WASHINGTON -- The Kennedy Center, in an unprecedented action, has decided to go ahead with its plans to give the late comedian George Carlin its Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

The center announced Monday that it will host an evening of tributes Nov. 20.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of this great American comedian," said Steven Schwarzman, the center's chairman. "At this year's Mark Twain Prize, we will celebrate his many contributions to the world of comedy in a special tribute."

Carlin, a native of New York, has been at the center of the brand of comedy that took on social issues for more than 50 years. He had 22 solo albums, three best-selling books and 14 HBO specials. He had won Grammy Awards for his albums, was Emmy-nominated five times for his work on television and appeared on "The Tonight Show" more than 130 times. He was inducted into the Comedy Hall of Fame in 1994.

Carlin was perhaps best-known to many as the author of a routine on "Seven Dirty Words." The take on words that could not be used on television led to his arrest. A case involving the airing of the routine went all the way to the Supreme Court. The court ruled in 1978 that foul language could not be used in the hours that families and children were watching television.

The executive producers of the Twain honor took note of this landmark case in their tribute Monday. "George kept us honest. Of this sad day he might have said that the only truly 'dirty word' is death. George Carlin is as deserving as ever of our nation's highest award for humor," Bob Kaminsky, Peter Kaminsky, Mark Krantz and Cappy McGarr said in a statement.

For both the Twain award and the Kennedy Center Honors, the center requires that the person being saluted attend the ceremony. In the case of the Honors, the recipient doesn't perform or speak at the events. But the Twain honorees take a few minutes at the end of the program to say how grateful they are, which is usually a skit in disguise.