Jay Leno Joins Will Ferrell, Bill Cosby, Ellen DeGeneres and Carol Burnett: Receives Mark Twain Prize For American Humor

Following the announcement that he'll soon be getting his own CNBC primetime show, Jay Leno receive some other good news –– he was to be the recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor! To celebrate, the former Tonight Show host was jokingly slammed by the likes of Jimmy Fallon, Jerry Seinfeld, and more, at the Kennedy Center in Washington. The Mark Twain Award acknowledges those who have made an impact on American society. In the past, the award has been given to Will Ferrell, Bill Cosby, Ellen DeGeneres and Carol Burnett.

The Hollywood Reporter notes that the event will air on PBS this coming Nov. 23.

Some of the best moments of the night reportedly came not with Leno's acceptance, but of the jokes leading up to it. Current Tonight Show host, Jimmy Fallon, who replaced Leno back in February, joked that Leno was "a man who has done so much for NBC, so much that we had to cerebrate his career on PBS."

Seinfeld, who has been friends with Leno for almost four decades, admitted that the comedian has been his idol for many, many years. "There's no one more deserving to get this wonderful award obviously than Jay. No one – except and I really don't want to sound better here – except maybe me? I mean come on."  

On his time at the Tonight Show – a time he calls the best years of his life – Leno reportedly noted that he realized his "time was done." He joked, "When I left The Tonight Show, I didn't leave dead broke like Bill and Hillary. I was able to save."