75-487: Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz ; November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, political commentator , and television host. The long-running host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central from 1999 to 2015, Stewart returned to the satirical news program in 2024. He hosted The Problem with Jon Stewart on Apple TV+ from 2021 to 2023. Stewart has received numerous accolades , including 23 Primetime Emmy Awards , two Grammy Awards , and five Peabody Awards . He
150-583: A Politico writer named Juleanna Glover wrote an op-ed titled "If Tucker Runs in 2024, Here's Who the Democrats Need." In the op-ed, Glover called for Stewart to run for president in 2024. Stewart promptly responded to the viral article with a Tweet, stating "ummm... no thank you." In 2023 Stewart performed at the comedy festival, Netflix is a Joke in Los Angeles. In January 2024, it was confirmed that Stewart would return to The Daily Show as
225-630: A Bachelor of Arts . Twenty years later, the college awarded him an honorary Master of Arts degree. After college, Stewart held numerous jobs: contingency planner for the New Jersey Department of Human Services , contract administrator for the City University of New York , puppeteer for children with disabilities, soccer coach at Gloucester High School in Virginia, caterer, busboy , shelf stocker at Woolworth's, bartender at
300-467: A 'fuck you' to my dad.... Did I have some problems with my father? Yes. Yet people always view [changing my surname] through the prism of ethnic identity ." He had his surname legally changed to "Stewart" in 2001. In 2015, he described his relationship with his father as "still complicated" after his father's death two years earlier. Stewart and his older brother, Lawrence, who was previously the chief operating officer of NYSE Euronext (the parent company of
375-413: A city, and kill a hundred thousand people? Yeah. I think that's criminal." On April 30, Stewart apologized on his program, and stated he did not believe Truman was a war criminal: "I shouldn't have said that, and I did. So I say right now, no, I don't believe that to be the case. The atomic bomb, a very complicated decision in the context of a horrific war, and I walk that back because it was in my estimation
450-421: A discussion on torture with Clifford May , Stewart stated that former President Harry S. Truman was a war criminal for his use of the atomic bomb on Japan during World War II . He defended his view moments later: "Here's what I think of the atom bombs . I think if you dropped an atom bomb fifteen miles offshore and you said, 'The next one's coming and hitting you', then I would think it's okay. To drop it on
525-471: A frequent guest host for Tom Snyder on The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder , which was produced by Letterman and aired after the Late Show on CBS . This led to much speculation that Stewart would soon replace Snyder permanently, but instead, Stewart was offered the time slot after Snyder's, which he turned down. Stewart's first film role was a bit part in the box-office bomb, Mixed Nuts . He landed
600-433: A lot of people, man. It was a very creative environment. It was a place of great possibility." With a reputation for being a funny man in school, Stewart returned to New York City in 1986 to try his hand at the comedy club circuit, but could not muster the courage to get on stage until the following year. He made his stand-up debut at The Bitter End , where one of his comedic idols, Woody Allen , also began. He began using
675-532: A member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, but eventually began disassociating himself from other members, leaving the fraternity altogether after six months. "My college career was waking up late, memorizing someone else's notes, doing bong hits , and going to soccer practice", he later said. He was a three-year starter in 1981, 1982 and 1983 with the Tribe men's soccer team . He had 10 goals and 12 assists on
750-514: A minor part in The First Wives Club , but his scene was deleted . In 1995, Stewart signed a three-year deal with Miramax . Stewart played romantic leads in the films, Playing by Heart and Wishful Thinking . He had a supporting role in the romantic comedy, Since You've Been Gone and in the horror film, The Faculty . Other films were planned for Stewart to write and star in, but they never were produced. Stewart maintained
825-601: A performance by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band . He also guest starred in the animated series American Dad! , and The Simpsons as well as the children's television series Between the Lions , Sesame Street , Jack's Big Music Show , and Gravity Falls . After Stewart's departure from The Daily Show , he was listed as an executive producer on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert . In addition, Stewart has presented occasional comedic monologues filled with political and media commentary. In November 2015, it
