Dave Chappelle to Receive 2019 Mark Twain Prize for Humor

As early as now, the panel for the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor has revealed that this year's prestigious award will be given to none other but Dave Chappelle.

On October 27, 2019, all the best entertainers will be gathering in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall to applaud Dave Chappelle, who is set to receive the 22nd annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. This prize was named after one of the world's greatest comedians and has been considered one of the most honorable awards that a comedian could ever get.

This year's awards night will include gala performances with some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry. While the real event will happen in October, it'll be aired on PBS stations on January 6, 2020.

For those who want to get front seat action for the event, tickets will be sold soon, as sponsorship packages for the gala performances are now on sale.

Choosing the Mark Twain Prize recipient

The Mark Twain Prize is given to entertainers who have had an impact on American society similar to the way the 19th-century novelist and essayist did before. Mark Twain, or born Samuel Clemens in real life, was a social commentator, satirist, and the creator of memorable fictional characters. Due to his fearless observations, he fascinated the world by his way of thinking and his perspective on social injustices and personal problems.

It was him who believed that through laughter, even the toughest problems could be forgotten, even just for a while.

The history of the Award

The event was created by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts together with Bob and Peter Kaminsky, Mark Krantz, and John Schreiber.

Its previous recipients include Richard Pryor (1998), Jonathan Winters (1999), Carl Reiner (2000), Whoopi Goldberg (2001), Bob Newhart (2002), Lily Tomlin (2003), Lorne Michaels (2004), Steve Martin (2005), Neil Simon (2006), Billy Crystal (2007), George Carlin (2008), Bill Cosby (2009, rescinded in 2018) Tina Fey (2010), Will Ferrell (2011), Ellen DeGeneres (2012), Carol Burnett (2013) Jay Leno (2014), Eddie Murphy (2015), Bill Murray (2016), David Letterman (2017), and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (2018). Now, Dave Chappelle will be joining this long list.

The iconic Dave Chappelle

Dave is a world-class stand-up comedian and actor, who is not afraid to speak about social issues such as race, drugs, sex, politics, fame, and popular culture. He is the most-touring comedian in the world, having had more than 1,600 concerts worldwide in just four years, selling out his shows just minutes after the release of its tickets.

Chappelle, regardless of where he was, could always make people laugh. After realizing this, he began to set some ambitious goals and ended up exceeding them.

With all his accomplishments, it's quite surprising that Dave Chappelle is only getting his Mark Twain Prize this year, as it is definitely long overdue.

Congratulations, Dave!