Back in January 2017 – you know, five years ago – I updated my list of comedians who deserved the Mark Twain Award for American humor. Since then, one of the people on my list got the award – congrats Julia Luis Dreyfus, 2018 – alongside two other deserving winners: Dave Letterman in 2017, and Dave Chapelle in 2019. But no award was given these past two years. And, compared to my 2017 list, some of the greats who I wanted to see win have died: Dick Gregory, Mort Sahl, and most recently, Betty White. I’ve also removed Louis CK and Garrison Keillor, as I suspect there’s little chance either would be eligible to win, post-2017.
So,
with a few other minor tweaks, here are a dozen nominees who will hopefully win,
starting in 2022.
1.
Dick
Van Dyke, 96. He is so talented – one of the great physical comedians. The
plots of The Dick Van Dyke Show were clever, and he was always so sincere. And
Mary Poppins!
2.
Mel
Brooks, 95. Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, The Producers. The man worked
with Sid Caesar and won an EGOT.
3.
Tom
Lehrer, 93. He wants to be remembered for mathematics, and that’s nice and all,
but his comedy recordings are part of the National Recording Registry, and his
math isn’t.
4.
The
Smothers Brothers, 84+83. After a string of noteworthy comedy albums, they got
their own show, The Smother Brothers Comedy Hour, which helped change the
comedic landscape of television.
5.
Bette
Midler, 76. An all-arounder, Midler wrote her own show and has won Grammys, Emmys, and Tonys,
alongside her recent Kennedy Center Honor. She is considered an icon for a
reason.
6.
Matt
Groening, 67. The Simpsons, alone. But let’s not forget the off-beat Life in
Hell or Futurama, or the recent success of Disenchantment.
7.
Harvey
Fierstein, 67. A pretty big force in Broadway’s comedy world. His play La Cage
Aux Follies successfully crossed into film, and Kinky Boots won Best Musical. Hairspray helped prove his acting chops.
8.
“Weird
Al” Yankovic, 62. The inheritor of the legacy of Tom Lehrer, Weird Al defined
parody songs for both Gen X and Millennials, and is still going strong, winning comedy Grammys well into the 2010s.
9.
Jon
Stewart, 59. Basically changed how media, news, and television works. Fought an
eight-year crusade against George W. Bush and spawned the careers of Samantha Bee, John
Oliver, and Stephen Colbert, among others.
10.
Conan
O’Brien, 58. They gave it to Letterman, Ellen, and Leno. The guy had a
28-year run of late-night shows, just shy of Johnny Carson. Before that he was
a legendary SNL and Simpsons writer.
11.
Chris
Rock, 56. He’s had a great standup career. His television and movie work is
mixed, but usually he’s one of the highlights of whatever he’s in. Four Emmys
and three Grammys aren’t nothing.
12.
Margaret
Cho, 53. Cho’s work has always been there, simmering in the background of the
standup world. She never quite got the big breaks, and, honestly, I'm not a fan, but her work in both Asian
American and LGBTQ representation in comedy has been important.
