Bill Cosby to be honored at Kennedy Center

WASHINGTON, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Comic actor Bill Cosby says he is honored to have been tabbed to receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center in Washington.

The former "The Cosby Show" star will be the 12th person to be honored with the Twain award when he accepts it Monday, USA Today reported Friday.

"I find that Twain covers everything," Cosby said of the late writer and humorist Samuel Clemens, who used the pen name Mark Twain for whom the award is named. "He really has covered America. Not only politically, socialistically, but he has covered it as a human being ... . So many of his pieces spanned time. And I am very, very pleased to be given this award for what I have done."

Cosby, 72, said the secret to his success has been adding a timeless element to his writing that can be appreciated by multiple generations.

"If you took the Top 5 of my CDs and just put 'em away and then you have children, 10 years later, you break these out and put 'em on ... you'll be laughing. And your kids will be laughing," he told USA Today.