Jon Stewart is an American
political satiristPolitical satire is a significant part of satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing political arguments where such arguments are expressly...
, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian. He is widely known as host of
The Daily ShowThe Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...
, a
satirical news programthumb|right|220px|[[The Daily Show with Jon Stewart]] is a news satire program.News satire, also called fake news , is a type of parody presented in a format typical of mainstream journalism, and called a satire because of its content...
that airs on
Comedy CentralComedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
.
Stewart started as a stand-up comedian, but branched into television as host of
Short Attention Span TheaterShort Attention Span Theater, which ran on Comedy Central from 1989–1994, was a pastiche of various comedians and clips from movies airing on HBO and Cinemax that month along with entertainment news and commentary from the show's host. Various celebrity guests also appeared on occasion....
for Comedy Central. He went on to host his own show on
MTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, called
The Jon Stewart ShowThe Jon Stewart Show was a short-lived talk show hosted by comedian Jon Stewart on MTV. It premiered in 1993 and became the second highest-rated program on the network behind Beavis and Butt-Head....
, and then hosted another show on MTV called
You Wrote It, You Watch ItYou Wrote It, You Watch It was a short-lived MTV sketch comedy series starring members of The State comedy troupe before they were given their own show by the network...
. He has also had several film roles as an actor. Stewart became the host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central in early 1999. He is also a writer and co-executive-producer of the show. After Stewart joined, The Daily Show steadily gained popularity and critical acclaim, resulting in his sixteen Emmy Awards.
Stewart has gained acclaim as an acerbic, satirical critic of personality-driven media shows, in particular those of the US media networks such as
CNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
,
Fox News ChannelFox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
, and
MSNBCMSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
. Critics say Stewart benefits from a double standard: he critiques other news shows from the safe, removed position of his "
fake newsthumb|right|220px|[[The Daily Show with Jon Stewart]] is a news satire program.News satire, also called fake news , is a type of parody presented in a format typical of mainstream journalism, and called a satire because of its content...
" desk. Stewart agrees, saying that neither his show nor his channel purports to be anything other than satire and comedy. In spite of its self-professed entertainment mandate, The Daily Show has been nominated for news and journalism
awards. Stewart hosted the
78thThe 78th Academy Awards honored the best films of 2005 and were held on March 5, 2006, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California. They were hosted by The Daily Show host Jon Stewart, with Tom Kane making his first appearance as the show's announcer...
and
80th Academy AwardsThe 80th Academy Awards ceremony honored the best films in 2007 and was broadcast from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California on ABC beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST/8:30 p.m. EST, February 24, 2008 . During the ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented Academy Awards in 24...
. He is the co-author of America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction, which was one of the best-selling books in the U.S. in 2004 and Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race released in 2010.
Early life
Born Jonathan Leibowitz, Stewart was raised by a Jewish family in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He and his older brother, Larry, who is currently
Chief Operating OfficerA Chief Operating Officer or Director of Operations can be one of the highest-ranking executives in an organization and comprises part of the "C-Suite"...
of NYSE Euronext (parent company of the
New York Stock ExchangeThe New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
), grew up in
Lawrenceville, New JerseyLawrenceville is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Lawrence Township in Mercer County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the CDP population was 3,887...
, where they attended
Lawrence High SchoolLawrence High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in the Lawrenceville section of Lawrence Township, in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States, serving grades 9-12 as part of the Lawrence Township Public Schools. LHS was built in 1967...
. Jon's mother, Marian, is an educational consultant and teacher. His father, Donald, was a professor of physics at
The College of New JerseyThe College of New Jersey, abbreviated TCNJ, is a public, coeducational university located in Ewing Township, New Jersey, a suburb of Trenton....
from 2001 through 2008; he now teaches an online course at
Thomas Edison State CollegeThomas Edison State College is a public institution of higher education located in Trenton, New Jersey. One of New Jersey's 12 public universities and colleges, Thomas Edison State College offers degrees at the undergraduate and graduate level....
. Jon's parents were divorced when Stewart was eleven years old, and Stewart no longer has any contact with his father.
