Steve Martin wins Mark Twain Award

WASHINGTON, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Actor, comedian, writer and musician Steve Martin was honored with the eighth annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at Washington's Kennedy Center.

Martin, 60, was celebrated by previous winners Carl Reiner, Lily Tomlin and Lorne Michaels during the Sunday night ceremony taped for broadcast Nov. 9 on PBS stations, the Washington Post reported Monday.

In his acceptance speech, Martin said the Twain Prize is "the only significant American award for comedy -- except for money."

"When I look at the list of people given this award it makes me satisfied. When I see the list of those who haven't been given the award it makes me even more satisfied," he said.

Martin -- who coined the phrases "happy feet" and "excuuuuuse me," has a comedy writing Emmy for "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour," two Grammys for comedy albums and a Grammy for his banjo playing in the Earl Scrugg's video of "Foggy Mountain Breakdown."