Host Jon Stewart talks to the audience before taping Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Restoring Honor & Dignity to the White House" at the McNally Smith College of Music.
Host Jon Stewart of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" watches a video while taping "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Restoring Honor & Dignity to the White House" at the McNally Smith College of Music.
Former Daily Show Host Jon Stewart testifies during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on reauthorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund on Capitol Hil.
Retired New York Police Department detective and 9/11 responder Luis Alvarez, left, and Former Daily Show Host Jon Stewart, right are sworn in before testifying during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on reauthorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund on Capitol Hill.
Comedian Jon Stewart throws out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 2 of the National League Championship Series between the New York Mets and the St. Louis Cardinals at Shea Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Mets, 9-6, to tie the series, 1-1.
Jon Stewart is considered one of America's top social and comedic voices. Over the past 14 years, Stewart has redefined political satire in American culture from his perch atop the anchor chair on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." In fact, surveys have shown that the overwhelming majority of men and women under the age of 35 list "The Daily Show" as their primary source of television news.
Background
Ethnicity:
Jon Stewart grew up in New Jersey in a Jewish family. His family is Ashkenazi Jewish (from Austria, Ukraine, Poland, and Belarus).
Jon Stewart was born in New York City on November 28, 1962, and was raised in New Jersey. By 1989, Stewart was hosting the Comedy Central series Short Attention Span Theater. In 1993, he launched MTV's first talk show, The Jon Stewart Show. Throughout the 1990s, Stewart appeared on several television programs. In 1999, he became anchorman of The Daily Show (later renamed The Daily Show with Jon Stewart), announcing his departure in 2015 after a highly esteemed run. Due to the show's success, Stewart has become an in-demand host. He is also a film and TV actor, appearing in the comic films Half Baked (1998) and Big Daddy (1999), among a variety of other productions.
Popular television host Jon Stewart was born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz on November 28, 1962, in New York City. (He later legally changed his last name to Stewart.) His family later relocated to Lawrenceville, New Jersey, where Stewart spent most of his youth.
Education
At Lawrence High School in Lawrence Township, New Jersey, Jon Stewart was a band member (playing the French horn). His interest in music evolved into an interest in soccer at the College of William and Mary in Virginia.
In 1984, Stewart graduated from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he studied psychology and played on the men's soccer team. After bouncing among a number of jobs, Stewart moved to New York City in 1986 to break into the comedy club circuit. Three years later, he was hosting Comedy Central's Short Attention Span Theater. In 1993, he launched MTV's first talk show, The Jon Stewart Show.
Jon was even an assistant coach for a local high school team while a college student.
Jon Stewart moved to New York City in order to do standup comedy in 1986, but didn't actually get on stage until April 1987. His first gig was at The Bitter End in New York. He had four minutes prepared, but got through only two minutes of it. After what he described as "the humiliation" of his first performance, it was another four months before he took the stage again. Even though he bombed on his first attempt, he said it was clear from then on what he wanted to do with his life.
His first regular gig was at the Comedy Cellar, where he was the last performer of the night on Sundays through Thursdays. He went on around 1:45 a.m. to a crowd that sometimes included only the club staff. It was great training, but he has said he almost quit every night for the first two years he performed.
Eventually, Jon was doing more high-profile gigs like opening for singer Sheena Easton in Las Vegas, and he became rather well known in the comedy circuit.
Throughout the 1990s, Stewart appeared on numerous television programs, including a regular role as himself on HBO's The Larry Sanders Show. Other credits include the HBO comedy special Jon Stewart: Unleavened; guest host of The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder on CBS; and guest host of HBO's Mr. Show with Bob & David.
In January 1999, Stewart took over as anchorman for Comedy Central's The Daily Show (later renamed The Daily Show with Jon Stewart), a popular late-night show that dubs itself "the most trusted name in fake news." With fast-paced dialog and sardonic wit, Stewart, who is also the show's co-executive producer, has become the most outspoken critic of Washington politics and the established news media.
Due to the success of The Daily Show, which has run for nearly 20 seasons, Stewart has become an in-demand host. He has hosted numerous award shows, including the Grammy Awards in 2001 and 2002, and the Academy Awards in 2006 and 2008.
Stewart is also a film and television actor. His film career has been mixed, from the comedy Half Baked (1998) to the box-office bomb Death to Smoochy (2002) with Robin Williams and Edward Norton, to the successful Adam Sandler vehicle Big Daddy (1999). He also had roles in the romantic drama Playing by Heart and the horror-comedy The Faculty, which were both released in 1998. In recent years, Stewart has lent his voice to several animated films, including Doogal (2006).
In 2013, Stewart announced that he was taking a break from The Daily Show to take on a new challenge. He is planning to work on his directorial debut with the film Rosewater.
Along with running the pseudo-news program The Daily Show, Stewart has become a strong political voice among young American voters, with his show consistently ranking as one of the top viewed programs by the 18-34 age demographic.
After launching the career of co-worker Stephen Colbert—who branched off from The Daily Show to create the political satire The Colbert Report—the duo teamed up again in October of 2010 for the "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.
After completing his directorial project, Stewart made a triumphant return to hosting The Daily Show in September 2013. He joked with the audience on his first show back, saying "You don't know what it's like out there in the real world. Nobody applauds every stupid little thing you do."
