Kevin Hart is the 2024 recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Comedy is certainly subjective. However, Hart has been putting in the work for years, and those who won the award before him did too. Their work includes movies, shows, stand-up, and other platforms where they display their comedic skills. In this list, we’re looking back at some of the past winners. We're sure you'll recognize all the names and hopefully, see a personal favorite of yours too. You might even learn something new about them.
Richard Pryor
Richard Pryor was not only the first Black person to win the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, he was the first person to win the award ever. Many people across generations have high praise for Richard Pryor's influential comedian chops. For many people, he was among the first comedians to capture their attention. Pryor also made his way into several movies. These include Lady Sings The Blues, The Mack, Car Wash, The Wiz, and The Muppets Movie. In terms of television, he found bittersweet success. He was the first black host of Saturday Night Live and also received his own variety show in 1977. However, the show was canceled after four episodes due to its content which Pryor refused to change despite censorship laws.
Richard Pryor was also the first Black actor to earn a million dollars for a movie role with Stir Crazy. Pryor continued to appear in films and television until his last role in 1999. He continues to be celebrated by comedians of all generations today.
Whoopi Goldberg
In 2001, Whoopi Goldberg was the first Black woman to win the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. This is one of several awards she's earned which all culminate in her EGOT status. For some people, Whoopi is known as the calm voice of reason on The View. However, she had a long and eventful career before making her way to that panel. She’s starred in several classic films including The Color Purple, Ghost, both Sister Act movies, and The Lion King. Whoopi's distinct voice has given her a lot of opportunities, too. She has done narration for a variety of programs, appeared in person and via clips at theme parks, hosted award shows, become a spokesperson for ad campaigns, and more.
Whoopi’s career has not been without controversy. She’s commented on a variety of topics which sometimes resulted in her issuing an apology. However, people still admire her consistency in sharing her opinions, even if they don’t agree with them. Still, this doesn’t take away from any of her accomplishments and the trailblazing she did.
Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy’s 2015 win of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor comes as no surprise. Many people hail Eddie Murphy as one of the best comedians of all time. His stand-up special, Delirious, from 1983, is hailed as one of the greatest stand-up shows of all time. Before becoming a movie star, he was a part of the cast of Saturday Night Live from 1980 to 1984. This is where he solidified his status as a top-tier comedian. His initial movie roles were quite successful, starring in the Beverly Hills Cop movies, Trading Places and 48 Hrs. He gained even more praise for his comedic acting skills in Coming To America and The Nutty Professor movies, where he took on multiple roles. Murphy’s voice has also become iconic with him voicing Mushu in Mulan and Donkey in the Shrek franchise.
While Murphy’s overall career is critically acclaimed, not all of his movies have performed well critically or commercially. Still, he pushed through and bounced back from the less-than-stellar ones with the universally acclaimed Dolomite is My Name in 2019. And, in 2023, he starred in Kenya Barris’ You People and the family-friendly Candy Cane Lane. Both movies got favorable reviews from viewers with many saying the latter would be a yearly watch.
Dave Chappelle
Dave Chappelle’s win of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor is a unique one. Typically, the ceremony for the award features various comedians talking about their connection to the winner, giving them praise, and sharing stories. Chapelle’s ceremony still included these moments but also footage from his stand-up routines in various locations. Most audiences know him for his sketch comedy series Chappelle's Show. The show is still referenced today through memes and various catchphrases. Even considering this, stand-up comedy remained his bread and butter. However, as the years have gone by, a variety of backlash arose from his material. Controversy seems to follow him as he hosted Saturday Night Live after a Presidential election twice and naturally spoke unfiltered about it both times.
In a huge deal with Netflix in 2016, Chappelle did three comedy specials for them and was paid $20 million for each. However, several of his jokes resulted in corporate backlash for Netflix with employees attempting to push back against the anti-LGBTQ+ material in his specials. Dave Chappelle has always been unfiltered but these days, more and more people have been responding to what he says.
Will Ferrell
Will Ferrel won the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2011 and has been celebrated by many people for his absurd and visual based humor. Like some of our other entries, his career began on Saturday Night Live in 1995 and he’s hosted the show before too. The movies he’s starred in, such as Talladega Nights, Step Brothers, Elf, Anchorman and The Other Guys are regarded as comedy classics of the modern era. However, one of his most surprising television appearances was as a minor character on Living Single - this happened before he joined the Saturday Night Live cast. Will Ferrell is also one of the co-founders of the comedy website and production company Funny or Die. Since beginning in 2007, the site has featured a myriad of actors in their online content and most recently produced the movie Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.
Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler’s dramatic performance in Uncut Gems might be what most people associate with him now but his comedic ventures earned him the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2023 - years after that movie took over the timelines in 2019. He’s yet another Saturday Night Live alumni and was on the show from 1990 to 1995. Sandler’s career contains some well-received comedies, some less than well-received ones, and some romantic comedies.
In recent years, Sandler entered a deal with Netflix which was renewed in 2020. His movies on the platform actually broke a record or two for viewership, validating his success with them. Naturally, he did some comedic movies which got mixed fractions. However, his more dramatic roles in 2017’s The Meyerowitz Stories and 2022’s Hustle, were met with critical acclaim. Sandler’s Netflix deal also included a stand-up special in 2018, his first one in over 20 years. He announced another one in 2024. Most recently, he voiced the lead character in their 2023 animated movie Leo.
Kevin Hart
Kevin Hart is the most recent recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. His career has been elevating since his stand-up specials I’m A Grown Little Man, Seriously Funny and Laugh At My Pain brought him in front of new audiences from 2009 to 2011. Since then he’s had multiple starring roles in movies, gotten an interview series on YouTube and Peacock and truly become a household name. He’s even expanded beyond comedic roles and starred most recently in Netflix’s Lift and before that, a Netflix drama series called True Story with co-star Wesley Snipes.
Hart’s production Laugh Out Loud productions are also quite successful. They’ve made partnership deals with a variety of streaming platforms and produced multiple types of video-based content. This content has earned multiple award nominations and wins. Hart’s career continues to expand as he does more and more roles in a variety of places. His journey as a comedian has been one of elevation that many of his supporters have watched in real-time.