Stewart has said that he was subjected to anti-Semitic bullying as a child. He describes himself in high school as "very into
Eugene DebsEugene Victor Debs was an American union leader, one of the founding members of the International Labor Union and the Industrial Workers of the World , and several times the candidate of the Socialist Party of America for President of the United States...
and a bit of a
leftistIn politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
."
Stewart graduated in 1984 from The College of William & Mary in
VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, where he majored in
psychologyPsychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
and played on the soccer team. While at W&M, Stewart became a brother of the
Pi Kappa AlphaPi Kappa Alpha is a Greek social fraternity with over 230 chapters and colonies and over 250,000 lifetime initiates in the United States and Canada.-History:...
Fraternity. After college, Stewart held numerous jobs. He was a contingency planner for the New Jersey Department of Human Services, a contract administrator for the
City University of New YorkThe City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...
, a puppeteer for children with disabilities, a caterer, a busboy, a shelf stocker at
Woolworth'sThe F. W. Woolworth Company was a retail company that was one of the original American five-and-dime stores. The first successful Woolworth store was opened on July 18, 1879 by Frank Winfield Woolworth in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as "Woolworth's Great Five Cent Store"...
, and a bartender at the Franklin Corner Tavern, a local blue-collar bar. In college, Stewart was friends with future Congressman Anthony Weiner, who is the only politician to have received campaign donations from Stewart.
Early work
With a reputation for being a funny man in school, Jon Stewart moved to
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1986 to try his hand at the
comedy clubA comedy club is a venue, typically a nightclub, bar, or restaurant where people watch or listen to performances, including stand-up comedians, improvisational comedians, impersonators, magicians, ventriloquists and other comedy acts...
circuit, but he could not muster the courage to get on stage until the following year. He made his
stand-upStand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
debut at
The Bitter EndThe Bitter End is a nightclub in New York City's Greenwich Village. It opened its doors in 1961 at 147 Bleecker Street under the auspices of owner Fred Weintraub. The club changed its name to The Other End during the 1970s...
, the same place where his comedic idol,
Woody AllenWoody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
, began. He began using the
stage nameA stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
"Jon Stewart" by dropping his last name and changing the spelling of his middle name "Stuart" to "Stewart." He often jokes this is because people had difficulty with the pronunciation of Leibowitz or it "sounded too Hollywood" (a reference to
Lenny BruceLeonard Alfred Schneider , better known by the stage name Lenny Bruce, was a Jewish-American comedian, social critic and satirist...
's joke on the same theme). He 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 CellarThe Comedy Cellar is a comedy club in Manhattan, where many top New York comedians perform. It was founded in 1982 by then standup comedian, and current television writer/producer Bill Grundfest...
, where he was the last performer every night. For two years, he would perform at 2 a.m. 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 co-hosting Comedy Central's
Short Attention Span TheaterShort Attention Span Theater, which ran on Comedy Central from 1989–1994, was a pastiche of various comedians and clips from movies airing on HBO and Cinemax that month along with entertainment news and commentary from the show's host. Various celebrity guests also appeared on occasion....
along with Patty Rosborough. In 1992, Stewart hosted the short-lived
You Wrote It, You Watch ItYou Wrote It, You Watch It was a short-lived MTV sketch comedy series starring members of The State comedy troupe before they were given their own show by the network...
on MTV, which invited viewers to send in their stories to be acted out by the comedy troupe,
The StateThe State is a half-hour sketch-comedy television show, originally broadcast on MTV between December 17, 1993 and July 1, 1995. The show combined bizarre characters and scenarios to present sketches that won the favor of its target teenaged audience...
. When
David LettermanDavid Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
left NBC in 1993, Stewart was a finalist to replace him, but
Conan O'BrienConan Christopher O'Brien is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer and performer. Since November 2010 he has hosted Conan, a late-night talk show that airs on the American cable television station TBS....
was hired instead.
The Jon Stewart Show
Later in 1993, Stewart developed
The Jon Stewart ShowThe Jon Stewart Show was a short-lived talk show hosted by comedian Jon Stewart on MTV. It premiered in 1993 and became the second highest-rated program on the network behind Beavis and Butt-Head....
