Comedy legend Bill Murray has been honoured with the Mark Twain Prize, America's top comedy award, in a ceremony featuring friends and co-stars.
In an evening filled with jokes and praise for the 66-year old actor, Murray admitted that, as much as he had "dreaded" the ceremony, he "had to come back to this idea that there's love".
"It's really hard to listen to all those people be nice to you for two days," Murray joked in his acceptance speech.
"You just get real suspicious".
Murray is known for living outside the Hollywood bubble - and doesn't have an agent or a publicist.
The Groundhog Day star said he hoped if he ignored the award "they'd go to someone else".
"And right now I wish I'd waited, I'd done that. But it's okay," he joked.
Striking a more serious note on the red carpet, he said winning such a prestigious award felt "like "winning the lottery or something incredibly lucky", and that he was still "processing" it.
The ceremony featured a gentle roast, where some of Hollywood's most famous comedians took to the stage to share stories and tributes to the actor.
The most heartfelt came from a bearded David Letterman, who made a rare public appearance since his Late Night show ended last June.
Murray was a regular guest on the show over the years, and the two became friends when the actor had an Irish gown delivered to Letterman's office ahead of his son's christening.
"That Saturday, my son, in Bill Murray's christening gown, was christened at St Ignatius in Manhattan," the former Late Night host reminisced.
"And we have this memory, we have this gift, we have this gesture for the rest of our lives."
Murray got his first acting break on Saturday Night Live and went on to star in some of the most successful comedies of the 1980s and 1990s, including Ghostbusters and Rushmore.
His career took a soulful turn in 2003, when he was nominated for an Oscar for Sofia Coppola's indie drama Lost In Translation.
"Bill Murray is perhaps our greatest American," said Jimmy Kimmel, another late-night host, at the award ceremony.
"He is beloved by all everywhere he goes," he said.
"He's like a leprechaun. He's very elusive, but if you do happen to catch him, he presents you with a pot of gold."
Murray is known for his quirkiness and for showing up unannounced at wedding receptions, kickball games and house parties.
Stand-up comedian Aziz Ansari, Sigourney Weaver and Steve Martin were among those who ribbed Murray for being unpredictable and difficult to reach
The Mark Twain Prize for American Humour was first awarded in 1998 and goes to those who influence society in the tradition of the famous satirist.
Previous winners of the prize, which is a bust of Mark Twain, include Richard Pryor, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell and Eddie Murphy.
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