Mark Twain Prize winner Adam Sandler is introduced at the start of the 24th Annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington on Sunday, March 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
Adam Sandler placed his hand on the bronze bust of Mark Twain and speculated that “one day it may be the weapon used to beat me in my sleep”.
A host of comedy and entertainment kings gathered at the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington as Sandler received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
It had moderators like Drew Barrymore, Conan O’Brien, Chris Rock, Jennifer Aniston, Steve Buscemi, Dana Carvey and Luis Guzman which testified to Sandler’s creative longevity while also poking fun at his uneven screen performance and tendency to cast all of his friends in his films.
Mark Twain Prize winner Adam Sandler (right) and his wife Jackie Sandler arrive on the red carpet at the start of the 24th Annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
Tim Herlihy, Sandler’s longtime screenwriter and producing partner, joked that the pair were to blame “31 films with a total Rotten Tomatoes score of 59”, regarding the page dedicated to the worst Hollywood movies.
Best known for dramatic and often violent roles, Buscemi played a number of comedic characters in Sandler’s films.
“He takes his comedy very seriously. I laugh a lot at everything I do with him.”called.
Buscemi also highlighted Sandler’s musical comedy, including “The Chanukah Song,” which went on to become a multi-platinum hit: “Only his comedy songs deserve this reward,” he said.
Steve Buscemi said that Sandler “takes his comedy very seriously. I laugh a lot at everything I do with him.” (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
Judd Apatow, Sandler’s roommate during his early days in Los Angeles, recalled a young Sandler’s boundless confidence and obvious talent.
“The moment you met him, They knew Adam was going to be a big starsaid Apatow. “And Adam too.”
To highlight Sandler’s seemingly limitless comedic energy, Apatow played an old video he recorded of a young Sandler pranking a local deli in his spare time to try out different comedic voices.
Judd Apatow, Sandler’s roommate during his early days in Los Angeles, recalled a young Sandler’s boundless confidence and obvious talent. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
At the end of the night, Sandler credited his parents and siblings for arming him with “that weird irrational confidence that I think I still have.”
Sandler, 56, first gained attention as a cast member on Saturday Night Live. After being fired from the cast after five years, Sandler launched a hugely successful film career that spanned more than 30 films grossing more than $3 billion worldwide.
Sandler’s greatest hits include “Happy Gilmore”, “The Wedding Singer” and “Don’t Mess with the Zohan”. Although best known for his slapstick comedy and boyish, masculine characters, he has appeared in several dramatic roles in films such as Punch Drunk Love and Uncut Gems.
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Guzman, who starred in Punch Drunk Love, admitted he originally thought Sandler would be “overwhelmed” in a dramatic role written by writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson. But he was impressed, praising Sandler’s “total dedication to what has been our element up until now.”
Other comedians to have received the Lifetime Achievement Award include first prize winner Richard Pryor in 1998, Whoopi Goldberg, Bob Newhart, Carol Burnett and Dave Chapelle. Bill Cosby, the 2009 winner, had his 2019 Mark Twain award revoked following multiple sexual assault allegations.
The acclaimed show SNL has produced 24 Mark Twain Prize winners. Sandler is the seventh cast member to receive the award, joining Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Will Farrell, Billy Crystal, Eddie Murphy and Julia Louise-Dreyfus. The show’s creator and producer, Lorne Michaels, won in 2004.
The ceremony will be televised nationally on March 26 on CNN.
(with information from AP)
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