Late Night Last Week: Conan Receives the Mark Twain Prize
Every week, Late Night Last Week highlights some of the best late night TV from the previous week. In this week’s late night TV recap, Conan O’Brien receives the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, his longtime sidekick Andy Richter discusses Hinge with Taylor Tomlinson, Amber Ruffin goes on Colbert to talk about the WHCA, and Jon Stewart looks at Trump’s first 100 days.
“This is so crazy.”
Such were the words said by Conan O’Brien, under his breath to his wife, Liza, and just barely picked up by a microphone attached to his lapel, at the outset of the ceremony in which the intrepid host received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. If anything, the craziest part of the night was how non-gratuitous the whole affair felt. Just like the man himself, it was a brainy, hilarious night that never felt too showy or in-your-face. Everyone got it just right.
Perhaps that is because there have been few comedians of his talent that have been so consistently wrong (O’Brien himself hates this fact, often deflecting again and again by saying just how lucky he is). But while that is true, it was precisely that sentiment with which John Mulaney began the ceremony. After referring to O’Brien as his hero, Mulaney likened his love for Conan to his Chicago Cubs fandom.
“I knew how to root for people that lose constantly,” Mulaney said. “But with Conan, it was likely being a Cubs fan, but you think the way they lost was so brilliant that they won, and you’re trying to convince the scoreboard.”
“It was like being a Cubs fan if after each game, there was a serious discussion as to whether the Cubs should be allowed to be a team anymore,” he added.
The ceremony featured a who’s who of O’Brien’s most popular guests from across his three late night shows, including Saturday Night Live alumni like Tracy Morgan, Adam Sandler, and Will Ferrell. Nikki Glaser came out to remember her father showing her a taped VHS copy of Late Night with Conan O’Brien’s 5th anniversary special. That is, until she was cut-off by one of the show’s most memorable characters, The Interrupter (Brian Stack). Other characters appeared to pay their respects to Conan, including the Masurbating Bear and Robert Smiegel as Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, who emceed the evening.
O’Brien’s acceptance speech began by thanking the man who spoke just before him, David Letterman. He told a story about being rejected as a staff writer on Late Night with David Letterman. For a young, struggling writer, it was a low moment. “Now, imagine that suddenly some angel from the future appears … and tells me that 40 years from now, I’m going to be onstage at the Kennedy Center in Washington and that the most prestigious award in comedy is going to be handed to me by David Letterman,” O’Brien said. “I would have stared at that angel in utter shock and said, ‘Wait a minute. David Letterman is still alive!?’”
Like the literature major he once was, O’Brien ended the speech with a discussion of Twain himself, noting that his body of work was dedicated to rejecting bullies and bigotry, and understanding that to love America is to critique it.
“It has everything to do with comedy. Everything,” he said. “The comedy I have loved all of my life is comedy that is self-critical, deflating, and dedicated to the proposition that we are all flawed, absurd, and wallowing in the mud together.
“Twain is funny and important today because his comedy is a hilarious celebration of our fears, our ineptitude, and the glorious mess of being human,” he added.
The speech ended with Will Forte as Twain dialoguing with Conan from the audience. He then joined Conan on stage, only to then dance alongside others dressed as Twain. There was a lot of speculation during the evening (and even more so given the Trump Administration’s ongoing budget cuts) that this might be the last Mark Twain Prize given. If true, it surely ended on a beautiful note.
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