Jon Stewart Biography

Summary

"Jon Stewart" (born "Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz" on November 28,1962) is an American comedian, satirist, actor, writer, and producer. He is best known as the host of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" and for his political satire.

Stewart started as a stand-up comedian, but later branched out to television, hosting "Short Attention Span Theater" for Comedy Central. He went on to host his own show on MTV, called "The Jon Stewart Show," and then hosted another show on MTV called "You Wrote It, You Watch It".

Stewart became the host of "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central in early 1999. He is also a writer and co-producer of the show. After Stewart joined, "The Daily Show" steadily gained popularity and critical acclaim leading to his first Emmy Award in 2001. Stewart himself has also gained significant notoriety as a vocal, outspoken critic of the Bush administration and of personality-driven media shows, in particular Bill O'Reilly and the Fox News Channel.

Stewart co-wrote "America (The Book)", which was one of the top fifteen best-sellers in the US in 2004.

Stewart hosted the 78th Academy Awards and was recently chosen to return to host the 80th Academy Awards on Sunday, February 24, 2008.

Personal background

Jon Stewart was born in New York City

and grew up in Lawrence, New Jersey, where he attended Lawrence High School. His father, Donald Leibowitz, is a physicist at The College of New Jersey and his mother, Marian, is an educational consultant. Stewart's parents divorced when he was nine years old and he and his older brother, Larry, stayed with their mother. While attending Lawrence High School, Stewart was a member of the school band as a French horn player. Stewart has said that he was subjected to considerable harassment from some of his classmates as he was the only Jewish student. He describes his high school self as 'very into Eugene Debs and a bit of a leftist.'

He graduated from Lawrence High School third in his class.

Stewart attended the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, majoring in psychology and playing on the men's soccer team.

An award titled the 'Leibo' is now given out annually in honor of Stewart and is given to the member of the men's soccer team who experiences the most personal growth and provides the most laughs for his teammates. Stewart was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity but left after six months.

While at William and Mary, he coached soccer at Gloucester High School in Gloucester. He admits to having smoked heavy amounts of marijuana in college and claims that he was 'miserable' there.

On the 2006 September 14 edition of "The Daily Show", he said that he started smoking cigarettes when he was age fifteen (he has since quit). He jokingly said, 'If a camel can do it, who am I not to?'

After graduating from William and Mary in 1985, Stewart held numerous jobs, including: contingency planner for the New Jersey Department of Human Services, contract administrator for City University of New York, puppeteer for children with disabilities, construction worker, caterer, busboy, shelf stocker at Woolworth's, and bartender at a local blue-collar bar, the Franklin Corner Tavern. He also worked for a time as a breath-tester at an inflatable plastic water-toy factory. During part of this time, Stewart roomed with future congressman Anthony Weiner, who, to date, is the only politician to have received campaign donations from the "Daily Show" host..

Stewart married long-time girlfriend Tracey McShane, a veterinary technician, in November 2000. The exact date of their marriage is publicly unknown, but on the April 23, 2002 episode of "The Daily Show", Stewart stated that he had been married 'almost eighteen months'.On June 19, 2001, Stewart and his wife filed a joint name change application and legally changed both of their last names to 'Stewart'.

He proposed to her by working with Will Shortz, the crossword editor at "The New York Times", and together they created a puzzle that popped the question. The couple had their first child, Nathan Thomas Stewart (named after Stewart's grandfather) on July 3, 2004. Their second child, a daughter, Maggie Rose Stewart, was born on February 4, 2006.

They also have a cat named Stanley and two bull terriers, Monkey and Shamsky (named after Art Shamsky).

In 2004, Stewart spoke at the commencement ceremonies at his alma mater, William and Mary, and was presented with an honorary Doctor of Arts degree.

Stewart was also the Class Day keynote speaker at Princeton University in 2004. In addition to his interest in soccer, Jon Stewart is also an avid baseball fan; his favorite team is the New York Mets.

In 2006, he received an honorary All-America award from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. His favorite musicians include Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, and Buffalo Tom. In 2000, when host Larry King asked him if he was a Democrat, Jon confirmed but went on to say that he was 'more of a socialist or an independent'.

Professional background

Early work

With a reputation for being a funny man even in school, Jon Stewart moved to New York City in 1986 to try his hand at the comedy club circuit, but he did not muster the courage to get on stage until the following year. He made his stand-up debut at The Bitter End, the same place where his comedic idol, Woody Allen, began.