In February of 2015, Stewart made the announcement during a taping that he would be leaving The Daily Show, with plans to leave his anchor post later on in the year. He has been with the venerated program for more than 16 years.
America (the book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction
Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race
Religion
Jon Stewart was raised Jewish, but seems to have a more nuanced, reason-based attitude towards religion
Politics
Really, Jon is a liberal. Though much of his criticism of American politics would indicate that he would like to see more moderate discourse and compromise among U.S. politicians.
Views
Jon: "It saves me from sitting at home in my underwear screaming at the television set. If I didn't do this show I'd be the crazy guy at the bar sitting at the corner screaming "He doesn't know shit about what he's talking about!" That's the reason I do it."
Quotations:
“Love what you do. Get good at it. Competence is a rare commodity in this day and age. And let the chips fall where they may.”
“Insomnia is my greatest inspiration.”
“You can use your idealism to further your aims, if you realize that nothing is Nirvana, nothing is perfect.”
“Fatherhood is great because you can ruin someone from scratch.”
“I have complete faith in the continued absurdity of whatever’s going on.”
“I’m not going to censor myself to comfort your ignorance.”
“I visit Fox News every now and again, and it’s nice, because the Eye of Mordor is above the building.”
“If you don’t stick to your values when they’re being tested, they’re not values: they’re hobbies.”
Personality
Height: 5 feet 6.5 inches
Weight: 69 kg (154 pounds)
Wacky Humour with a strong Political Edge.
Famous multitalented personality, Jon Stewart is not only famous for his outstanding comedies, but is also equally renowned as a host. Besides television hosting, he has also hosted the 78th & the 80th Academy awards ceremonies.
Quotes from others about the person
Critics who called him a self-hating Jew after he made critical remarks about Israel, saying they were "fascistic."
Interests
Reading, Writing, Screenwriting
Politicians
President Clinton, President George W. Bush
Sport & Clubs
Soccer
Music & Bands
Rock-n-roll, alternative rock
Connections
Jon Stewart and Tracey McShane were married in May 2000.
Father:
Donald Leibowitz
Donald Leibowitz is an expert in various engineering fields who used to teach at the College.
Leibowitz was a Liberal Learning adjunct professor who taught a Society, Ethics and Technology (SET) section with associate professor of technology studies Ralph Edelbach at the College.
Mother:
Marian Leibowitz
Spouse:
Tracey Lynn McShane
Tracey Mcshane, better known as Tracey Lynn Stewart the wife of Jon Stewart, was born n August 6, 1967 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She and Jon tied the knot in 2000 and the couple of 15 years have now two children.
Tracey and Jon met in 1996 after they were paired up by a production assistant. They went on several dates until they moved in together and in 1999 on an episode of ABC’s The View Jon announced their engagement.
Tracey used to be a graphic designer but went back to school to become a veterinarian shortly after Jon took over hosting The Daily Show.
She previously worked at the Bronx Zoo but now a days she’s known for her own Moomah The Magazine, (formerly Tribeca’s Moomah Cafe).
Tracey Stewart is the Editor-in-Chief of the online website, Moomah the Magazine and the Make Nice Mission. Moomah aims to provide parents and kids fun, easy, and powerful ways to contribute to varying kinds of non-profits. In preparation for each issue, the Moomah team spends one month volunteering for a specific organization, aids in the creation of programming, and then provides donations through magazine sponsorship. In addition, Tracey is a contributor to the Huffington Post and several parenting magazines.
Brother:
Larry Leibowitz
Jon Stewart’s older brother, Larry Leibowitz, is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
He previously served as group executive vice president and head of U.S. Execution and Global Technology from 2007 until 2009.
He joined NYSE Euronext in 2007, having served as managing director and chief operating officer, Americas Equities, at UBS Investment Bank.
Prior to joining UBS in 2004, Mr. Leibowitz held the position of executive vice president, co-head of Schwab Capital Markets. He currently serves on the board of National Stock Exchange of India and has also served on many industry boards and committees, among them the Market Structure Committee of the former Securities Industry Association (now SIFMA).
Brother:
Daniel Leibowitz
Donald Leibowitz’ third son Daniel works for the non-profit organization Isles, a community development and environmental organization.
Brother:
Matthew Leibowitz
Donald Leibowitz’ youngest son, Matthew, graduated as a psychology major at the College in 2006 and is now a substance abuse counselor.
Son:
Nathan Thomas Stewart
Tracey and Jon welcomed their first child in 2004, son, Nathan Thomas Stewart was born July 3, 2004.
Daughter:
Maggie Rose Stewart
Two years later in 2006 Tracey and Jon welcomed second child, daughter, Maggie Rose Stewart.
Friend:
Stephen Colbert
Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are close friends who've collaborated on everything from the Daily Show to the Rally to Restore Sanity.
Stephen Colbert spent several years as one of the fake-news correspondents on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart before landing his own Comedy Central show, The Colbert Report , in late 2005.
Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program,
USA
Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program,
USA
Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series,
USA
Best Comedy Album,
USA
In 2004, Warner Books published "America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction." It immediately topped The New York Times Best Seller List. "Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race" followed in 2010.
In 2004, Warner Books published "America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction." It immediately topped The New York Times Best Seller List. "Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race" followed in 2010.
