The TV Land Icon Awards 2016 aired on Sunday night, and handed out several new Icon Awards, including an Instant Icon to Cuba Gooding Jr. for his portrayal of O.J. Simpson in the just-concluded FX miniseries, The People vs. O.J. Simpson, and to Debbie Allen the Trailblazer Icon for her work as a choreographer and a director.
But here are the acceptance speeches from the comedic actor John Stamos, the comedy team of Key and Peele and the iconic sitcom creator Norman Lear.
Stamos won the Timeless Icon. He currently stars in FOX’s Grandfathered, and cameos on the Netflix follow-up to Full House, Fuller House. Stamos not only mentioned those shows, but also his drumming with The Beach Boys and how Jack Klugman was a mentor to him on an early sitcom, You Again?, which aired for two seasons just before Full House premiered in 1987.
Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele felt humbled by already being named Icons by TV Land, and singled out fellow Icon winner Norman Lear for helping show them what was possible in TV comedy when they were only small children. They co-starred together on MADtv before creating their critically acclaimed Comedy Central sketch series, Key and Peele, which ended last year.
Norman Lear won the Impact Icon, of course for creating All in the Family, Good Times, The Jeffersons, Maude, Sanford and Son and One Day at a Time.