Names and faces

Carol Burnett, who became famous for playing avariety of characters in sketch comedy routines on her namesake television show, was named the winner of thenation’s top humor prize on Tuesday. The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts said Burnett will receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on Oct. 20 in Washington. A gala performance featuring top names in comedy will be taped and broadcast nationally Oct. 30 on PBS. The 80-year-old Burnett said she can’t believe she is receiving the prize from the Kennedy Center. “It’s almost impossible to be funnier than the people in Washington,” she said in a statement. Burnett had her breakout on Broadway in Once Upon a Mattress, performing at night in 1959 while also appearing in the mornings on TV’s The Garry Moore Show. She is best known for her own long-running variety show, The Carol Burnett Show. It ran from 1967 to 1978, averaging 30 million viewersa week on CBS. Her guest stars included Lucille Ball, Jimmy Stewart, Ronald Reagan and Betty White. Kennedy Center Chairman David Rubenstein called Burnett a “unique and beloved entertainer. From her television program and appearances, as well as her performances on Broadway and in film, Carol Burnett has entertained generations of fans with her vibrant wit and hilarious characters,” he said in announcing the prize. The Mark Twain Prize honors people who have an impact on society in the tradition of Samuel Clemens, better known as Twain, as a social commentator and satirist. Previous honorees include Bill Cosby, Steve Martin, Tina Fey and Ellen DeGeneres, who won last year.

French actor Gerard Depardieu will star in a drama about a Chechen man who seeks revenge for the killing of his son. Chechnya, a southern Russian province,has been in the spotlight since it emerged that the suspects in April’s Boston marathon bombing are ethnic Chechens. The predominantly Muslim province was devastated by two separatist wars with Moscow, and its current Kremlin-backed ruler has been widely criticized for human-rights violations. The ruler, Ramzan Kadyrov, has been a gracious host to Depardieu, giving him an expensive apartment in the Chechen capital, Grozny, after the actor got Russian citizenship in January. Depardieu said Tuesday that the drama, titled Turquoise, will be directed by French filmmaker Philippe Martinez and will also star British actress Elizabeth Hurley.

Front Section, Pages 2 on 05/22/2013

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