Realistically, are there any recipients of a Twain award besides Carlin, Pryor, and Cosby that wouldn't prompt argument by the implicit comparison? I'd love to put Jonathan Winters up there, but I think way too many people would say "who?" in response. Newhart is a gifted comedian, but his social criticism is perhaps too subtle and sporadic to be compared to the others. It's still a little weird to me that neither of the "Your Show of Shows" alumni honored to date are Sid Caesar, but even he wasn't as known for satire or social commentary.
If you want some 'watering down' moment - it was when they gave it to Lorne Michaels. David ________________________________ From: Dave Sikula <[email protected]> On May 25, 9:20 pm, PGage <[email protected]> wrote: > From their > website:http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/specialevents/marktwain/#about > > "The Mark Twain Prize recognizes people who have had an impact on American > society in ways similar to the distinguished 19th century novelist and > essayist best known as Mark Twain. As a social commentator, satirist and > creator of characters, Samuel Clemens was a fearless observer of society, > who startled many while delighting and informing many more with his > uncompromising perspective of social injustice and personal folly. He > revealed the great truth of humor when he said "against the assault of > laughter nothing can stand." I am also a big fan of Fey's (but only since "30 Rock;" I never liked her much on SNL. But based on those criteria, she comes nowhere near deserving it. I'd also include Billy Crystal, Neil Simon, Steve Martin, and Carl Reiner in the undeserving category as well (Not that I don't like them, but their work doesn't skew in that direction, as far as I'm concerned.) Goldberg is iffy; she started out as a satirist, but in the last 25 years, hasn't contributed much in that department. --Dave Sikula -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
