Nation's top humor prize goes to Ellen DeGeneres

Updated: October 23, 2012 - 7:34 PM

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Some of the nation's top comedians hailed Ellen DeGeneres as a trailblazer Monday night as she received the nation's highest humor prize. The Kennedy Center awarded DeGeneres the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. The show will be broadcast Oct. 30 on PBS stations.

On the red carpet before the show, DeGeneres said she doesn't see herself as political with her comedy, even though she's been a trailblazer. "I just want to make people happy and make people laugh," she said.

Coming out on TV 15 years ago feels like another life, she said.

"I did it because it was the right thing for me to do," said DeGeneres, who is being honored as the nation's top comedian 15 years after nearly losing her career. "It was the right thing for me to do to not live with shame. I happened to help a lot of people, and it happened to create a ruckus."

Jimmy Kimmel called it a milestone. "For a lot of people, Ellen is their only homosexual friend," he said. "She's there in their living room every single day."

"Glee" star Jane Lynch said DeGeneres "took one for the team."

Rep. Jackson back at Mayo Clinic

U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. was back at the Mayo Clinic for an evaluation Tuesday and possibly a longer stay, nearly two months after being released for treatment of bipolar disorder, his father said Tuesday. "I don't know how long he's going to be there," his father, civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, told the Associated Press. The hospital in Rochester confirmed Tuesday that Jackson was back for a follow-up evaluation "to ensure he is on the path to properly manage his health."

AUTOPSY RESULTS REVEALED: DIRECTOR TONY SCOTT WAS NOT SUFFERING FROM CANCER AND DID NOT HAVE ANY SERIOUS UNDERLYING MEDICAL CONDITIONS -- INCLUDING CANCER -- AT THE TIME OF HIS SUICIDE, CHIEF CORONER INVESTIGATOR CRAIG HARVEY SAID. LOS ANGELES COUNTY CORONER'S OFFICIALS FOUND THAT SCOTT, 68, DIED OF MULTIPLE BLUNT-FORCE INJURIES AFTER LEAPING FROM THE VINCENT THOMAS BRIDGE IN LOS ANGELES ON AUG. 19. THE DIRECTOR ALSO HAD THERAPEUTIC LEVELS OF THE SLEEP AID LUNESTRA AND THE ANTIDEPRESSANT MIRTAZIPINE, ALSO KNOWN AS REMERON, IN HIS SYSTEM, ACCORDING TO RESULTS OF TOXICOLOGY TESTS. AFTER SCOTT'S DEATH, SOME MEDIA REPORTS QUOTED AN ANONYMOUS SOURCE SUGGESTING THAT SCOTT HAD A BRAIN TUMOR. HIS FAMILY VEHEMENTLY DENIED THOSE REPORTS.

back on broadway: Barry Manilow will be making it again -- on Broadway. The Grammy Award-winning singer will start a 17-show run in "Manilow on Broadway" on Jan. 18 at the St. James Theatre.

FAMOUS BIRTHDAYS

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Actor Kevin Kline, 65

Twins' Ron Gardenhire, 55

Actor B.D. Wong, 52

Singer and actor Drake, 26