Bill Maher awarded Mark Twain Prize during Kennedy Center ceremony
Comedian Bill Maher is the recipient of the 2026 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. (Source: KCMedia)
Those who were looking forward to witnessing one of comedy’s biggest nights of the year on Sunday will get their chance late next month as the presentation of the 2026 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor returns to Netflix.
Big picture view:
The long career of comedian Bill Maher will be honored during Sunday’s ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, but he will be far from the only big name in the house.
The Lineup
Louis C.K., Whitney Cummings, Woody Harrelson, Arianna Huffington, Jay Leno, John Mellencamp, Stephen A. Smith, and others will be on hand to honor the "Real Time with Bill Maher" host.
The special will debut on Netflix on July 21, according to the Kennedy Center.
Why you should care:
Maher is probably best known as the host of HBO’s "Real Time," which has been on the cable network for more than two decades. Prior to that, he hosted another talk show where multiple guests debated current events, "Politically Incorrect," from 1993-2002 on Comedy Central and ABC. In that time, he has earned 42 Emmy nominations.
Maher, who began his career in 1979 as a stand-up comedian, has also released five bestselling books and hosts his own podcast.
The backstory:
The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor pays tribute to people whose impact on American culture echoed the 19th century author who was born Samuel Clemens, but became widely celebrated under his pen name. The Kennedy Center described Clemens as "a fearless observer of society who delighted and informed onlookers with his uncompromising perspective on society and personal follies."
The list of recipients includes some of the biggest names in comedy history, starting with the Mark Twain Prize’s first honoree, Richard Pryor, in 1998. Since then, names like Carol Burnett, George Carlin, Dave Chappelle, Tina Fey, David Letterman, Eddie Murphy, and Bill Murray have all been honored with awards. Another long-time talk-show host, Conan O’Brien, won the Prize last year.
Dig deeper:
Sunday night’s event was also one of the first major events held at the Kennedy Center since the removal of President Donald Trump’s name from the facility.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from the Kennedy Center. This story was reported from Orlando.