I attended the Mark Twain Prize award at Kennedy Center on Monday. Do not
expect too much Twain in the show when it is broadcast next month. Other
than
a few comments and a quip from Whoopi Goldberg on "Hollywood Squares" most
of
the Twain was in the name, the statuette, and the backdrop.

Alan King apparently was given the make-this-relevant-to-Twain job. He came
onstage carrying a book and explained that he was there because he was old
enough to know Twain. He then recounted a fictional evening, sitting on the
porch overlooking the river with Sam, swapping lies and watching Whoopi work
in the fields.

With that tasteful introduction, King read a few Twain aphorisms to
diminishing applause, then disparagingly gave up on the material and turned
to introduce a segment of the Ken Burns film. Similar aphorisms on the film
got better audience response and King seemed surprised.

Perhaps it was King's delivery. He ain't no Hal Holbrook.

I believe that three or four of the people doing appreciations of Whoopi G
oldberg were people who are on Hollywood Squares. A group called Three Mo'
Tenors provided a musical lift, and there were two more Sammy Davis
impersonations than I have seen in a very long time.

Dennis Kelly
San Francisco