Bill Murray receives the 19th Annual Mark Twain Prize at the Kennedy Center on October 23. (Photo by Leigh Vogel/Getty Images)
By DCist contributor Peter Tabakis
This Friday, PBS will air the star-studded Mark Twain Prize gala held at the Kennedy Center in honor of Bill Murray. Sunday’s entirely apolitical ceremony featured plenty of big laughs and poignant anecdotes, delivered by big league celebrities such as Emma Stone, Aziz Ansari, Sigourney Weaver, and David Letterman, and a surprise performance by Miley Cyrus (more on that later). Even if you plan on hitting the town dressed as David S. Pumpkins on Friday night, here are five reasons why you should at least set the DVR for your Saturday morning pleasure.
STEVE MARTIN BRINGS DOWN THE HOUSE: The former Mark Twain Prize recipient didn’t join the festivities in person (“I’m [at] home relaxing”). But Steve Martin brought the night’s sharpest comedy via a prerecorded video, during which he lampooned selections from Murray’s filmography, such as Ghostbusters II (“Didn’t see it”) and Lost in Translation (“You’re telling me”). Martin’s biggest laugh came with his take on Groundhog Day. “When I saw this movie, I came out of the theater and I thought, ‘Wow, that was amazing.’ And I went right back in and saw it again. And then I came out and said to myself, ‘Wow, that was amazing.’ And I went right back in and saw it again. And then I came out of the theater and said to myself, ‘Wow, that was amazing.’ Gets old, doesn’t it, Bill?”
EMMA STONE (SORTA) GOES DEEP: Though most of the presenters kept things light, Emma Stone instead focused on Bill Murray, the supreme mensch. Stone spoke of a time on the set of Aloha, when she “was down” and Murray “picked up on it.” He brought her a small gift every day for a week, from a bag of chips to a pair of flip flops. A stagehand appeared on the Kennedy Center stage with the ultimate present, a rainbow umbrella hat. Stone, in a glittering gown, put it on and said, “I want to get serious.”
MILEY CYRUS SMOKES UP: Miley Cyrus was a late addition to the celebrity lineup. Things started out shaky, with a limp opening joke about being in town to visit Grant’s tomb (which is not, as it turns out, located in D.C.). Accompanied by Paul Shaffer on a grand piano, she then launched into a rocking rendition of “My Way”, rewritten in Murray’s honor—and promptly flubbed the lyrics. “Shaffer told me not to smoke too much while I was here,” she said after the performance. “And then I smoked too much and forgot.” A few F-bombs later, Cyrus nailed a fabulous second take, and then repeated, verbatim, the zinger about forgetting not to smoke too much. Much of this, I suspect, won’t end up on the PBS broadcast… but hope springs eternal.
A TRIUMPHANT LETTERMAN RETURNS TO THE STAGE: David Letterman has been in self-exile, presumably at his Montana ranch, since retiring from The Late Show last year. So there was an electric jolt when he took, and owned, the Kennedy Center stage Sunday night. We were transported back to the Ed Sullivan Theater as Letterman cracked wise about his Grizzly Adams beard and Miley Cyrus’ drug use (always relevant, that Dave). But his three anecdotes about Bill Murray, a longtime guest on Letterman’s many programs, ratcheted up with humor and tenderness. It was a show-stealing and heartfelt performance from the famously aloof talk-show host.
MURRAY VAMPS THROUGH HIS BIG NIGHT: Bill Murray is a subtle comedian prone to wild outbursts. Throughout the show, he stood up from his box seat at the Kennedy Center and shouted color commentary in between sets. When he finally took center stage at the end of the night, he handed his award to someone in the front row and implored the crowd to send the Mark Twain Prize as far backward as it could get by the end of his acceptance speech. As the bust of Twain zig-zagged through the orchestra seats, he remained humble and cracked the worst jokes of the night. Then he took the mic, sang a rendition of “Sweet Home Chicago” and, with a conga-line of A-listers behind him, exited, stage left.
Bill Murray: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize airs Friday, October 28 at 9/8c on PBS.