, a
talk showA talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
on 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-headBeavis and Butt-head is an American animated television series created by Mike Judge. The series originated from Frog Baseball, a 1992 short film by Judge. After seeing the short, MTV signed Judge to develop the concept. Beavis and Butt-head originally aired from March 8, 1993 to November 28, 1997...
. In 1994,
ParamountParamount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
pulled the plug on
The Arsenio Hall ShowThe Arsenio Hall Show is an American variety/talk show that aired late weeknights in syndication from January 3, 1989 to May 27, 1994. The show was created and hosted by comedian/actor Arsenio Hall.- Background :...
and, with new corporate sibling MTV (through MTV parent
ViacomViacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
's acquisition of the studio), launched an hour-long
syndicatedIn broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
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.
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 PantsWorldwide Pants Incorporated is an American television and film production company owned by comedian and talk show host David Letterman. Its ongoing productions are Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson...
. Stewart then became a frequent guest host for
Tom SnyderThomas James "Tom" Snyder was an American television personality, news anchor and radio personality best known for his late night talk shows The Tomorrow Show, on the NBC television network in the 1970s and 1980s, and The Late Late Show, on the CBS Television Network in the 1990s...
on The Late Late Show, which was produced by Letterman and aired after Late Show on
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. This led to much speculation that Stewart would soon replace Snyder permanently, but 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 KilbornCraig Kilborn is an American actor and talk show host. He was the original host of The Daily Show, a former anchor on ESPN's SportsCenter, and Tom Snyder's successor on CBS' The Late Late Show. On June 28, 2010, he launched The Kilborn File after a six-year absence from television...
left the show to replace
Tom SnyderThomas James "Tom" Snyder was an American television personality, news anchor and radio personality best known for his late night talk shows The Tomorrow Show, on the NBC television network in the 1970s and 1980s, and The Late Late Show, on the CBS Television Network in the 1990s...
on
The Late Late ShowThe Late Late Show is an American late-night television talk and variety show on CBS hosted by Craig Ferguson since 2005. It immediately follows Late Show with David Letterman and is produced by Letterman's Worldwide Pants Incorporated...
. The show, which has been popular and successful in cable television since Stewart became the host, blends humor with the day's top news stories, usually in politics, while simultaneously poking fun at politicians and many newsmakers as well as the news media itself. In an interview on
The O'Reilly FactorThe O'Reilly Factor, originally titled The O'Reilly Report from 1996 to 1998 and often called The Factor, is an American talk show on the Fox News Channel hosted by commentator Bill O'Reilly, who often discusses current controversial political issues with guests.The program was the most watched...
, Stewart denies the show has any intentional political agenda, saying the goal was "schnicks and giggles." "The same weakness that drove me into comedy also informs my show," meaning that he was uncomfortable talking without hearing the audience laugh.
Stewart has since hosted almost all airings of the program, except for a few occasions when correspondents such as
Stephen ColbertStephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...
,
Rob CorddryRobert William "Rob" Corddry is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his work as a former correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and for his starring role in the comedy film Hot Tub Time Machine...
, and
Steve CarellSteven John "Steve" Carell is an American comedian, actor, voice artist, producer, writer, and director. Although Carell is notable for his role on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, he found greater fame in the late 2000s for playing Michael Scott on The Office...
subbed for him. Stewart has won a total of sixteen Emmys for The Daily Show as either a writer or producer. In 2005, The Daily Show and Jon Stewart also received a
Best Comedy AlbumThe Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album was awarded from yearly 1959 to 1993 and then from 2004 to present day. There have been several minor changes to the name of the award over this time:*From 1959 to 1967 it was Best Comedy Performance...
Grammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for the audio book edition of
America (The Book)America : A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction is a 2004 non-fiction book written by Jon Stewart and other writers of The Daily Show that parodies and satirizes American politics and worldview...
. In 2000 and 2004, the show won two
Peabody AwardThe George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
s for its coverage of the presidential elections relevant to those years, called "
Indecision 2000The Daily Show: Indecision 2000 was a series of special episodes featured on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart spoofing the 2000 Presidential Election. This series covered the primaries leading up to the general election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. The series featured "correspondents" at the...
