The Man Who Made Mark Twain Famous

“I laughed. I cried. I questioned my sanity. These are all things that happened over the course of my last encounter with Cappy. But his book about the Mark Twain Prize is funny too.” – Lily Tomlin, Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize recipient and Kennedy Center Honoree“I have no doubt that if Mark Twain could vote, he would give his Prize to the brilliantly funny Cappy McGarr. Cappy’s witty, self-deprecating account of his work as a creator of the Mark Twain Prize makes it clear: the reports of humor’s death in Washington are greatly exaggerated.” – David Rubenstein, Chair of the Kennedy Center“Cappy knows how to put on a great show—whether at the Kennedy Center or the White House. Like the events he helps stage, his book is a delightful celebration of American entertainment and politics, with no shortage of laughs along the way.” – Carole King, Kennedy Center Honoree and Library of Congress Gershwin Prize Honoree“Reading Cappy’s book is not unlike sitting down to dinner with him and listening to the stories he has picked up from decades of rubbing elbows with political leaders and comedians alike… There are laughs and howls and chuckles and chortles.” – Ken Burns, America’s foremost documentary filmmaker“Wait! Is America’s foremost documentary filmmaker already taken?” – Bill Murray, America’s second foremost documentary filmmaker, Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize recipient

Cappy McGarr is an Emmy-nominated co-creator of the Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, and the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. He’s one of few people to be appointed by two different presidents to the Kennedy Center. His writing has been published in The New York Times, Politico, and USA Today.