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#1732783476348900-636: A playful, irreverent tone throughout the night, whether it was jesting about Cate Blanchett 's versatility or watching Lawrence of Arabia on an iPhone screen. In December 2009, Stewart gave a speech at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts honoring Bruce Springsteen , one of that year's Kennedy Center Honors recipients, and of whom Stewart is a fan. Stewart gave another speech paying tribute to Springsteen in February 2013 as part of
975-547: A regular at the Comedy Cellar , where he was the last performer every night. For two years, he performed at 2 a.m. while developing his comedy style. In 1989, he landed his first television job as a writer for Caroline's Comedy Hour . In 1990, he began co-hosting Comedy Central 's Short Attention Span Theater with Patty Rosborough . In 1992, he hosted the short-lived You Wrote It, You Watch It on MTV, which invited viewers to send in their stories to be acted out by
1050-471: A relationship with Miramax founders Harvey and Bob Weinstein and appeared in films they produced including, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back , Doogal , and the documentary, Wordplay . In 1996, Stewart hosted a short-lived talk show entitled, Where's Elvis This Week? , which was a half-hour, weekly comedy television program. It aired on Sunday nights in the United Kingdom on BBC Two . It
1125-469: A sequel to their first book entitled, Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race . The book is meant to serve as a Baedeker travel guide for an alien civilization that discovers Earth after humanity has died out, most likely by its own hands. In April 2010, Comedy Central renewed Stewart's contract to host The Daily Show into 2013. According to a Forbes list of celebrities in 2008, he
1200-420: A short-form digital animated project... We all thought the project had great potential but there were technical issues in terms of production and distribution that proved too difficult given the quick turnaround and topical nature of the material. We're excited to report that we have some future projects together which you will be hearing about in the near future". In July 2017, HBO announced Stewart would produce
1275-465: A sitcom for NBC starring Stephen Colbert, but the show did not come to fruition. Later that year, when Craig Kilborn left the show to replace Tom Snyder on The Late Late Show , Stewart began hosting The Daily Show on Comedy Central. The Daily Show blends humor with the day's top news stories, usually in politics, while simultaneously poking fun at politicians, newsmakers, and the news media. In an interview on The O'Reilly Factor , Stewart denied
1350-486: A squad that went 40–15–9 (.695) in his three seasons with the program. He is listed as Jon Leibowitz in official William & Mary Athletics records. The former head coach of the Tribe men's soccer team from 1971 to 2003, Al Albert , describes Jon as "athletic and feisty and quick" and added that he "wasn't the most technical or clinical player, but he could make things happen." He graduated from William & Mary in 1984 with
1425-530: A stand-up comedy special for the network, his first stand-up special since 1996. Ultimately, no special aired. In 2018, Stewart and Dave Chappelle joined forces for a duo comedy tour in the United States , and across the United Kingdom . Stewart performed standup in the 13th Annual Standup for Heroes event alongside John Oliver and Hasan Minhaj . On directing, Stewart noted on Employee of
1500-488: A steel chair. The next night on Raw , he explained his actions, saying he did it for Ric Flair (who was also present), which was to retain his world championship record. Cena then gave Stewart his finishing move, the Attitude Adjustment, to end the segment. Stewart returned at SummerSlam on August 21, 2016, as a special guest. Political commentator Too Many Requests If you report this error to
1575-719: A stupid thing to say." On September 16, 2010, Stewart and Stephen Colbert announced a rally for October 30, known as the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear . It took place on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and attracted an estimated 215,000 participants. In December 2010, Stewart was credited by the White House , other media, and political news outlets for bringing awareness of the Republican filibuster on
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#17327834763481650-405: A talk show on MTV , which was later dropped by the network and was syndicated for its last two years. The Jon Stewart Show was the first talk show on that network and was an instant hit, becoming the second-highest rated MTV show, behind Beavis and Butt-Head . In 1994, Paramount canceled The Arsenio Hall Show and, with new corporate sibling MTV (through MTV parent Viacom 's acquisition of
