RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Mark Twain once said, if you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything. One of the most prestigious honors in comedy is named for the writer. The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor was presented last night at the Kennedy Center to Jon Stewart. Here's NPR's Elizabeth Blair.
ELIZABETH BLAIR, BYLINE: The Mark Twain Award recognizes comedians who use humor to shine a light on the truth and on social injustice the way Twain did in his day. "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" covered elections, pointed out hypocrisies, interviewed major newsmakers and sent correspondents, like Steve Carell, into the field.
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STEVE CARELL: One of my first assignments was an interview with a man who ran a venom research facility in Nebraska. When I got there, the research facility was actually a mobile home full of snakes.
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BLAIR: Carell said Stewart loved the interview.
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CARELL: As he watched it, he jokingly said over and over that it would have been great if I'd actually been bitten by a snake.
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BLAIR: In the early days, "The Daily Show" took some heat for its lack of diversity. For a time, Samantha Bee was its sole female correspondent.
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SAMANTHA BEE: It is my greatest pleasure to speak to you tonight as the woman behind the man behind the man behind the man behind all the other men.
BLAIR: "The Daily Show" won two Peabody Awards and 20 Emmys. And even though it was comedy, it was where a lot of people got their news. Dave Chappelle said Stewart's voice was vital after 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq.
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DAVE CHAPELLE: And the news was off the chain. And Jon was the only voice that helped people decipher that madness.
BLAIR: Jon Stewart started doing standup in 1987. He hosted a short-lived show on MTV. For years before "The Daily Show," his career had its ups and downs. Accepting the Mark Twain Award, Stewart said, in comedy, you get back up again.
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JON STEWART: There isn't any fixed point in comedy where you make it or you don't make it. It's the journey with the greatest friends I could ever possibly have made.
BLAIR: The Mark Twain Prize Award will be broadcast on PBS in June.
Elizabeth Blair, NPR News, Washington.
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