Jay Leno has made us laugh for many, many years, and on Sunday, the former Tonight Show host was honored with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in a ceremony at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Plenty of entertainers came out to fête the comedian—including his late-night successor, Jimmy Fallon . Praising Leno as "a trail-blazing comedian" and "someone to look up to my entire year," Fallon thanked his predecessor, per USA Today , for being someone who "showed me that hard work does pay off."
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Jerry Seinfeld also spoke out, saying Leno "really guided my career in so many ways, especially as a standup comedian....I learned how to do this from him."
"He showed me the way of what I wanted to be—to let your inner crankiness out," added Seinfeld, per the Washington Post . "That can make good comedy. Entertaining complaining is a lot of what stand-up comedy is about."
Wanda Sykes called Leno, 64, "one of the nicest guys in the business," gushing, "I can't think of anyone who deserves this more than you."
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Other celeb attendees included Late Night's Seth Meyers , Garth Brooks , Ross Matthews and Kristin Chenoweth . Jamie Foxx and Betty White each sent video messages in to the comedian. "Every night for 22 years I would watch Jay Leno to go to sleep," joked Foxx. "I nicknamed him Jay Lunesta. Now I'm having withdrawals."
Leno, who will soon be returning to TV with a car series on CNBC, laughed right along with all the playful jabs. On a more serious note, he said he would "treasure" the award. "This means a tremendous amount to me," he said. "I am so touched by this."
Jay Leno: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize will be broadcast Nov. 23 on PBS.
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via E! Online (US) - Top Stories
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