" and "
Indecision 2004The Daily Show: Indecision 2004 is a DVD boxed set of several episodes of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart relating to the 2004 presidential election...
", respectively.
The September 20, 2001, show, the first show after the attacks of September 11, 2001, began with no introduction. Before this, the introduction included footage of a fly-in towards the
World Trade CenterThe original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
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:
On April 4, 2006, Stewart confronted US Senator
John McCainJohn Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
about his decision to appear at
Liberty UniversityLiberty University is a private Christian university located in Lynchburg, Virginia. Liberty's annual enrollment is around 72,000 students, 12,000 of whom are residential students and 60,000+ studying through Liberty University Online...
, an institution founded by
Jerry FalwellJerry Lamon Falwell, Sr. was an evangelical fundamentalist Southern Baptist pastor, televangelist, and a conservative commentator from the United States. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, a megachurch in Lynchburg, Virginia...
, whom 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
baseIn politics, the term base refers to a group of voters who almost always support a single party's candidates for elected office. Base voters are very unlikely to vote for the candidate of an opposing party, regardless of the specific views each candidate holds...
[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
blogosphereThe blogosphere is made up of all blogs and their interconnections. The term implies that blogs exist together as a connected community or as a social network in which everyday authors can publish their opinions...
.
In 2007, The Daily Show was involved in former correspondent
Stephen Colbert's announcement that he would run for president in 2008On October 16, 2007, satirist Stephen Colbert officially announced that he would run for President of the United States. This came after weeks of being pressured to do so by the public and stating that he would need a sign, which came from Aragorn giving him the sword Anduril...
. In 2008, Stewart appeared on an episode of the show
Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...
A 2008
New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
story questioned whether he was, in a phrase originally used to describe longtime network news anchor
Walter CronkiteWalter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was an American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years . During the heyday of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll...
, "the most trusted man in America".
On April 28, 2009, during a discussion on
tortureTorture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
with
Clifford MayClifford D. May is an American journalist, editor, and political activist. He is the president of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a conservative policy institute created shortly after the 9/11 attacks, and the Chairman of the Policy Committee department within the Committee on the...
, Stewart expressed his opinion that former President
Harry S. TrumanHarry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
was a war criminal for his
use of the atomic bomb on Japan during World War IIDuring the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date.For six months...
. Moments later, Stewart defended his assertion:
On April 30, 2009, Stewart apologized on his program, and stated he did not believe Truman was a war criminal:
In April 2010, Comedy Central renewed Stewart's contract to host The Daily Show into 2013.
Stewart is paid a reported $1.5 million for one season of The Daily Show.
According to the
ForbesForbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
list of Celebrities, he earns $14 million a year.
On September 16, 2010, Stewart along with
Stephen ColbertStephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...
announced a rally for October 30, known as the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. It took place on the
National MallThe National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The National Mall is a unit of the National Park Service , and is administered by the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit...
in Washington D.C. and attracted an estimated 215,000 participants.
In December 2010 Stewart was credited by the
White HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
and other media and political news outlets for bringing awareness of the Republican
filibusterA filibuster is a type of parliamentary procedure. Specifically, it is the right of an individual to extend debate, allowing a lone member to delay or entirely prevent a vote on a given proposal...
on the
James ZadrogaJames Zadroga was a New York City Police Department officer who died of a respiratory disease that has been attributed to his participation in rescue and recovery operations in the rubble of the World Trade Center following the September 11 attacks...
9/11 Health and Compensation Act to the public, leading to the ultimate passing of the bill which provides health benefits to first responders whose health has been adversely affected by their work at
Ground ZeroThe term ground zero describes the point on the Earth's surface closest to a detonation...
.
The January 10, 2011 Stewart began the show with a personal monologue about the
shootings in Tucson, AZOn January 8, 2011, a mass shooting occurred near Tucson, Arizona. Nineteen people were shot, six of them fatally, with one other person injured at the scene during an open meeting that U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords was holding with members of her constituency in a Casas Adobes Safeway...
