David Letterman receives highest honor at Comedy Awards

David Letterman received the highest honor at the first annual US Comedy Awards on Saturday night. The 63-year-old talk show host picked up the Johnny Carson Award for Comedic Excellence at the ceremony at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City.

Although David received the biggest accolade of the night, his series The Late Show With David Letterman lost out to The Daily Show With Jon Stewart in the Best Late Night Comedy Series category.

Other winners included Alec Baldwin, who picked up the gong for Best Comedy Actor in TV for his performances in 30 Rock and Tina Fey who was named Best Comedy Actress in Film for her role in Date Night.

Eddie Murphy took home one of the top honours of the night when he was named Comedy Icon for his stand-up and movie career which has spanned over three decades.

TV show Modern Family picked up two prizes, for Best Comedy Series and Best Comedy Directing in TV, while 30 Rock was recognized for Best Comedy Writing in TV

Saturday Night Live star Kristen Wiig was the winner in the Best Comedy Actress in TV category for her hilarious skits — which include her famous Miley Cyrus impersonation — and Zach Galifianakis was named Comedy Actor in Film for Dinner for Schmucks.

The winners were selected by a body of invited members of the comedy community, including Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg, Joan Rivers and Chris Rock.