He began using the stage name 'Jon Stewart' by dropping his last name and changing the spelling of his middle name 'Stuart' to 'Stewart'. While he often jokes this is because people had difficulty with the pronunciation of Leibowitz or it 'sounded too Hollywood'

(a reference to Lenny Bruce's joke on the same theme), Stewart has implied that the name change was actually due to a strained relationship with his father, with whom Stewart no longer has any contact. Stewart became a regular at the Comedy Cellar where he was the last performer every night. For two years, he would perform at 2am while developing his comedic style.

In 1989, he landed his first television job as a writer for "Caroline's Comedy Hour". In 1991, he began hosting Comedy Central's "Short Attention Span Theater". In 1992, Stewart 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 the comedy troupe The State. In 1993, he was a finalist to replace David Letterman who was leaving NBC, but Conan O'Brien was hired instead.

Later that year, Stewart developed his own talk show at MTV. Despite the quick cancellation of his previous MTV show, the network was still eager to work with him. "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 pulled the plug on "The Arsenio Hall Show" and, with new corporate sibling MTV (through MTV parent Viacom's acquisition of the studio), launched an hour-long syndicated late-night version of "The Jon Stewart Show". Many local affiliates had moved Hall's show to 2am 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.

Amongst 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 a frequent guest host for Tom Snyder on "The Late Late Show", which was produced by Letterman and aired after "Late Show" on CBS. This led to much speculation that Stewart would soon replace Snyder permanently, yet Stewart was instead offered the time slot after Snyder which he turned down.

"The Daily Show"

In 1999, Stewart began hosting "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central when Craig Kilborn left the show to replace Tom Snyder on "The Late Late Show". He has since hosted almost all airings of the program, except for a few occasions when correspondents such as Stephen Colbert, Rob Corddry and for a whole week, Steve Carell, have filled in at the anchor desk. Stewart has won a total of ten Emmys for "The Daily Show" as either a writer or producer.

The show, which has been hugely popular and widely successful in cable television since Stewart became the host, blends humor with the day's top news stories, usually in politics, while simultaneously attacking the hypocrisy of politicians and many newsmakers. In 2005, "The Daily Show" and Jon Stewart also received a Best Comedy Album Grammy Award for the audio book edition of "America (The Book)". In 2000 and 2004, the show won two Peabody Awards for its coverage of the presidential elections relevant to those years, called 'Indecision 2000' and 'Indecision 2004', respectively.

One of the show's most enduring and serious moments, one that arguably cemented his role in American culture, remains the September 20, 2001 show—their first show after attacks of September 11, 2001. The show began with no introduction. Prior to this date, "The Daily Show" introduction included footage of a fly-in towards the World Trade Center and New York City. The first nine minutes of the show included a tearful Stewart discussing his personal view on the event. His remarks ended as follows:

Another notable moment occurred on April 24, 2006 when Stewart confronted his longtime friend, US Senator John McCain, about his decision to appear at Liberty University, an institution founded by Jerry Falwell, a man who McCain had previously denounced as one of 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 politics world— are you going into crazy base world?' McCain replied 'I'm afraid so.' The clip was played on CNN and created a surge of articles across the blogosphere.

Most recently "The Daily Show" was involved in former correspondent Stephen Colbert's announcement that he would run for president in 2008.

On October 18, 2007, Stewart renewed his contract with Comedy Central and will continue to host "The Daily Show" through 2010.

Salary

For doing one season of The Daily Show he gets a reported $1.5 million.

Replacing Letterman on "The Late Show"

In the middle of 2002, amid rumors that David Letterman was going to make a switch from CBS to ABC when his contract ran out with the former, Stewart was rumored to be the person who would take over Letterman's show on CBS. But ultimately, Letterman renewed his contract with CBS. On the March 9, 2002 episode of "Saturday Night Live" (hosted by Stewart), a 'Weekend Update? sketch poked fun at the situation. In the middle of the sketch, host Jimmy Fallon said that he couldn't continue doing the broadcast and he brought Stewart in to replace him. Stewart glowed with excitement and chattered to himself about this chance to prove himself on network television. His pep talk went on too long, however, and before Stewart could deliver any headlines, Fallon returned and said he would be able to finish out the broadcast himself.

Later that year, ABC offered Stewart his own talk show to air after "Nightline". Stewart's contract with "The Daily Show" was near expiring and he expressed strong interest. But ABC decided to give another Comedy Central figure, Jimmy Kimmel, the post-"Nightline" slot.

