Adam Sandler Honored with Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Prize

Actor and comedian Adam Sandler waves as he is awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center in Washington, US, March 19, 2023. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
Actor and comedian Adam Sandler waves as he is awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center in Washington, US, March 19, 2023. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
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Adam Sandler Honored with Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Prize

Actor and comedian Adam Sandler waves as he is awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center in Washington, US, March 19, 2023. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
Actor and comedian Adam Sandler waves as he is awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center in Washington, US, March 19, 2023. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

Actor and comedian Adam Sandler became the 24th recipient of the Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on Sunday, at an evening event featuring stars Jennifer Aniston, Chris Rock and Conan O’Brien to celebrate his comedy and career.

Sandler, whose movies include "Spanglish," "The Wedding Singer," and "The Waterboy," was celebrated for his comedic chops that, while not always winning the hearts of critics, have won over fans and generated billions of dollars, Reuters reported.

Dressed uncharacteristically in business attire instead of his trademark shorts and T-shirt, Sandler, 56, said he thought his suit was baggy.

"I don't know if this suit fits me or not, I just threw it on ... for the second time," he told reporters on the red carpet ahead of the show. "But everything else ... the honor itself, never thought about this in my entire life, never expected anything like this."

Comedian Dana Carvey referred to Sandler's longevity. "No one's had a career like this," Carvey told reporters ahead of the show. "Who's lasted this long? He's beloved."

Sandler's friends and acting partners, along with his mother and his wife, took to the Kennedy Center stage to gently rib the actor and highlight his development as a stand-up comic, movie actor and singer.

"You're making a terrible, terrible mistake," comedian O'Brien quipped at the top of the show to the Kennedy Center for selecting Sandler, a former "Saturday Night Live" star.

Sandler's mother, Judy, made light of his wardrobe preferences. "I say he's a slob," she said in her own quasi- comedy routine, before praising her son. "We are so proud of him."

Comedian David Spade expressed mock awe at Sandler's box office success. "Four billion dollars in movies, with this much talent!" Spade said, with a hand gesture that suggested a minute amount.

Aniston, who appeared with Sandler in films such as "Just Go with It" and Netflix's "Murder Mystery," praised her co-star. "Adam Sandler, you have no equal," she said.



Brian Wilson's Top Five Beach Boys Songs

Musician Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys performs onstage at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards. KEVIN WINTER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File
Musician Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys performs onstage at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards. KEVIN WINTER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File
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Brian Wilson's Top Five Beach Boys Songs

Musician Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys performs onstage at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards. KEVIN WINTER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File
Musician Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys performs onstage at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards. KEVIN WINTER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File

From the carefree sound of California surf music to the sophistication of later darker works, here are five of the top hits penned by influential Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson.

'Surfin' USA' (1963)

"Surfin' USA" was the Beach Boys' first global hit, taken from their eponymous debut album. A youthful ode to sea, sun and girls, it became an anthem for the West Coast and beyond.

It demonstrated Brian Wilson's increasing songwriting prowess as well as the band's unique vocal sound achieved thanks to double tracking.

"We'll all be gone for the summer/ We're on safari to stay/ Tell the teacher we're surfin'/ Surfin' USA," it rang out.

Wilson intentionally set his lyrics to the music of "Sweet Little Sixteen," by Chuck Berry, leading Berry to take legal action.

'California Girls' (1965)

On the big hit of the summer of 1965, Wilson's cousin Mike Love burst into song to celebrate the sun-tanned women of California.

"I wish they all could be California girls," the band members sang in seemless harmony.

It was also the first song written by Wilson under the influence of LSD, "which could explain why the accompaniment seems to move in a slow, steady daze at odds with the song's bright, major-key melody," Rolling Stone magazine wrote.

'God Only Knows' (1966)

It took Wilson just 45 minutes to write "God Only Knows," the legendary eighth track on the album "Pet Sounds" which has gone down as one of the greatest love songs ever.

Sung by brother Carl Wilson, Brian's rival Paul McCartney declared it to be his favorite song of all time and said it reduced him to tears.

But the record company and other members of the group were wary at the new turn in style.

'Good Vibrations'(1966)

"Good Vibrations" was a massive commercial success, selling one million copies in the United States and topping charts there and in several other countries including the UK.

At the time the most expensive single ever made, the "pocket symphony" was recorded in four different studios, consumed over 90 hours of tape and included a complexity of keys, textures, moods and instrumentation.

The song was a far cry from the group's surf-and-sun origins and the enormity of the task brought Wilson to the brink. He was unable to go on and complete the album "Smile," of which the song was to have been the centerpiece.

- 'Til I die' (1971) -

On side B of the album "Surf's Up,'Til I die" was composed in 1969 by a depressed Wilson worn down by mental illness and addiction.

He wrote in his 1991 autobiography that it was perhaps the most personal song he had written for the Beach Boys.