. During the monologue, Stewart described how he wished that the "ramblings of crazy people didn't in any way resemble how we actually talk to each other on television". Before commercial break, Stewart told viewers that the show would continue as usual the next night. After commercial break, the show featured a rerun of a field piece done by Jason Jones two years earlier.
As a result of such high-profile political stands, Stewart is being recognized as a political force rather than merely as a comedian.
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
suggested that he is "the modern-day equivalent of
Edward R. MurrowEdward Roscoe Murrow, KBE was an American broadcast journalist. He first came to prominence with a series of radio news broadcasts during World War II, which were followed by millions of listeners in the United States and Canada.Fellow journalists Eric Sevareid, Ed Bliss, and Alexander Kendrick...
" and the UK national newspaper
The IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
called him the "satirist-in-chief".
In the middle of 2002, amid rumors that
David LettermanDavid Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
was going to make a switch from CBS to ABC when his contract ran out, Stewart was rumored to be the person who would take over Letterman's show on CBS. Ultimately, Letterman renewed his contract with CBS. On the March 9, 2002, episode of
Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
, hosted by Stewart, a "
Weekend UpdateWeekend Update is a Saturday Night Live sketch that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast, and is typically presented in the middle of the show immediately after the first musical performance...
" sketch poked fun at the situation. In the middle of the sketch, "Weekend Update" anchor
Jimmy FallonJames Thomas "Jimmy" Fallon, Jr. is an American actor, comedian, singer, musician and television host. He currently hosts Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, a late-night talk show that airs Monday through Friday on NBC...
said that he could not 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. ABC, however, decided to give another Comedy Central figure,
Jimmy KimmelJames Christian "Jimmy" Kimmel is an American television host and comedian. He is the host of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, a late-night talk show that airs on ABC. Prior to that, Kimmel was best known as the co-host of Comedy Central's The Man Show and Win Ben Stein's Money...
, the post-Nightline slot.
Books
In 1998, Stewart released his first book,
Naked Pictures of Famous PeopleNaked Pictures of Famous People is a collection of essays and short stories written in 1998 by Jon Stewart, who now hosts The Daily Show. It was the first book Stewart wrote, followed by America , which he co-authored with "The Daily Show" staff. Naked Pictures was a national best seller, known...
, 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 schoolHigh school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
historyHistory is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
textbookA textbook or coursebook is a manual of instruction in any branch of study. Textbooks are produced according to the demands of educational institutions...
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.
In 2005, Stewart provided the voice of President James A. Garfield for the audiobook version of
Sarah VowellSarah Jane Vowell is an American author, journalist, essayist and social commentator. Often referred to as a "social observer," Vowell has written five nonfiction books on American history and culture, and was a contributing editor for the radio program This American Life on Public Radio...
's
Assassination VacationAssassination Vacation is a book by Sarah Vowell, published in 2005, in which she travels around the United States researching the assassinations of U.S. Presidents Abraham Lincoln, William McKinley and James Garfield...
.
In 2007, Stewart voiced a role on friend
Stephen ColbertStephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...
's audiobook version of
I Am America (And So Can You!)I Am America is a 2007 satirical bestseller book by American comedian Stephen Colbert and the writers of The Colbert Report. It was released on October 9, 2007, with the audiobook edition released several days earlier. The book is loosely structured around the fictional life story of Stephen...
. He plays Mort Sinclaire, former TV comedy writer and Communist.
On September 21, 2010, Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race was released, also written by Stewart and other writers of The Daily Show.
Acting
Although best known for his work on
The Daily ShowThe Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...
, Stewart has also had roles in several films and television series.
His first film role was a minor part in
The First Wives ClubThe First Wives Club is a 1996 comedy film, based on the best-selling 1992 novel of the same name by Olivia Goldsmith. Narrated by Diane Keaton, it stars Keaton, Goldie Hawn, and Bette Midler as three divorced women who seek revenge on their husbands who left them for younger women...
but his
scene was deletedIn Entertainment, especially the film and television industry, Deleted scenes are parts of a film removed or censored from or replaced by another scene in the final "cut", or version, of a film...
