WASHINGTON — Adam Sandler positioned his hand at the bronze bust of Mark Twain and speculated that it “one day might be the weapon used to bludgeon me in my sleep.”
A host of comedic and entertainment royalty gathered at Washington’s Kennedy Center as Sandler was presented with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
Presenters including Drew Barrymore, Conan O’Brien, Chris Rock, Jennifer Aniston, Steve Buscemi, Dana Carvey, and Luis Guzmán gave testimonials to Sandler’s creative longevity, while poking occasional fun at his uneven movie output and tendency to cast all his friends in his movies.
Sandler’s longtime writing and production partner Tim Herlihy joked that the pair were responsible for “31 motion pictures with a combined Rotten Tomatoes score of 59.”
Buscemi, known largely for dramatic and often violent roles, portrayed a string of comedic characters in Sandler movies.
“He takes his comedy very seriously. I laugh hard at everything I do with him,” he said.
Buscemi additionally singled out Sandler’s musical comedy, together with “The Chanukah Song,” which became a multiplatinum hit. “His comedy songs alone deserve this reward,” he stated.
Judd Apatow, Sandler’s roommate all over their early days in Los Angeles, recalled a tender Sandler’s boundless self belief and obtrusive skill.
“The moment you met him, you knew Adam was going to be a big star,” Apatow stated. “And so did Adam.”
To spotlight Sandler’s apparently countless comedic power, Apatow performed an outdated video he recorded of a tender Sandler prank-calling a neighborhood deli in his spare time to take a look at out other comedic voices.
At the tip of the evening, Sandler paid tribute to his oldsters and siblings for arming him with “that weird irrational confidence thing that I guess I still have”
Sandler, 56, first got here to nationwide consideration as a solid member on “Saturday Night Live.” After being fired from the forged following a five-year stint, Sandler introduced a wildly a success film occupation that has spanned greater than 30 motion pictures, grossing over $3 billion international.
Sandler’s best hits come with “Happy Gilmore,” “The Wedding Singer” and “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan.” Although essentially recognized for slapstick comedy and overgrown man-child characters, he has excelled in more than one dramatic roles in motion pictures comparable to “Punch Drunk Love” and “Uncut Gems.”
Guzman, who co-starred in “Punch Drunk Love,” admitted he initially idea Sandler used to be “out of his depth” in a dramatic function scripted via auteur director Paul Thomas Anderson. But he got here away inspired and praised Sandler’s “total commitment to something that was so far our of his element.”
Other comedians who won the lifetime success award come with inaugural honoree Richard Pryor in 1998, Whoopi Goldberg, Bob Newhart, Carol Burnett and Dave Chapelle. Bill Cosby, the 2009 recipient, noticed his Mark Twain Prize rescinded in 2019 amid more than one allegations of sexual attack.
The comedy establishment “SNL” has equipped greater than its proportion of the 24 Mark Twain recipients. Sandler is the 7th solid member to obtain the prize, becoming a member of Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Will Farrell, Billy Crystal, Eddie Murphy, Julia Louise-Dreyfus. Show author and manufacturer Lorne Michaels received in 2004.
The rite can be broadcast nationally on CNN on March 26.
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