58747108Mark Twain put it best when he said, "Bill Cosby was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for Humor Monday night."

Comedian Bill Cosby's impact on American humor and on media depictions of race was saluted by an admiring gaggle of entertainers Monday at the Kennedy Center's 12th annual Mark Twain Prize.

Bill Cosby is a legend, as a stand-up comedian and as a television icon, and he truly deserves the honor, one which he had declined twice in the past.

Cosby initially declined the award due to the language used in the Twain ceremony honoring Richard Pryor back in 1998. "I made it clear that there were certain people who misunderstood what Richard was about and how they were using words," Cosby said. "And I was not about to have that celebrating Mark Twain and Bill Cosby."

Without getting too into Cosby's grumpy grandpa transformation over the past twenty years, it is nice to see him finally accept the award. Clearly, an award show for Pryor, a comedy genius who didn't mince words, and an award show for Cosby, a comedy genius who preferred telling stories that contained humanity without profanity, are going to be quite different.

The ceremony featured many comedians, performers and friends, including Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld, Steven Wright, Carl Reiner, Sinbad, Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis, as well as The Cosby Show co-stars Phylicia Rashad and Malcolm-Jamal Warner.

Although we'll have to wait until November 4 to watch the broadcast on PBS, there are already moments from Cosby's acceptance speech that sound genuinely touching.

"How far I could go had barriers in front of it. And it is because of civil rights, because of the winning of the people of all color… we're here today," Cosby said.

"I just feel like a master. I feel good. And I'm comfortable."

Congratulations, Mr. Cosby! (Because of how you read this blog all the time and will probably read this at some point today). Let's all go re-watch Bill Cosby: Himself now.