As this year's recipient of the prestigious Mark Twain Prize, writer-producer-actor Tina Fey was feted this week at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., for her contributions to American humor.
It's a body of work that includes years of leading the 'Saturday Night Live' writing team, the creation of '30 Rock' and her Liz Lemon character, blistering Sarah Palin impersonations, and feature films such as 'Baby Mama' and 'Mean Girls.' The tribute will air as a 90-minute PBS special tomorrow (9 p.m. EST).
A slew of famous friends brought the funny, stepping onstage to pay homage to, and poke fun at, their comedy goddess. Steve Martin, Amy Poehler, Steve Carell, Jimmy Fallon, Betty White, Jon Hamm and Jennifer Hudson were joined by 'SNL' boss Lorne Michaels -- who named Fey the first female head writer in series history -- and '30 Rock' co-stars Tracy Morgan and Jane Krakowski.
(After the jump, check out a string of stars speaking out, in all silliness and occasional seriousness, about the Emmy winner's selection as a Mark Twain Prize honoree.)
In this PBS promo clip, Fey answers questions about her improv comedy past ("It's freeing to fail and realize you didn't die"), her favorite comedians, and the pernicious dessert she scorns most...pie.
Meanwhile, PBS producers turned to Hollywood stars for insights about Tina Fey's achievements. Fred Armisen, however, just wants her to pay him back for an omelette at a diner.
At 40 years old, Fey -- a native of Pennsylvania and mom to 5-year-old Alice with husband Jeff Richmond -- is the youngest recipient of the Mark Twain Prize. The salute to Fey raised $1.3 million for the Kennedy Center, according to the Washington Post, a record-breaking amount for the black-tie event. About the sold-out tribute, the center's chairman David M. Rubenstein cracked, "The demand for tickets has been beyond anything the Kennedy Center has seen for this event, [not] just in Washington...from Florida, and from Maine, and from California, and from Alaska. Yes, there was, for some reason, a good deal of demand from Alaska."
Honorees in previous years include Richard Pryor, Jonathan Winters, Carl Reiner, Whoopi Goldberg, Bob Newhart, Lily Tomlin, Lorne Michaels, Steve Martin, Neil Simon, Billy Crystal, George Carlin and Bill Cosby.
Jon Hamm, star of the hit series "Mad Men", is spotted filming scenes for the upcoming season. Jon was all smiles while filming in a red, vintage Imperial convertible.
As this year's recipient of the prestigious Mark Twain Prize, writer-producer-actor Tina Fey was feted this week at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., for her contributions to American humor. I love this , So does My boyfriend .he is almost 11year older than me .i met him via age'lessmate.c'om a nice place for seeking age le ss love.which gives you a chance to make your life better and open opportunities for you to meet the attractive young girls and treat you like a king. Maybe you wanna check it out or tell your friends..
I think she's talented, but the Mark Twain honors??? Totally ridiculous. Must be political: She's being honored for mocking Sarah Palin, basically. It's more than annoying when you consider that neither Lucille Ball nor Carol Burnett ever won this award!
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Tina Fey was feted this week at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., for her contributions to American humor.
Uhhh, what contributions are that? Is extreme banality funny nowdays?
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As this year's recipient of the prestigious Mark Twain Prize, writer-producer-actor Tina Fey was feted this week at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., for her contributions to American humor. I love this , So does My boyfriend .he is almost 11year older than me .i met him via age'lessmate.c'om a nice place for seeking age le ss love.which gives you a chance to make your life better and open opportunities for you to meet the attractive young girls and treat you like a king. Maybe you wanna check it out or tell your friends..
What is she being honored for? impersonating people? They soon will give out honors for the celebrity most admitted to rehab
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I think she's talented, but the Mark Twain honors??? Totally ridiculous. Must be political: She's being honored for mocking Sarah Palin, basically. It's more than annoying when you consider that neither Lucille Ball nor Carol Burnett ever won this award!
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Lyn You Are A Genius. Carol Burnett and Lucille Ball should have won this if that were the criteria, because those two women were and are LEGENDARY.
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