The honor is handed out annually in the comedy capital of the world: Washington, D.C.
ByJake Rossen|Nov 16, 2023, 2:00 PM EST
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Each year, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts awards the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, an acknowledgment of a storied career crafting comedy. In March 2024, stand-up comic and actor Kevin Hart will become the 25th recipient of the honor, which has been dispensed in Washington, D.C., since 1998.
Mark Twain was, of course, a venerable observer of the human condition, and his wit became celebrated for its insight. Prize winners receive a bronze portrait bust of the author and join some very good company. Here’s who else has received the award, which has been bestowed continuously with the exception of the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.
- Richard Pryor (1998)
- Jonathan Winters (1999)
- Carl Reiner (2000)
- Whoopi Goldberg (2001)
- Bob Newhart (2002)
- Lily Tomlin (2003)
- Lorne Michaels (2004)
- Steve Martin (2005)
- Neil Simon (2006)
- Billy Crystal (2007)
- George Carlin (2008)
- Bill Cosby (2009; rescinded in 2018)
- Tina Fey (2010)
- Will Ferrell (2011)
- Ellen DeGeneres (2012)
- Carol Burnett (2013)
- Jay Leno (2014)
- Eddie Murphy (2015)
- Bill Murray (2016)
- David Letterman (2017)
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus (2018)
- Dave Chappelle (2019)
- Jon Stewart (2022)
- Adam Sandler (2023)
- Kevin Hart (2024)
Richard Pryor, who became the first-ever honoree in 1998, had a long and eclectic career as a stand-up and actor. “I feel great about accepting this prize,” he said at the ceremony that year. “It is nice to be regarded on par with a great white man—now that’s funny! Seriously, though, two things people throughout history have had in common are hatred and humor. I am proud that, like Mark Twain, I have been able to use humor to lessen people’s hatred.”
Seven of the 25 winners have been cast members on Saturday Night Live. Another, Lorne Michaels, created the series.
Not everyone chosen for acknowledgment has consented to it. Ceremony co-founder Cappy McGarr told WTOP in 2021 that Mel Brooks has turned down the award three times. He also mentioned potential inductees in the future: Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Carrey, and Chris Rock.
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The Spookiest Star Signs, Ranked By Horror Movie Villains
It turns out some zodiac signs are far deadlier than others—at least on screen.
ByNitya Rao|Oct 27, 2026, 4:00 PM EDT
Have you ever watched a horror movie and realized its antagonist was suspiciously similar to the villain in your own story? Whether it’s the strategic Scorpio mind games or the infamous Gemini two-faced tendencies, some red flags feel like they were written in the stars. But can your birth chart actually predict your evil twin on the silver screen?
Doing the Monster Math
There are 12 zodiac signs: Aries (March 21 – April 19), Taurus (April 20 – May 20), Gemini (May 21 – June 20), Cancer (June 21 – July 22), Leo (July 23 – August 22), Virgo (August 23 – September 22), Libra (September 23 – October 22), Scorpio (October 23 – November 21), Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21), Capricorn (December 22 – January 19), Aquarius (January 20 – February 18), and Pisces (February 19 – March 20).
There are also countless horror characters who wear their signs on their sleeves—from the charmingly polite Libra facade of Norman Bates to the spotlight-stealing, Leo spectacles of Jack Torrance at the Overlook Hotel.
To find out which star signs shine brightest in the horror hall of fame, researchers at California Psychics analyzed 85 famous movie monsters to pinpoint their astrological alignments. Sourcing 23 canonical birthdays from official lore and 62 from fan wikis and Wikidata, the study also factored in character totals and movie appearances to produce a final spookiness score out of 100.
See the full list of the spookiest zodiac signs—from Gemini to Sagittarius—based on their overall score, villain count, and standout slasher icons below:
| Rank | Zodiac Sign | Spookiness Score | Villain Count | Notable Villains |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gemini | 100.0 | 11 | Jason Voorhees (Friday the 13th), Damien Thorn (The Omen) |
| 2 | Scorpio | 91.4 | 11 | Count Dracula (Dracula), Patrick Bateman (American Psycho) |
| 3 | Leo | 89.1 | 10 | Jack Torrance (The Shining), Leatherface (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) |
| 4 | Aries | 79.6 | 9 | Kayako Saeki (The Grudge), Regan MacNeil (The Exorcist) |
| 5 | Libra | 71.5 | 8 | Michael Myers (Halloween), Norman Bates (Psycho) |
| 6 | Virgo | 61.7 | 7 | Carrie White (Carrie), Frankenstein’s Monster (Frankenstein) |
| 7 | Taurus | 54.5 | 6 | Chucky (Child’s Play), Pennywise (It), M3GAN (M3GAN) |
| 8 | Aquarius | 51.9 | 6 | Hannibal Lecter (The Silence of the Lambs), Samara Morgan (The Ring) |
| 9 | Cancer | 48.6 | 5 | Billy Lenz (Black Christmas) |
| 10 | Sagittarius | 42.1 | 5 | Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Jigsaw (Saw) |
| 11 | Pisces | 39.5 | 4 | Angela Baker (Sleepaway Camp) |
| 12 | Capricorn | 25.9 | 3 | Candyman (Candyman); Clarice Starling (The Silence of the Lambs) |
The Horror Horoscope
The stereotype of twin sign Geminis being two-faced might be an actual archetype, with the hockey-masked Jason Voorhees of Friday the 13th confirmed to be one. From The Omen‘s sinister antichrist Damien Thorn, born June 6, to Saw’s cold, calculating detective Mark Hoffman, Gemini tops the list with 11 horror villains, 35 movie appearances, and an eerily perfect spookiness score of 100.0.
Also making up one in eight characters analyzed is the second-spookiest zodiac sign, Scorpio, with a 91.4 score. Scorpio’s ranks include American Psycho‘s Patrick Bateman and Halloween-born slashers Victor Crowley (Hatchet) and Ethan Landry (Scream VI). Fire signs Leo and Aries have 10 and nine characters respectively, with the latter including The Exorcist‘s Regan MacNeil, whose embodiment of an Aries sun shines through from her playful, energetic pre-possession self to her explosive emotionality when pushed to the brink.
On the less sinister side of the spectrum is Capricorn as the least spooky zodiac sign with a spookiness score of 25.9 out of 100, known for its logical, no-nonsense attitude. Capricorns, like the sharp, determined Clarice Starling of The Silence of the Lambs, prioritize practicality over paranormal activity, cementing the sign’s spot far from the superstitiousness of it all. Watery Pisces also lands near the bottom overall with just four characters, followed by Sagittarius, which Freddy Krueger and Jigsaw share as a sun sign.
Grounded earth signs like Virgo and Taurus sit near the middle of the rankings with around 7% to 8% of horror characters each. While they can produce tragic monsters like Carrie White as well as chaotic characters like Chucky and Pennywise, they leave the highest body counts to air and fire signs.
Who’s Your Spooky Star Sign Soulmate?
Do you share a birth chart with an iconic horror villain, or does your zodiac sign land among the least deadly?