The Mark Twain Prize for American humor is the greatest individual accolade a comedian can receive for his or her work. On Sunday Dave Chappelle was the latest recipient of this prestigious award. It was a star studded night where some of Dave’s closest friends in the industry were in attendance. Neal Brennan, Common, Bradley Cooper, Tiffany Haddish, John Legend, Chrissy Teigen, Lorne Michaels, Trevor Noah and Jon Stewart paid tribute to Chappelle showering him with respect and praise.
Tiffany Haddish mentioned the impact he has had on her career which has been off to a brilliant start. “Dave, you have always been a mentor, You’ve been my mentor, my big brother. Every time I step on stage I think of you, because I’ve always wanted to make you proud. Cause you the greatest”
Jon Stewart compared Chappelle to the late great Anthony Bourdain stating “He’s not just a comedian, that’s the way that he channels that knowledge and that process. What he is, is he’s the black Bourdain. He is a man that seeks out people, experience and knowledge, and he wants to touch it and feel it and be with it on the ground so that he can the channel that through his art, and then redirect that back to you as something completely different and new.”
Comedic legend Eddie Murphy also spoke on Chappelle’s brilliance calling Dave “one of the most, maybe the most, intellectual comedian ever. Dave Chappelle is arguably the greatest comedian of all time and The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor is a culmination of his tremendous career thus far."
