Variety show heavy weight and Important Lady of Comedy Carol Burnett was honored at the Kennedy Center this past Sunday where she was awarded the coveted Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Yes! Give Carol Burnett all of the awards! Every last one of them!
You might be saying “About damn time,” and you’re partially right — Burnett has been one of the most important voices in American comedy since the sixties and she deserves the accolades, but truth is that the Kennedy Center has been trying to honor her for years and Burnett just couldn’t be bothered to accept it.
“They asked me quite a few times,” She told reporters on the red carpet. “But I could never work it out with my schedule.”
She then added, “I hope after tonight it will knock me down a few pegs because my head is getting huge.”
No such luck. The night included everyone from Martin Short to Bruce Vilanch to Tina Fey publicly fawning over her talent and the inspiration she’s radiated for decades.
“I love you in a way that is just shy of creepy,” Tina Fey (who won the Mark Twain Prize in 2010) told Burnett during the ceremony.
Burnett took the stage to a standing ovation and joked, “This is very encouraging. It was a long time in coming, but I understand — because there are so many people funnier than I am, especially here in Washington.”
What a dame.
Carol Burnett awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center [Washington Post]
Image via Getty.