Entertainers include Len Chandler, James DePreist, Dick Gregory, Jimmy Heath, Wynton Marsalis, Rita Moreno, Willie Nelson, Phylicia Rashad, Carl Reiner, Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld, Sinbad, and Malcolm-Jamal Warner.

The broadcast is traditionally one of the most popular and critically acclaimed specials on television, and each year, the show continues to grow in audience appeal. The 2008 television broadcast of the eleventh annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor saluting George Carlin has been nominated for an Emmy Award.