Conan O’Brien is about to obtain the Mark Twain Prize on Sunday night time on the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the place the backstage drama of the host establishment could dangle over the celebration.
O’Brien, 61, was named the newest recipient of the award for lifetime achievement in comedy in mid-January, about three weeks earlier than President Donald Trump upended the Kennedy Center by ousting the longtime president and the board chairman. Trump dismissed the board of administrators and changed them with loyalists, who then elected him as chairman.
In asserting the modifications, Trump posted on social media that those that had been dismissed “don’t share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture.”
How that imaginative and prescient takes form stays to be seen, however Trump has spoken about desirous to ebook extra Broadway exhibits there and floated the thought of granting Kennedy Center Honors standing to actor Sylvester Stallone and singer-songwriter Paul Anka.
Into this maelstrom steps O’Brien, whose comedic persona has by no means been significantly political. The comedian has all the time tended extra towards goofiness and self-deprecation. But he has additionally leaned into delicate societal points at occasions. In 2011, O’Brien officiated a homosexual marriage ceremony reside on his present, overseeing the wedding of his longtime costume designer Scott Cronick and his associate David Gorshein.
O’Brien vaulted into the highlight from near-total obscurity in 1993 when he was chosen to exchange David Letterman as host of “Late Night” regardless of no important on-camera expertise. The former Harvard Lampoon editor had spent the earlier years as a author for “Saturday Night Live” and “The Simpsons,” showing on digicam solely as an occasional background further in “SNL” skits.
He went on to host “Late Night” for 16 years, longer than some other host. O’Brien was later tapped to exchange Jay Leno as host of “The Tonight Show,” however that experiment led to public failure. After seven months of declining scores, NBC executives introduced Leno again for a brand new present that may bump “The Tonight Show” again. O’Brien refused to simply accept the transfer, resulting in a public spat that ended with a multimillion-dollar payout for O’Brien and his employees to exit the community in early 2010.
O’Brien went on to host one other discuss present on the cable station TBS, whereas launching profitable podcasts and journey exhibits. He is presently on a late-career elder statesman sizzling streak. His journey collection, “Conan O’Brien Must Go,” drew widespread and important acclaim, with a second season coming. His latest gig internet hosting the Academy Awards was so properly acquired that the producers introduced they’re bringing him again subsequent 12 months.
In the wake of Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center, a number of artists, together with the producers of “Hamilton” and actress and author Issa Rae, introduced they had been canceling appearances on the venue.
Others have chosen to carry out whereas making their sentiments recognized from the stage. Leftist comedian W. Kamau Bell straight addressed the controversy in his efficiency simply days after the shake-up. Earlier this month, cellist Erin Murphy Snedecor ended her set with a efficiency of the Woody Guthrie protest anthem “All You Fascists Bound to Lose.”
Mark Twain recipients usually obtain tributes and testimonials from a star-studded assortment of comics and celebrities. Given the character of comedians, it appears probably that a few of them on Sunday night will deal with the problem of the establishment’s unsure future.
Other comedians receiving the lifetime achievement award embrace each Letterman and Leno, together with George Carlin, Whoopi Goldberg, Bob Newhart, Carol Burnett, Bill Murray and Dave Chappelle.
The ceremony shall be streamed on Netflix later this 12 months. The date has not been introduced.
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