1725-477: A taping of the show on February 10, 2015, Stewart announced he was leaving The Daily Show . Comedy Central president Michele Ganeless confirmed Stewart's retirement with a statement. Later, it was announced that South African comedian Trevor Noah would succeed Stewart as the host of the show. On April 20, 2015, Stewart indicated that his final show would be on August 6, 2015. On July 28, 2015, Darren Samuelsohn of Politico reported that twice, Stewart had been at
1800-580: Is now the Statue of Liberty. You can't beat that. In mid-2002, amid rumors that David Letterman was going to switch from CBS to ABC when his contract ran out, Stewart was rumored as Letterman's replacement on CBS. Ultimately, Letterman renewed his contract with CBS. In late 2002, ABC offered Stewart his own talk show to air right after Nightline . Stewart's contract with The Daily Show was near expiring, and he expressed strong interest. ABC, however, decided to give another Comedy Central figure, Jimmy Kimmel ,
1875-414: Is the second of four sons, with older brother Lawrence and younger brothers Dan and Matthew. Stewart's parents divorced when he was eleven years old, and he became largely estranged from his father. Due to their strained relationship, Stewart dropped his surname and began using his middle name alone, stating: "There was a thought of using my mother's maiden name, but I thought that would be just too big [of]
1950-494: The 78th and 80th Academy Awards . He is the co-author of the best-selling satirical books America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction in 2004, and Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race in 2010. He executive produced The Colbert Report (2005–2014), The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore (2015–2016), and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2015–present). In February 2024, he returned to The Daily Show for Monday episodes, as well as in
2025-653: The 80th Academy Awards on February 24, 2008. The reception to his performance was better this time. Matthew Gilbert of the Boston Globe felt the ceremony was average, but praised Stewart, writing that, "It was good to see Jon Stewart being Jon Stewart. He is shaping up to be a dependable Oscar host for the post-Billy Crystal years. He's not musical, but he's versatile enough to swing smoothly between jokes about politics, Hollywood, new media, and, most importantly, hair." Variety columnist Brian Lowry lauded Stewart's performance noting that he "earned his keep by maintaining
2100-663: The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act to the public, leading to the ultimate passing of the bill that provides health benefits to first responders whose health has been adversely affected by their work at Ground Zero . In March 2010, Stewart announced that he had optioned rights to the story of journalist Maziar Bahari , who was imprisoned in Iran for 118 days. On June 6, 2011, episode of The Daily Show , Stewart again hosted Bahari, and in March 2013, he announced that he
2175-708: The New York Stock Exchange ), grew up in Lawrenceville, New Jersey . Stewart has stated that he experienced much antisemitism as a child, having been bullied frequently due to his Jewish identity . He describes himself in high school as "very into Eugene Debs and a bit of a leftist ." Stewart grew up in the era of the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal , which inspired in him "a healthy skepticism towards official reports." His first job
2250-643: The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act". He continued using his platform as an advocate for veterans by being instrumental in helping pass the Honoring our PACT Act of 2022 , which expands healthcare access and funding to veterans exposed to toxic substances during their service including burn pits . Stewart was born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz at Doctors Hospital in the Upper East Side of New York City . His father, Donald Leibowitz (1931–2013),
2325-623: The White House for previously unreported meetings with President Obama: once in October ;2011 and once in February 2014. Michael D. Shear of The New York Times also picked up on the story. Stewart responded on his show by pointing out that the meetings were listed in the president's publicly available visitor log and that he has been asked to meet privately by many prominent individuals, including Roger Ailes of Fox News . He said Obama encouraged him not to make young Americans cynical about their government and Stewart said that his reply
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2400-407: The "agents of intolerance". In the interchange, Stewart asked McCain, "You're not freaking out on us? Are you freaking out on us, because if you're freaking out ... and you're going into the crazy base world—are you going into crazy base world?" McCain replied, "Just– just– just a little" and "I'm afraid so." The clip was played on CNN , was noted and discussed in more detail in the blogosphere and
