Adam Sandler To Be Honored With Mark Twain Prize For American Humor

Adam Sandler has been tapped to receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts will honor the Saturday Night Live alum in March.

“Adam Sandler has entertained audiences for over three decades with his films, music and his tenure as a fan-favorite cast member on SNL,” Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter said. “Adam has created characters that have made us laugh, cry and cry from laughing.”

The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor is given to individuals who have impacted society, similar to writer Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain. The Uncut Gems star will be given the 24th Mark Twain prize. Past winners include Richard Pryor, Carl Reiner, Whoopi Goldberg, Eddie Murphy, David Letterman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Dave Chappelle and Jon Stewart.

Sandler has had a long career in stand-up, television and movies. Giving Sandler the Mark Twain Award five years ago would have turned some heads. However, Sandler has recently re-emerged as a critically beloved force both in comedy and drama.

Sandler started his acting career with a four-episode arc on The Cosby Show before joining the cast of SNL in 1990. He quickly became an audience favorite with goofy original songs and memorable zany characters during his five seasons on the show.

After leaving the show, he made a string of comedy films starting with Billy Madison in 1995. Between 1995 and 2000, he wrote and starred in Happy Gilmore, The Waterboy, Big Daddy, and Little Nicky, and acted in other projects such as The Wedding Singer. During the 2000s and 2010s, Sandler experienced a string of box office and commercial bombs. Sandler has been nominated for 37 Razzie Awards and has won nine.

However, Sandler still inked a megadeal with NetflixNFLX
in 2014 to produce and star in films for the streamer. Under that deal, Sandler released The Ridiculous 6 in 2016, followed by The Do-Over, Sandy Wexler, and others. He also released the standup comedy special Adam Sandler: 100% Fresh for the streamer. The special was critically praised as both a piece of work and the Grown-Ups star’s long-awaited return to standup. He re-upped the deal with the streamer in 2020.

Since 2020, Sandler has also won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead for his Role in Uncut Gems. Sandler recently starred in Netflix’s the Hustle and has several anticipated projects upcoming.

The award will be presented on March 19 during a gala at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall in Manhattan.