WASHINGTON, D.C. - Dave Chappelle accepted the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor Sunday.
The award is considered the highest accolade in comedy and recognizes individuals who have had an impact on American society in the vein of 19th-century novelist and essayist Samuel Clemens, or pseudonym, Mark Twain.
Actor and comedian Eddie Murphy said in a video tribute Chappelle is the type of person who is "so much smarter than everyone."
"Dave is one of the most, maybe the most, intellectual comedian ever," Murphy said.
Previous recipients of the Mark Twain award include Richard Pryor, Jonathan Winters, Carl Reiner, Whoopi Goldberg, Lily Tomlin, Lorne Michaels, Steve Martin, George Carlin, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, Ellen DeGeneres, Carol Burnett, Bill Murray, David Letterman, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.