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HOLLYWOOD, Oct. 25, 2000 -- The jokes have paid off for Carl Reiner. The legendary funnyman joined the list of comedians honored with The Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Award on Tuesday. Reiner joins Richard Pryor and Jonathan Winters as the comedians that the Center has honored every year since 1997, Reuters reports. Fellow comedians Jerry Seinfeld, Steve Martin and Dick Van Dyke were among the celebrities who spoke at the event to pay homage to Reiner.
The 78-year-old got his big break in 1950 on Sid Caesar's classic TV shows "Your Show of Shows" and "Caesar's Hour." Before that, he spent three years on Broadway. But he hit the big time on the small screen in 1961 when he created and wrote "The Dick Van Dyke Show."
``That was my baby. It was about my reality, my life, my ideas and thoughts. So I'm most proud of that,'' he told reporters before the Kennedy Center gala.