. In 1995, Stewart signed a three-year deal with Miramax. He played romantic leads in the films
Playing by HeartPlaying by Heart is a 1998 comedy-drama film, which tells the story of several seemingly unconnected characters.-Plot:Among the characters are a mature couple about to renew their vows ; a woman who accepts a date offer from a stranger ; a gay man dying of AIDS and his mother who has...
and
Wishful ThinkingWishful Thinking is a 1997 romantic comedy starring Jennifer Beals, Drew Barrymore, Jon Stewart, and James LeGros . It is the only film written and directed by Adam Park . Despite having a big name star like Drew Barrymore, the film received luke warm reviews and garnered little to no attention ....
. He also had supporting roles in the romantic comedy
Since You've Been GoneSince You've Been Gone is a 1998 U.S. made-for-TV movie directed by David Schwimmer about a 10th anniversary class reunion. Apart from Schwimmer himself, the film starred Philip Rayburn Smith, Joy E. Gregory, Joey Slotnick, Teri Hatcher, Jon Stewart, Rachel Griffiths and Lara Flynn Boyle. Love...
and in the horror film
The FacultyThe Faculty is a 1998 science fiction horror film written by Kevin Williamson and directed by Robert Rodriguez...
. Other films were planned for Stewart to write and star in, but they were never produced. Stewart has since maintained a relationship with Miramax founders
HarveyHarvey Weinstein, CBE is an American film producer and movie studio chairman. He is best known as co-founder of Miramax Films. He and his brother Bob have been co-chairmen of The Weinstein Company, their film production company, since 2005...
and
Bob WeinsteinRobert "Bob" Weinstein is an American film and theatre producer, the founder and head of Dimension Films, former co-chairman of Miramax Films, and current head, with his brother Harvey Weinstein, of The Weinstein Company.-Career:...
and continues to appear in films they have produced including
Jay and Silent Bob Strike BackJay and Silent Bob Strike Back is a 2001 American action adventure comedy film written, directed by, and starring Kevin Smith as Silent Bob, the fifth to be set in his View Askewniverse, a growing collection of characters and settings that developed out of his cult favorite Clerks...
, Doogal and the documentary
WordplayWordplay is a 2006 documentary film directed by Patrick Creadon. It features Will Shortz, the editor of the New York Times crossword puzzle, crossword constructor Merl Reagle, and many other noted crossword solvers and constructors...
.
He also appeared in
Half BakedHalf Baked is a 1998 stoner comedy film starring Dave Chappelle, Jim Breuer, Harland Williams and Guillermo Díaz. The movie was directed by Tamra Davis, and co-written by star Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan...
as an "enhancement smoker" and in Big Daddy as
Adam SandlerAdam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
's roommate; he has joked on the Daily Show and in the documentary
The AristocratsThe Aristocrats is a 2005 documentary film about the famous dirty joke of the same name. It was conceived and produced by comedians Penn Jillette and Paul Provenza, edited by Emery Emery, and released to theaters by TH!NKFilm...
that to get the role he slept with Sandler. Stewart often makes fun of his appearances in the high-profile
flopThe phrase box office bomb refers to a film for which the production and marketing costs greatly exceeded the revenue regained by the movie studio. This should not be confused with Hollywood accounting when official figures show large losses, yet the movie is a financial success.A film's financial...
Death to SmoochyDeath to Smoochy is a 2002 American dark comedy film directed by and starring Danny DeVito and starring Robin Williams, Edward Norton, Catherine Keener, and Jon Stewart.-Plot:...
, in which he played a treacherous television executive, and the animated film Doogal, where he played a blue
springA spring is an elastic object used to store mechanical energy. Springs are usually made out of spring steel. Small springs can be wound from pre-hardened stock, while larger ones are made from annealed steel and hardened after fabrication...
named Zeebad that shot a freeze ray from his mustache. In 2007, Stewart made a
cameo appearanceA cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
as himself in
Evan AlmightyEvan Almighty is a 2007 American religious comedy film and the stand-alone sequel to Bruce Almighty . The film was directed by Tom Shadyac, written by Steve Oedekerk, and starring Steve Carell as the title character. Morgan Freeman also reprised his role as God from the original film. Production of...