2475-482: The "ramblings of crazy people didn't in any way resemble how we actually talk to each other on television". Before a commercial break, Stewart told viewers that the show would continue as usual the next night. After the commercial break, the show featured a rerun of a field piece done by Jason Jones two years earlier. In March 2012, Stewart interviewed Bruce Springsteen for Rolling Stone . Writer Wyatt Cenac said that Stewart cursed him out after Cenac acknowledged he
2550-658: The Franklin Corner Tavern (a blue-collar bar in Lawrence ), and bartender at the City Gardens nightclub in Trenton, New Jersey . He has said that working at City Gardens was a pivotal moment for him: "Finding this place City Gardens was like, 'Oh, maybe I'm not a giant weirdo. Maybe there are other people who have a similar sense of yearning for something other than what they have now.' I think it inspired
2625-543: The Month that The Daily Show influenced his directing process more than his acting gigs did. He said, "It's about the collaboration. It's about understanding. Doing a show taught me this process of clarity of vision, but the flexibility of process. So know your intention, know where you're wanting to go with the scene with the way that you want it to go, the momentum shifts, the emphasis, where you want it to be." He also expressed interest in directing more films. Stewart directed
2700-437: The comedy troupe, The State . Stewart said that his career did not take off until his March 6, 1992, appearance on NBC 's Late Night with David Letterman . He was considered to take over the show when Letterman left it, but it was given to relatively unknown Conan O'Brien . He co-hosted MTV Spring Break '93 Blind Date from Daytona Beach with Melissa Rivers . Later in 1993, Stewart developed The Jon Stewart Show ,
2775-673: The end of 2025. Stewart has hosted the Grammy Awards twice, in 2001 and in 2002, and the 78th Academy Awards , which were held March 5, 2006, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. Critical response to Stewart's performance was mixed. Roger Ebert compared him favorably to legendary Oscar host Johnny Carson . Other reviewers were less positive; Tom Shales of The Washington Post said that Stewart hosted with "smug humorlessness". James Poniewozik of TIME said that Stewart
2850-420: The film The Donor . In 2007, Stewart voiced Mort Sinclaire, former TV comedy writer and communist, on Stephen Colbert 's audiobook version of I Am America (And So Can You!) . On April 4, 2006, Stewart confronted US Senator John McCain ( R - AZ ) on The Daily Show about his decision to appear at Liberty University , an institution founded by Jerry Falwell whom McCain previously had denounced as one of
2925-459: The mid-1990s, Stewart launched his own production company , Busboy Productions , naming the company in reference to his previous job as a busboy . Stewart signed a deal with Miramax to develop projects through his company, but none of his ideas have been produced. After Stewart's success as host and producer of The Daily Show , he revived Busboy Productions with Daily Show producers Ben Karlin and Rich Korson. In 2002, Busboy planned to produce
3000-446: The network and moved to syndication . He has also appeared in several films, including Big Daddy (1999) and Death to Smoochy (2002). Stewart became host of The Daily Show in 1999, where he also was a writer and co-executive producer. After he joined, The Daily Show steadily gained popularity and critical acclaim, and during his tenure won numerous Emmy Awards and was nominated for news and journalism awards . Stewart hosted
3075-577: The people", and "every vote counts". The book sold millions of copies upon its 2004 release and ended the year as a top-fifteen best seller. He also delivered the commencement address for the class of 2004 at his alma mater, the College of William & Mary. In 2005, Stewart provided the voice of President James A. Garfield for the audiobook version of Sarah Vowell 's Assassination Vacation . In 2005, Comedy Central reached an agreement with Busboy in which Comedy Central would provide financial backing for
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3150-645: The political satire Irresistible , released in June 2020, which follows a demoralized Democratic strategist (played by Daily Show alumnus Steve Carell ), who helps a retired veteran ( Chris Cooper ) run for mayor in a small, blue collar town in Wisconsin. After his contract with HBO ended, Stewart signed a multi-year show deal with Apple . On September 30, 2021, Stewart's new series, The Problem with Jon Stewart , premiered on Apple TV+ . The series featured hour-long, single-subject episodes. In addition to hosting