Still, many people believe that when Letterman does retire, Stewart may replace him to continue the "Late Show" franchise and compete with "The Tonight Show". At an appearance in London on December 11, 2005 when asked if he would replace Letterman, Stewart said it would be unlikely, because on Comedy Central he has creative independence that CBS would probably not give him. In reference to Letterman's wealth, he quipped, 'Really, who needs all that money?'

In 2007, the "New York Post" reported that Stewart met with NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker, in what is believed to have been an initial attempt to lure the comedian to replace Conan O'Brien, who has been announced as Jay Leno's replacement as host of "The Tonight Show" in 2009.

"Crossfire" appearance

Stewart attracted media attention as a result of a televised exchange with former CNN personality Tucker Carlson on "Crossfire" on October 15, 2004. Stewart criticized the state of television journalism and pleaded with the show's hosts to 'stop hurting America', and referred to both Carlson and co-host Paul Begala as 'partisan hacks'. This exchange became one of the most widely viewed Internet videos to date,

and a topic of much media discussion.

Despite being on the program to comment on current events, Stewart immediately shifted the discussion toward the show itself, asserting that "Crossfire" had failed in its responsibility to inform and educate viewers about politics as a serious topic. Stewart complained that the show engaged in partisan hackery instead of honest debate, and said that the hosts' assertion that "Crossfire" is a debate show is like 'saying pro wrestling is a show about athletic competition'. Carlson responded by saying that Stewart criticizes news organizations for not holding public officials accountable, but when he interviewed John Kerry, Stewart asked a series of softball questions. Stewart responded that the media is in dismal shape if 'it is looking to Comedy Central for its cues on integrity'. When Carlson continued to press Stewart on the Kerry issue, Stewart said, 'You're on CNN! The show that leads into me is puppets making crank phone calls! What is wrong with you?' When Carlson told Stewart he was not as funny in person as he was on his show, Stewart retorted, 'You're as big a dick on your show as you are on any show.'

In response to further prods from Carlson to 'be funny', Stewart said, 'No, I'm not going to be your monkey.'

The day after the incident occurred, on "The Daily Show", Stewart said,

In January 2005, CNN announced that it was canceling "Crossfire". When asked about the cancellations, CNN/US' incoming President, Jonathan Klein, said about Stewart's appearance on the show, 'I think he made a good point about the noise level of these types of shows, which does nothing to illuminate the issues of the day.' Soon after Stewart quipped on "The Daily Show" that 'I fought the law, and the law lost!'

Books

In 1998, Stewart released his first book "Naked Pictures of Famous People", a collection of humorous short stories and essays. The book reached "The New York Times" Best Seller List.

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 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.

Film and television acting

Although best known for his work on "The Daily Show", Stewart has also had roles in several films and television series.

His first major film role, in "The First Wives Club", ended up on the cutting room floor. In 1995, Stewart signed a three-year deal with Miramax. He played romantic leads in the films "Playing by Heart" and "Wishful Thinking". He also had supporting roles 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 were never produced. Stewart has since maintained a relationship with Bob and Harvey Weinstein and continues to appear in films they have produced including "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back", "Doogal" and the documentary "Wordplay".

He also appeared in "Half Baked" as an 'enhancement smoker?, in "Big Daddy" as Adam Sandler's roommate, and in the documentary "The Aristocrats". 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 played a blue spring named Zeebad that shot a freeze ray from his moustache. In 2007, Stewart made a cameo appearance as himself in "Evan Almighty" which starred former "Daily Show" correspondent Steve Carell. In the movie, Stewart was seen on a television screen poking fun at Evan Baxter (Steve Carell) for building an ark. The show looked like the set of the Daily Show.

Stewart had a recurring role in "The Larry Sanders Show" in which he played himself as an occasional substitute and possible successor to late-night talk show host Larry Sanders (played by Garry Shandling). In 1998, Stewart hosted the television special, "Elmopalooza", celebrating thirty years of "Sesame Street". He has guest-starred on other sitcoms such as "The Nanny", "Dr Katz, Professional Therapist", "Spin City", "NewsRadio", and "American Dad". He has also made guest-appearances on the children's television series "Between the Lions" and "Jack's Big Music Show".

He is set to play himself in season 19 of "The Simpsons".

Producing

In the mid-1990s, Stewart launched his own production company named Busboy Productions. The name of the company is a reference to Stewart's previous job as a busboy. The company's vanity card features the sound of a glass being knocked over followed by a voice whispering 'Oops. Sorry.' Stewart also signed a deal with Miramax to develop his own projects, but none of his ideas were ever 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 a sitcom for NBC starring Stephen Colbert but the show did not come to fruition.

