Bill Cosby, one of the country's most enduring and familiar entertainers, has been selected to receive this year's Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, the Kennedy Center announced this morning.
Cosby, 71, has conquered many media platforms in his nearly 50 years in show business, from stand-up to recordings to television to publishing. His wide-ranging television work includes "The Electric Company" to "I Spy" to "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids" to "The Cosby Show."
In accepting the honor, Cosby, celebrated as a sharp storyteller, issued a remembrance:
"After bathing us, dressing us in fresh pajamas, and setting us into the crib together, Annie Pearl Cosby read to my brother James and I 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,' and later 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,'" said Cosby. "I would like to apologize to Mr. Twain for falling asleep hundreds of times, but he should understand that I was only four."