David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel & More to Salute Bill Murray at Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for Humor

A lineup of leading performers, including Aziz Ansari, Roy Blount Jr., Jane Curtin, Rhiannon Giddens, Bill Hader, Jimmy Kimmel, David Letterman, Brian Doyle Murray, Ivan Reitman, Paul Shaffer, Emma Stone, Sigourney Weaver, and others will salute Bill Murray at the 19th Annual KENNEDY Center MARK TWAIN PRIZE FOR AMERICAN HUMOR on Sunday, October 23, 2016 at 8 p.m. The program will pay tribute to the humor and career accomplishments of Bill Murray, and will be taped by WETA Washington, D.C. The program is slated to air on PBS stations as Bill Murray: The KENNEDY Center Mark Twain Prize nationwide October 28 at 9 p.m. (check local listings). Artists are subject to change.

The KENNEDY Center Mark Twain Prize, sponsored by Capital One®, focuses on the achievements of American comedic artists. The proceeds from the evening's event support the KENNEDY Center's programs, performances, and outreach. As the recipient of the 2016 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, Bill Murray will receive a copy of an 1884 bronze portrait bust of Mark Twain sculpted by Karl Gerhardt (1853-1940). The bust and images of it are courtesy of the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, Connecticut.

As a social commentator, satirist, and creator of characters, Samuel Clemens-the distinguished 19th-century novelist and essayist also known as Mark Twain-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."

Along with the John F. KENNEDY Center for the Performing Arts, the creators and executive producers of THE MARK TWAIN PRIZE are Bob Kaminsky, Peter Kaminsky, Mark Krantz, and Cappy McGarr. The WETA Washington, D.C. executive producer for Bill Murray: The KENNEDY Center Mark Twain Prize is Dalton Delan. The co-chairs for the event are Patti and Rusty Rueff of Burlingame, California and CJ and George Nichols of Potomac, Maryland. Mr. Nichols serves as Senior Vice President of Governmental Affairs for New York Life Insurance Company and chairs THE MARK TWAIN PRIZE on the company's behalf.

The KENNEDY Center Celebration of American Humor was instituted as an annual event in October 1998. Recipients of the KENNEDY Center Mark Twain Prize have been 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), Tina Fey (2010), Will Ferrell (2011), Ellen DeGeneres (2012), Carol Burnett (2013), Jay Leno (2014), and Eddie Murphy (2015).

Watch a promo for the show below:

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