surreal. Comedy is my medium for social commentary and observations about life – I’m grateful to the Kennedy Heart for recognizing my voice and my affect on tradition.
Raised in Philadelphia by a single mom, whereas his father struggled with dependancy and authorized points, Hart broke into present enterprise with a recurring function on Judd Apatow’s early 2000s Fox sitcom “Undeclared.” . He then appeared in comedies comparable to “Soul Aircraft” in 2004, “The 40-Yr-Previous Virgin” in 2005 and “Demise at a Funeral” in 2010, in addition to in a number of installments of the Scary Film franchise and its offshoots .
Hart established his field workplace status with “Journey Alongside,” a buddy cop comedy starring Ice Dice in 2014, which topped $150 million on the worldwide field workplace and spawned a sequel in 2016. He went on to star with Dwayne Johnson in 2016’s “Central Intelligence,” a $217 million hit that established an unlikely relationship between the 5-foot-2 Hart and the imposing Johnson. The actors gathered in 2017 “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” – a reboot that grossed practically a billion {dollars} – that of 2019 “Jumanji: The Next Level” and final yr’s animated adventures “DC League of Super Pets.” » In complete, Hart’s movies have grossed greater than $4.23 billion, in response to the Kennedy Heart press launch.
The comedian has additionally recorded eight stand-up specials, together with “What Now?” ” from 2016, which was filmed in entrance of a crowd of greater than 53,000 folks at Lincoln Monetary Subject in Philadelphia. This sequence’ world tour helped make Hart the highest-paid comic on the earth on the time, in response to Forbesbecause it generated $87.5 million in income from June 2015 to June 2016. His newest particular, “Actuality Examine,” was launched in July on Peacock.
Since 2020, Hart has performed a fictionalized model of himself within the streaming motion comedy sequence “Die Hart”. In 2022, he merged his two leisure corporations – Snigger Out Loud and Hartbeat – into one comedy-focused firm below the Hartbeat model. He additionally showcased his entrepreneurial aspect as a visitor final yr on two episodes of the ABC actuality sequence “Shark Tank.”
Hart suffered severe again accidents in September 2019 whereas he was a passenger in a car that left Mulholland Freeway in California and rolled down an embankment. He required surgical procedure and spent 10 days in hospital after the accident, which he stated gave him a brand new appreciation for on a regular basis life.
“It’s solely while you method that mild that you just actually respect, I respect that there aren’t any unhealthy days,” Hart stated. podcaster Joe Rogan in May 2020. “…I smile as a result of I’ve no motive to be offended, as a result of I do not must be right here.
Hart has at instances sparked controversy. He withdrew from organizing the 2019 Oscars amid backlash over homophobic tweets he posted practically a decade earlier. In 2013, he was sentenced to 3 years of probation after pleading no contest to at least one rely of driving below the affect in Southern California.
Historically held within the fall, the Mark Twain Prize ceremony will happen within the spring for the third consecutive yr after a two-year hiatus because of the corona virus pandemic. Stewart was the first recipient after this breakand Sandler accepted his award last March in a ceremony that includes appearances by Jennifer Aniston, Chris Rock, Ben Stiller, Drew Barrymore and Conan O’Brien. CNN, below the management of since-deceased CEO Chris Licht, broadcast the ceremony for the first time after its broadcast on PBS through the earlier 20 years.