Seinfeld, Rock to honour Cosby with Mark Twain Prize

Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock are among the comedians and entertainment world celebrities who will pay tribute to comedian Bill Cosby when he receives the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor this fall, organizers announced Thursday.

Cosby, a household name from his days on the 1980s hit TV series The Cosby Show, is the 12th recipient of the award, presented annually to an individual who has made significant contributions to American humour.

His Cosby Show co-stars such as Phylicia Rashad and Malcom-Jamal Warner, who portrayed his wife and son respectively, will also be on hand to celebrate Cosby's career at the Washington gala in October.

Musical tributes will come from artists such as jazz singer Wynton Marsalis and country legend Willie Nelson.

Fellow comedy world friends set to attend include director and past Twain prize-winner Carl Reiner, George Lopez and Sinbad.

The 72-year-old actor and comedian has had an illustrious career. A veteran standup performer, Cosby started out with small gigs in night clubs before landing his breakthrough role in the 1960s TV show I Spy. Since then, the comedian hashelped develop the live-action film adaptation of his cartoon series Fat Albert. He recently hosted a comedy gala at Montreal's Just for Laughs festival.

Cosby will receive the 2009 Mark Twain Prize at a gala in Washington on Oct. 26, with the show to air on PBS on Nov. 4.

Established in 1998, the Mark Twain Prize is named after author and humorist Mark Twain and is awarded by the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts.

Past recipents include Richard Pryor, Whoopi Goldberg, Bob Newhart, Steve Martin and last year's winner, George Carlin.