, which starred former Daily Show correspondent
Steve CarellSteven John "Steve" Carell is an American comedian, actor, voice artist, producer, writer, and director. Although Carell is notable for his role on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, he found greater fame in the late 2000s for playing Michael Scott on The Office...
. In the movie, Stewart was seen on a television screen in a fictional Daily Show episode poking fun at Carell's character for building an
arkNoah's Ark is a vessel appearing in the Book of Genesis and the Quran . These narratives describe the construction of the ark by Noah at God's command to save himself, his family, and the world's animals from the worldwide deluge of the Great Flood.In the narrative of the ark, God sees the...
.
Stewart had a recurring role in
The Larry Sanders ShowThe Larry Sanders Show is a satirical television sitcom that aired from August 1992 to May 1998 on the HBO cable television network in the United States. It starred stand-up comedian Garry Shandling as vain, neurotic talk show host Larry Sanders, and centered on the running of his TV show, and the...
in which he played himself as an occasional substitute and possible successor to late-night talk show host Larry Sanders (played by
Garry ShandlingGarry Emmanuel Shandling is an American comedian, actor and writer. He is best known for his work in It's Garry Shandling's Show and The Larry Sanders Show....
). In 1998, Stewart hosted the television special,
ElmopaloozaElmopalooza is a Sesame Street special that aired on ABC on February 20, 1998.-About the show:The show is a musical, featuring performances from guests Jon Stewart, David Alan Grier, Rosie O' Donnell, Gloria Estefan, En Vogue, The Fugees, Kenny Loggins, Shawn Colvin, Jimmy Buffett, and The Mighty...
, celebrating 30 years of
Sesame StreetSesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
. He has guest-starred on other sitcoms such as
The NannyThe Nanny is an American television sitcom co-produced by Sternin & Fraser Ink, Inc., and Fran Drescher in association with TriStar Television for the CBS network...
, Dr Katz, Professional Therapist,
Spin CitySpin City is an American sitcom television series that aired from September 17, 1996 until April 30, 2002 on the ABC network. Created by Gary David Goldberg and Bill Lawrence, the show was based on a fictional local government running New York City, and originally starred Michael J. Fox as Mike...
,
NewsRadioNewsRadio is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from 1995 to 1999. The series was created by executive producer Paul Simms, and was filmed in front of a studio audience at CBS Studio Center and Sunset Gower Studios...
, American Dad, and
The SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
. He has also made guest-appearances on the
children's television seriesChildren's television series, are commercial television programs designed for, and marketed to children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run in the early evening, for the children that go to school...
Between the LionsBetween the Lions is a PBS Kids' puppet show designed to promote reading. The show is a co-production between WGBH in Boston and Sirius Thinking, Ltd., in New York City, in association with Mississippi Public Broadcasting, in Mississippi. The show has won seven Daytime Emmy awards between 2001 and...
,
Sesame StreetSesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
and
Jack's Big Music ShowJack's Big Music Show is a children's television program currently airing on the Nick Jr. television network. The show premiered on the same network on September 12, 2005...
.
Producing
In the mid-1990s, Stewart launched his own
production companyA production company provides the physical basis for works in the realms of the performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, and video.- Tasks and functions :...
,
Busboy ProductionsBusboy Productions is a production company that was launched by Jon Stewart in the mid-1990s when he was known for hosting The Jon Stewart Show on MTV.In addition to Stewart, executive Chris McShane is in charge of development and production. -Name:...
. The name of the company is a reference to Stewart's previous job as a
busboyBusser, busboy and busgirl are terms used in the United States for someone who works in the restaurant and catering industry clearing tables, taking dirty dishes to the dishwasher, setting tables and otherwise assisting the waiting staff....
. The company's
production logoA production logo, vanity card, vanity plate, vanity logo or vogo is a logo used by movie studios and television production companies to brand what they produce. Vanity logos are usually seen at the beginning of a theatrical movie , or at the end of a television program or TV movie...
features the sound of a glass being knocked over followed by a voice whispering "Oops. Sorry." Stewart signed a deal with Miramax to develop projects through his company, 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 KarlinBen Karlin is an American television producer. He is an eight time Emmy-winning American writer and executive producer best known for his work in The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report. He is one of three co-creators of The Colbert Report along with Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart...