3225-418: The post- Nightline slot. In 2004, Stewart and The Daily Show writing staff released, America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction , a mock high-school history textbook offering insights into the unique American system of government, dissecting its institutions, explaining its history and processes, and satirizing such popular American political precepts as " one man, one vote ", "government by
3300-470: The production company. Comedy Central has a first-look agreement on all projects, after which Busboy is free to shop them to other networks. The deal spawned the Daily Show spin-off The Colbert Report and its replacement, The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore . Other projects include the sitcom pilot Three Strikes , the documentary Sportsfan , the series Important Things with Demetri Martin , and
3375-478: The project were Mike Brown, Steve Waltien, Chelsea Devantez, Lucy Steiner, Kate James, and Robby Slowik. The team tested material in Red Bank, New Jersey, at The Count Basie Theatre Performing Arts Academy. The show's premiere was moved several times, from fall 2016, to the first quarter of 2017, and then cancelled on May 23, 2017. The cancelation statement read: "HBO and Jon Stewart have decided not to proceed with
3450-487: The roads are named for Confederate generals" describing it as "racial wallpaper". Instead he designated a large portion of the show to his guest that night Malala Yousafzai , calling her "an incredible inspiration," and that "to be quite honest with you, I don't think there's anyone else in the world I would rather talk to tonight than Malala: So that's what we're going to do. And sorry about no jokes." On August 5, 2015, Stewart's friend of 30 years, comedian Louis C.K. ,
3525-504: The role of an executive producer. After leaving The Daily Show , Stewart maintained a low profile in entertainment industry circles, but used his celebrity and voice in a sustained advocacy for 9/11 first responders and war veterans' health benefits. In 2019, he received the New York City Bronze Medallion for his "tireless advocacy, inspiration, and leadership (helping to) pass the permanent authorization of
3600-522: The role, he slept with Sandler. Stewart often makes fun of his appearances in the high-profile flop, Death to Smoochy , in which he played a treacherous television executive; and the animated film Doogal , where he voiced the villain Zeebad. In 2007, Stewart made a cameo appearance as himself in Evan Almighty , which starred former Daily Show correspondent Steve Carell. In the movie, Stewart
3675-419: The show has any intentional political agenda, saying the goal was "schnicks and giggles" and that "[t]he same weakness that drove me into comedy also informs my show", meaning that he was uncomfortable talking without hearing the audience laugh. In his first Daily Show on-air appearance on January 11, 1999, Stewart told his guest that evening, Michael J. Fox , that he felt as if "this is my bar mitzvah". His style
3750-541: The show included a tearful Stewart discussing his personal view on the event. His remarks ended as follows: The view ... from my apartment ... was the World Trade Center ... and now it's gone, and they attacked it. This symbol of American ingenuity, and strength, and labor, and imagination and commerce, and it is gone. But you know what the view is now? The Statue of Liberty . The view from the South of Manhattan
3825-538: The show won two Peabody Awards for its coverage of the US presidential elections in those years, called " Indecision 2000 " and " Indecision 2004 ", respectively. The show of September 20, 2001, the first show after the attacks of September 11, 2001 , began with no introduction. Before this, the introduction included footage of a fly-in toward the World Trade Center and New York City. The first nine minutes of
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#17327834763483900-649: The show, Stewart served as executive producer through his company, Busboy Productions. The show was canceled after two seasons, allegedly due to Apple executives disagreeing with coverage of China and artificial intelligence . Apple's cancelation attracted criticism from the United States House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party . In July 2022,
3975-792: The singer's MusiCares Person of the Year award ceremony. Stewart began a comedic feud with WWE wrestler Seth Rollins in March 2015, and appeared on WWE Raw during a Daily Show -styled segment hosted by Rollins. On August 23, 2015, Stewart returned to host the WWE's SummerSlam at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn , New York. Later, he got involved in the main event between Rollins and John Cena , helping Rollins retain his WWE World Heavyweight Championship , as well as winning Cena's United States Championship when he interfered and hit Cena with
4050-432: The stage name Jon Stewart by dropping his last name and changing the spelling of his middle name, Stuart, to Stewart. He often jokes that it was because people had trouble pronouncing Leibowitz, or it "sounded too Hollywood" (a reference to Lenny Bruce 's joke on the same theme). He has implied that the name change was due to a strained relationship with his father, with whom Stewart no longer had any contact. Stewart became
