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Conan O\u2019Brien<\/a> may have left late night behind for podcasting<\/a>, world travel<\/a> and \u2014 soon \u2014 Oscar hosting<\/a>, but his sketch work and man-on-the-street comedy aren\u2019t so easily forgotten.<\/p>\n On Thursday, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts recognized O\u2019Brien\u2019s versatility and experimentation in announcing that it would award him its 26th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at a ceremony on March 23. (The event will stream on Netflix on a later date.)<\/p>\n The center cited O\u2019Brien\u2019s \u201cunique blend of the smart, silly, insightful and hilarious\u201d \u2014 including possibly his most celebrated writing credit: the monorail episode of \u201cThe Simpsons\u201d \u2014 as well as his achievements as a comedian, late-night host, actor, writer, podcaster and producer.<\/p>\n In a statement, O\u2019Brien, 61, made reference to the lesser-known vocation of Samuel Clemens \u2014 better known by his pen name, Mark Twain \u2014 for whom the award is named. \u201cI am honored to be the first winner of the Mark Twain Prize recognized not for humor, but for my work as a riverboat pilot,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n O\u2019Brien got his start writing for \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d in the 1980s, then served as a talk-show host for nearly three decades \u2014 \u201cLate Night\u201d on NBC from 1993 to 2009, \u201cThe Tonight Show\u201d on NBC in an aborted run, and finally \u201cConan\u201d on TBS from 2010 until 2021. He has won five Emmy Awards and has become known for his brand of joyfully goofy absurdity.<\/p>\n