In 2005, Comedy Central reached an agreement with Busboy to finance the production company. Comedy Central has a first-look agreement on all projects, then Busboy is free to shop them to other networks.

The deal spawned the "Daily Show" spin-off "The Colbert Report". Other upcoming projects include the sitcom "Three Strikes", the documentary "Sportsfan", and the film "The Donor".

In October 2007, Comedy Central ordered at least 6 episodes of 'Important things with Demetri Martin'. The show, featuring Demetri Martin, is being co-edited personally by Jon Stewart and is scheduled to run sometime mid-2008. Demetri Martin hosts a sometime-segment on "The Daily Show" entitled 'Trendspotting'.

WGA strike of 2007

Stewart was an important factor in the unionization of the writers for Comedy Central. "The Daily Show" writers were the first of the Comedy Central's writers to be able to join the guild, after which other shows followed.

He supported the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike, commenting on "The Daily Show" show just before the strike in a sarcastic manner about how Comedy Central had made available all of the episodes for free on their website, but with advertising, and said 'go support our advertisers'. The writers are currently striking over receiving additional money for DVD and iTunes sales as well as future revenue made by streaming shows and movies over the internet.

According to the Huffington Post, in response to the WGA strike beginning November 5, 2007, Stewart offered to pay the writing staff of both "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" their salaries out of his own pocket in a show of solidarity; however, this was later proven to be an incorrect internet rumor. The report led to widespread labeling of him as a mensch (... more) , although the term had been applied to him previously (... more) . In actuality, the writers will be paid through Stewart's production company which also produces "The Colbert Report".

Honors

Stewart and the rest of the members of "The Daily Show" have received two Peabody Awards: one, for a piece covering the 2000 Presidential Elections entitled Indecision 2000, and the other for covering the 2004 Presidential Elections entitled Indecision 2004. In the December, 2003 New Years edition of "Newsweek magazine", Stewart was named the 'Who's Next?' person for the coming year of 2004, with the magazine predicting he would emerge as an absolute sensation in that year (the magazine said they were right in the 'who's next for 2005' issue). Stewart was also named one of the "2005 Time 100", an annual list of 100 of the most influential people of the year by "Time Magazine".

"Entertainment Weekly" named Stewart as its 'Entertainer of the Year? for 2004. In addition, Stewart was the recipient of the NCTE George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language (the Orwell Award for short) in 2005.

Grammy Awards

Stewart has hosted the Grammys twice, in 2001 and in 2002. In the middle of the 2001 broadcast, after laying a number of comedic duds, Stewart did what he encourages most public officials to do, and owned up to his bad hosting: he said, 'Ladies and gentlemen, I just want to say I feel your scorn and accept it.' When Stewart returned to host the next year, his comedy was more successful. Joking about the performance of the song 'Lady Marmalade', he said, 'Our next performance is from the movie "Moulin Rouge!", a film about a time when the whorehouses were about the music!? When the award winners for Album of the Year walked up on stage, many in number, Stewart quipped, 'I don't know what you may have heard, but you were only supposed to go on stage if you "worked" on the "O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack", not if you "heard" it.'

Oscars

On January 5, 2006, Stewart was officially announced as the host of the 78th Academy Awards (Oscars), which were held at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on March 5. Responding to press questions at the time of his selection, Stewart remarked: 'As a performer, I'm truly honored to be hosting the show. Although, as an avid watcher of the Oscars, I can't help but be a little disappointed with the choice. It appears to be another sad attempt to smoke out Billy Crystal.' (According to "The New York Times", Oscar producer Gil Cates knew Crystal was going to be performing "700 Sundays" during the time period and was not able to host.) On the Monday before the Oscars, Stewart told Larry King that he was more 'excited' than nervous about the job and joked that if he turns out a failure, he could be 'bumped down to public access'. When asked what the opening would be, the comedian chastised himself by comparing a Stewart opening to a 'Gene Rayburn homage'. Instead, the opening segment, preceding Stewart's monologue, featured several recent hosts 'declining? to host the show.

Critical response to Stewart's performance was mixed. Various celebrities and other film personalities were generally positive. 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 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. Audiences liked Stewart with an overwhelming majority of persons polled responding he had hosted well, in polls conducted by "The Hollywood Reporter" and MSNBC. Stewart and correspondent John Oliver later poked fun at his lackluster reception on "The Daily Show"s coverage of the 79th Academy Awards by saying that the 'demon of last year's Oscars had finally been exorcised'.

Stewart will be the host of 80th Academy Awards in 2008.