On Sunday night, the Kennedy Center awarded the 20th Mark Twain Prize to David Letterman during its annual, star-studded gala. Unlike last year’s politics-free ceremony for Bill Murray, which was held prior to the election, the specter of the Trump administration loomed large throughout the evening. In fact, the contrast became evident early on, before the cameras started rolling.
Halfway into a pre-show roll call of sponsors by Kennedy Center chairman David Rubinstein, polite applause came to halt with the announcement of two names: Dick and Betsy DeVos. After some perfunctory clapping, pockets of laughter and chatter erupted from the auditorium. Rubenstein paused. “OK,” he said, before continuing with the list. It was an awkward start to an otherwise smooth ceremony.
Though our current political climate offered the night’s presenters with easy punchlines, Letterman and his infamous beard remained the center of attention. Much like in years past, an impressive roster of celebrities (including Senator Al Franken, Steve Martin, Norm Macdonald, Jimmy Kimmel, Bill Murray, and Amy Schumer) mixed roast-worthy comedy with high praise. Best of all, Letterman’s late-night gang were reunited on the Kennedy Center stage. As usual, PBS will air an edited version of the celebration on November 20. The broadcast may be a few weeks away, but here are some reasons why you should set your DVRs now.
POLITICS PUNCTUATES THE EVENING: Steve Martin and Martin Short opened the show, with the former seated behind a grand piano and the latter splayed on top. The event’s first big (intentional) laugh came when Short commended the crowd’s “different white backgrounds.” Jimmy Kimmel (announced as “America’s number one vegetable-rights activist”) jokingly blamed Letterman’s retirement for the rise of Donald Trump. “You abandoned us,” he said. “You went out for a pack of cigarettes and left us to live with an abusive orange stepfather.” He then quipped, “Funding for the Kennedy Center has just been cut off.”
Later, when comedian John Mulaney mentioned President Obama and was met with a mild audience response, he remarked that “some [people are] not applauding. Still on the fence? OK.” Mulaney repeated Obama’s name, this time to a roar. Though appearances by two big-name Democrats, Senator Al Franken (in person) and Michelle Obama (on screen), hewed apolitical, their inclusion spoke volumes.
But it was Letterman himself who voiced the strongest, and most poignant, political message by quoting his prize’s namesake: “Patriotism is supporting your country all the time and supporting your government when it deserves it.”
MURRAY RETURNS TO THE KENNEDY CENTER A RENAISSANCE MAN: Bill Murray, last year’s honoree, upstaged his fellow presenters by arriving onstage dressed in full Tudor regalia and trumpeting the benefits of the Mark Twain Prize. “What a reign it has been,” he announced in typical deadpan fashion. “When you are anointed, you rise above all your fellow men and women.” To prove the point, Murray instructed similarly costumed stagehands to distribute hamburgers to Letterman and his loved ones, seated in an opera box above. He urged Letterman’s son Harry to throw a pickle into the crowd: “I want you to be a generous prince.” Dave played along and handed his son a tomato slice. “He’s going to be a good one,” Murray intoned after Harry tossed it into the crowd.
EDDIE VEDDER MAKES DAVE CRY: Sunday’s biggest surprise came from an unlikely source. Late in the show, Eddie Vedder took the stage to commemorate a Letterman favorite: the equally cranky, and late, troubadour Warren Zevon. With Paul Shaffer on piano, and a handful of backup singers behind him, Vedder delivered a deeply emotional cover of “Keep Me in Your Heart,” one of Zevon’s final compositions before succumbing to cancer. The pathos of the performance seemed all the more startling given the event’s festive tone. Letterman responded in kind, by wiping his eyes.
LETTERMAN’S TALK SHOW REUNITES IN DC: For fans of the nostalgia-averse Letterman, this was the closest to a reunion of his iconoclastic talk show (which famously migrated from NBC to CBS) that we’re likely to get. Paul Shaffer and the World’s Most Dangerous Band provided interstitial music, while Alan Kalter reprised his role as announcer. Even Biff Henderson, the Late Show’s beloved stage manager, made a cameo appearance. But it was the reminders, via video clips, of Letterman’s heyday that ruled the night. Stupid Pet Tricks, the late-greats of “Dave’s Mom” (aka Dorothy Mengering) and Larry “Bud” Melman, the Hello Deli, foodstuffs thrown from the top of buildings – all were fondly remembered. Comedian Chris Elliott (of Cabin Boy infamy) joined the other presenters for a final Top Ten List: the differences between Letterman and Twain. During his acceptance speech, Letterman appeared humbled and, of course, embarrassed by all of the love. “Is it wrong,” he asked, “that I kind of wish this could’ve been presented posthumously?”
AND THE NUMBER ONE REASON NOT TO MISS THE MARK TWAIN PRIZE BROADCAST ON PBS: That beard. Come on.