4125-497: The studio), launched an hour-long syndicated late-night version of The Jon Stewart Show . Many local affiliates had moved Hall's show to 2 a.m. during its decline and Stewart's show inherited such early morning time slots in many cities. Ratings were dismal and the show was canceled in June 1995. Among the fans of the show was David Letterman , who was the final guest of The Jon Stewart Show . Letterman signed Stewart with his production company, Worldwide Pants . Stewart then became
4200-523: The summer of 2013. Stewart won twenty Primetime Emmy Awards for The Daily Show as either a writer or producer, and two for producing The Colbert Report (2013–14), earning a total of twenty-two Primetime Emmy Awards, the most wins for a male individual. In 2005, Stewart and The Daily Show received the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album for the audiobook edition of America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction . In 2000 and 2004,
4275-472: The television special, Elmopalooza , celebrating 30 years of Sesame Street . He has guest-starred on other sitcoms including The Nanny , Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist , Spin City , and NewsRadio . The same year Stewart released his first book, Naked Pictures of Famous People (1998), a collection of humorous short stories and essays. The book reached The New York Times Best Seller List . In
4350-586: The weekly Monday guest host starting February 12, 2024. It was also confirmed that Stewart and his manager James Dixon would serve as executive producers for all Daily Show episodes through 2025. In May 2024, it was announced that Stewart would additionally begin hosting The Weekly Show , an original podcast from Comedy Central. Stewart and The Daily Show team won the Primetime Emmy Award for Best Talk Series, his 23rd Emmy. In late October, Stewart extended his contract by one year to remain host until
4425-467: The years, including Hillary Clinton , John McCain , Lindsey Graham , Chris Christie , John Kerry , Chuck Schumer , Bill O'Reilly , Wolf Blitzer , Joe Scarborough , and Mika Brzezinski . During the final episode, there was a pre-taped behind-the-scenes look at the show spoofing the long-take Copacabana scene from Goodfellas , featuring a brief appearance by Martin Scorsese . It concluded with
4500-427: Was a bad host, but a great "anti-host" in that he poked fun at parts of the broadcast that deserved it, which lent him a degree of authenticity with the non-Hollywood audience. Stewart and correspondent John Oliver later poked fun at his lackluster reception on The Daily Show coverage of the 79th Academy Awards by saying that the " demon of last year's Oscars had finally been exorcised ". Stewart returned to host
4575-557: Was an energy coordinator for the New Jersey Department of the Treasury , and his mother, Marian Leibowitz (née Laskin), was a teacher and later an educational consultant . Stewart's family is Ashkenazi Jewish ( Polish-Jewish , Ukrainian-Jewish , Belarusian-Jewish , and possibly Lithuanian-Jewish ); his parents had immigrated to the United States from Europe . One of his grandfathers was born in Manzhouli , present-day China . He
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#17327834763484650-410: Was announced that Stewart signed a four-year deal with HBO that would include exclusive digital content for HBO NOW, HBO Go, and other platforms. HBO programming president Casey Bloys has said that "the idea is it will be an animated parody of a cable news network with an Onion -like portal." The team began working with the cloud graphics company, OTOY, to build a system for creating content. Working on
4725-490: Was chosen as the host and interviewer for George Carlin 's tenth HBO special, George Carlin: 40 Years of Comedy . Stewart had a recurring role in The Larry Sanders Show , playing himself as an occasional substitute and possible successor to late-night talk show host Larry Sanders (played by Garry Shandling ). Stewart also headlined the 1997 White House Correspondents' dinner . In 1998, Stewart hosted
4800-552: Was described by one critic as, "Stewart does not offer us cynicism for its own sake, but as a playful way to offer the kinds of insights that are not permitted in more serious news formats that slavishly cling to official account of events." He appeared in Half Baked as an "enhancement smoker" and in Big Daddy as Adam Sandler 's roommate; he has joked on the Daily Show and in the documentary The Aristocrats that to get
4875-550: Was earning $ 14 million a year. The New York Times opined that Stewart is "the modern-day equivalent of Edward R. Murrow " and the UK national newspaper The Independent called him the "satirist-in-chief". In an interview, Senator John McCain described Stewart as "a modern-day Will Rogers and Mark Twain ". On the show of January 10, 2011, Stewart began with a monologue about the shootings in Tucson, Arizona . He said he wished
