Jay Leno will be joining Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, Ellen DeGeneres and other legendary comedians as he picks up his new national prize.

Leno, who recently retired from a long stint as the host of the "The Tonight Show," will be awarded the nation's top humor prize. the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announced today that the former and future standup is being awarded for following in the tradition of satire and social commentary of Mark Twain.

Leno ended his 22-year run as host of NBC's "The Tonight Show" in February. Jay Leno will be honored with Mark Twain Prize.

"What an honor! I'm a big fan of Mark Twain's. In fact, A Tale of Two Cities is one of my favorite books," Leo quipped.

Leno took over the The Tonight Show from Johnny Carson in 1992. The comedian stepped down in 2009, wreaking havoc on late night and making Conan O'Brien grow a beard. Leno returned to The Tonight Show in 2010 and finally bowed out again this past February.

Leno will receive the Mark Twain prize at a gala ceremony that will be held at the Kennedy Center in Washington on Oct. 19. The Award Ceremony will be broadcast on PBS on Nov. 23.

in announcing the award. Kennedy Center Chairman David Rubenstein said "Like Mark Twain, Jay Leno has offered us a lifetime's worth of humorous commentary on American daily life. For both men, no one was too high or too low to escape their wit, and we are all the better for it."

Leno plays more than 300 standup dates a year.

Mr. Leno is the 17th recipient of the Mark Twain prize. Previous honorees include Ellen DeGeneres, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey and Bill Cosby.  Richard Pryor, Jonathan Winters, Carl Reiner, Whoopi Goldberg, Bob Newhart, Lily Tomlin, Lorne Michaels, Steve Martin, Neil Simon, Billy Crystal, George Carlin, Tina Fey, and last year's honoree, Carol Burnett.