Bill Cosby speaks at a forum for at-risk youths in Atlanta in April 2008. He'll be feted in Washington in October after winning the Mark Twain Prize for American Humour. (W.A. Haarewood/Associated Press)

Comedian Bill Cosby will be awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humour, the John F. Kennedy Center announced Wednesday.

Cosby, best known for his popular 1980s TV series The Cosby Show, was hailed for breaking ground as an African-American on television.

"Over the course of his extensive career as a standup comedian, writer, actor, and social activist, Bill Cosby has earned countless accolades for his groundbreaking brand of humour," said Kennedy Center Chairman Stephen Schwarzman.

A Philadelphia native, Cosby began his career in standup before catching the eye of TV producers.

When he landed a role in the I Spy series in the 1960s, it was the first time a black man and a white man had been cast as equals.

His family-oriented TV comedy, starting with The Bill Cosby Show, which debuted in 1969 and including cartoon series such as Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, was enduringly popular with a mainstream audience.

Cosby earned master's and doctorate degrees in education and also has been a leading voice on race.

He was criticized for remarks he made in 2004 about how black parents should raise their children and for calling black entertainers and sports stars on the kind of role models they present to young people.

Cosby issued a statement citing Twain works that had inspired him, including The Mysterious Stranger, The Story of Jim Blaine's Grandfather's Old Ram and How to Tell a Story.

Still a noted storyteller at age 71, he also had a tale about his own relationship with Twain.

"After bathing us, dressing us in fresh pajamas, and setting us into the crib together, Annie Pearl Cosby [Cosby's mother] read to my brother James and I The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and later The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," Cosby said in a statement.

"I would like to apologize to Mr. Twain for falling asleep hundreds of times, but he should understand that I was only four."

The award will be presented at a gala in Washington on Oct. 26 with a roster of comedians ready to pay tribute to Cosby's work.

With files from the Associated Press