4950-612: Was filmed at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City and featured a set of panelists, two from the UK and two from the United States, who discussed news items and cultural issues. The show premiered in the UK on October 6, 1996; five episodes aired in total. Notable panelists included Dave Chappelle , Eddie Izzard , Phill Jupitus , Nora Ephron , Craig Kilborn , Christopher Hitchens , Armando Iannucci , Norm Macdonald , and Helen Gurley Brown . In 1997, Stewart
5025-515: Was followed up on in the mainstream media . In 2007, The Daily Show was involved in former correspondent Stephen Colbert's announcement that he would run for president in 2008 . In 2008, Stewart appeared on the news program Democracy Now! . A 2008 New York Times story questioned whether he was, in a phrase originally used to describe longtime network news anchor Walter Cronkite , "the most trusted man in America". On April 28, 2009, during
5100-547: Was honored with the Bronze Medallion in 2019, and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2022. Stewart started as a stand-up comedian but branched into television as host of Short Attention Span Theater for Comedy Central. He went on to host You Wrote It, You Watch It (1992–1993) and then The Jon Stewart Show (1993–1995), both on MTV, until The Jon Stewart Show was retooled, dropped by
5175-464: Was leaving the show for 12 weeks to direct the film version of Bahari's 2011 book, Then They Came For Me . Stewart's screenplay adaptation is entitled, Rosewater . It premiered at the September 2014 Toronto International Film Festival , receiving "generally favorable" reviews, and was released to general audiences on November 14, 2014. In 2010, Stewart and The Daily Show writing staff released
5250-420: Was seen on a television screen in a fictional Daily Show episode poking fun at Carell's character for building an ark . Until Trevor Noah permanently took over the show in 2015, Stewart hosted almost all airings of the program, except for a few occasions when correspondents such as Stephen Colbert , Rob Corddry , Jason Jones , and Steve Carell subbed for him, and during John Oliver 's stint as host during
5325-596: Was selected to be the last guest before the final Daily Show episode with Stewart helming the show. C.K. joked that he was there "representing comedy to say good job". The hour-long-plus final Daily Show on August 6 featured reunions with former correspondents Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell , John Oliver, Samantha Bee , Hasan Minhaj , Ed Helms , Kristen Schaal , Larry Wilmore , Jessica Williams , Aasif Mandvi , Lewis Black , John Hodgman , Rob Corddry , Olivia Munn , Josh Gad , Michael Che , and Mo Rocca and cameo video clips from people Stewart had targeted over
5400-480: Was that he was "skeptically idealistic". On June 19, 2015, in the wake of the Charleston Church Shooting , Stewart decided not to write jokes for the opening monologue. Elaborating on his decision, Stewart stated, "I honestly have nothing other than just sadness". Stewart spoke about the racial disparity and injustices in America, saying "The Confederate flag flies over South Carolina ... and
5475-586: Was the highest-paid late night host, making an estimated $ 25–30 million per year. On July 14, 2014, Stewart interviewed Hillary Clinton about the Middle East . Clinton's condemnations of Hamas led Stewart to ask her: "But don't you think they would look at that though as, they've given a lot of different things a chance and these are the only guys to them that are giving any resistance to what their condition is?" For Gazans living in that situation, he said Hamas could be viewed as "freedom fighters". During
5550-590: Was uncomfortable about a June 2011 Daily Show bit about Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain (reported in July 2015). In March 2013, it was announced that Stewart would be taking a 12-week hiatus from The Daily Show to direct the film Rosewater , which is based on the book Then They Came for Me by Maziar Bahari . Beginning June 10, 2013, The Daily Show correspondent John Oliver assumed primary hosting duties during Stewart's break. The TV Guide annual survey for 2013 star salaries showed that Stewart
5625-629: Was working with his brother at a Woolworth's store, and he has jokingly said that being fired by Lawrence himself was one of the "scarring events" of his youth. He has also credited renowned television producer Norman Lear as someone who "raised me." After graduating from Lawrence High School in 1980, Stewart attended the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia , where he initially majored in chemistry before switching to psychology . While at William & Mary, Stewart became
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