DeGeneres honoured for lifetime as US entertainer
She worked as a stand-up comedian initially which later led to her own prime time sitcom.
WASHINGTON:
An American entertainer and prominent gay rights advocate, Ellen DeGeneres, received the highest US award for achievement in comedy on Monday.
Receiving the Mark Twain Prize for American Humour at the Kennedy Centre, the national showcase for arts, DeGeneres was praised as a pioneering female comic whose edgy variety show has helped define the format for daytime television in recent years.
But several guests also highlighted the comedian's groundbreaking decision 15 years ago to go public with her sexual identity in a career-rattling move the comedian said was a necessary step for personal dignity.
"I did it for me and it happened to help a lot of other people and cause a big ruckus," DeGeneres, 54, told reporters before the tribute, summarising her decision in 1997 to come out publicly as gay in tandem with her on-screen character in a move that sparked controversy and prompted some advertisers to flee.
The Twain prize, named after the 19th century satirist, is the nation's highest honour for achievements in comedy.
A native of New Orleans, DeGeneres spent her twenties as an itinerant comedian on the Los Angeles nightclub circuit until prominent spots on late night television led to her own prime time sitcom.
Several guests said that DeGeneres brought compassion to her comedy that is rare in the field.
"For the rest of us comics come from really messed-up, dark childhoods. She might have come from that, I don't know. But it's not what she puts forth," said actor-producer-comedian John Leguizamo, who joined the tributes. "She just puts out this beautiful goodwill."
"For a lot of people, Ellen is their only homosexual friend," said late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel.
DeGeneres is the fourth woman to receive the award since its inception in 1998.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 24th, 2012.
An American entertainer and prominent gay rights advocate, Ellen DeGeneres, received the highest US award for achievement in comedy on Monday.
Receiving the Mark Twain Prize for American Humour at the Kennedy Centre, the national showcase for arts, DeGeneres was praised as a pioneering female comic whose edgy variety show has helped define the format for daytime television in recent years.
But several guests also highlighted the comedian's groundbreaking decision 15 years ago to go public with her sexual identity in a career-rattling move the comedian said was a necessary step for personal dignity.
"I did it for me and it happened to help a lot of other people and cause a big ruckus," DeGeneres, 54, told reporters before the tribute, summarising her decision in 1997 to come out publicly as gay in tandem with her on-screen character in a move that sparked controversy and prompted some advertisers to flee.
The Twain prize, named after the 19th century satirist, is the nation's highest honour for achievements in comedy.
A native of New Orleans, DeGeneres spent her twenties as an itinerant comedian on the Los Angeles nightclub circuit until prominent spots on late night television led to her own prime time sitcom.
Several guests said that DeGeneres brought compassion to her comedy that is rare in the field.
"For the rest of us comics come from really messed-up, dark childhoods. She might have come from that, I don't know. But it's not what she puts forth," said actor-producer-comedian John Leguizamo, who joined the tributes. "She just puts out this beautiful goodwill."
"For a lot of people, Ellen is their only homosexual friend," said late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel.
DeGeneres is the fourth woman to receive the award since its inception in 1998.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 24th, 2012.