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-offIn media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
The Colbert Report. Other projects include the sitcom
pilotA "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
Three Strikes, the
documentaryDocumentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
Sportsfan, the series
Important Things with Demetri MartinImportant Things with Demetri Martin is a sketch-variety show that aired on Comedy Central starring comedian Demetri Martin. Each episode examined a single theme, the "important thing", such as timing, power, control and money. All sketches, short vignettes, animated segments and stand-up comedy...
, and the film The Donor.
In March 2010, Stewart announced that he had optioned rights to the story of journalist
Maziar BahariMaziar Bahari Maziar Bahari Maziar Bahari (مازیار بهاری, (born 1967) is an Iranian Canadian journalist, film maker and human rights activist. He was a reporter for Newsweek from 1998 to 2011...
, who was imprisoned in
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
for 118 days. On June 6th's episode of The Daily Show the following year, Stewart again hosted Bahari and confirmed that the two would be collaborating on the project.
Awards show hosting
Stewart has hosted the
Grammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s 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: he recognized his lackluster performance, saying, "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"Lady Marmalade" was also covered by Italian pop star Sabrina. It was released in 1987 as the album's second single by Baby Records. In some countries, including France and the Netherlands, the song was known as "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi? " and was released in 1988.-Track listings:7" maxi#...
", he said, "Our next performance is from the movie
Moulin Rouge!Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 romantic jukebox musical film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. Following the Red Curtain Cinema principles, the film is based on the Orphean myth, La Traviata, and La Bohème...
, a film about a time when the whorehouses were about the music!" When the award winners for
Album of the YearThe Grammy Award for Album of the Year is the most prestigious award category at the Grammys. It has been awarded since 1959 and though it was originally presented to the artist alone, the award is now presented to the artist, the producer, the engineer and/or mixer and the mastering engineer...
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?O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a 2000 comedy film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen and starring George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, John Goodman, Holly Hunter, and Charles Durning. Set in 1937 rural Mississippi during the Great Depression, the film's story is a modern satire loosely...
soundtrackO Brother, Where Art Thou? is the soundtrack of music from the 2000 American film of the same name, written, directed and produced by the Coen Brothers and starring George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, and John Goodman....
, not if you heard it."
On January 5, 2006, Stewart was officially announced as the host of the
78th Academy AwardsThe 78th Academy Awards honored the best films of 2005 and were held on March 5, 2006, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California. They were hosted by The Daily Show host Jon Stewart, with Tom Kane making his first appearance as the show's announcer...
, which were held March 5 at the
Kodak TheatreThe Kodak Theatre is a live theatre in the Hollywood and Highland shopping mall and entertainment complex on Hollywood Boulevard and North Highland Avenue in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles...
in Hollywood. 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 CrystalWilliam Edward "Billy" Crystal is an American actor, writer, producer, comedian and film director. He gained prominence in the 1970s for playing Jodie Dallas on the ABC sitcom Soap and became a Hollywood film star during the late 1980s and 1990s, appearing in the critical and box office successes...
." (According to
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Oscar producer
Gil CatesGilbert “Gil” Cates was an Award winning American film director and television producer, director of the Geffen Playhouse, and founding dean of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television...
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 KingLawrence Harvey "Larry" King is an American television and radio host whose work has been recognized with awards including two Peabodys and ten Cable ACE Awards....
that he was more "excited" than nervous about the job and joked that if he turned 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 RayburnGene Rayburn was an American radio and television personality. He is best known as the host of various editions of the popular American television game show Match Game for over two decades....
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.
Roger EbertRoger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
compared him favorably to legendary Oscar host
Johnny CarsonJohn William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
. Other reviewers were less positive;
Tom ShalesThomas William "Tom" Shales is an American critic of television programming and operations. He is best known as TV critic for The Washington Post; in 1988, Shales received the Pulitzer Prize...
of
The Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
said that Stewart hosted with “smug humorlessness.” James Poniewozik of
TimeTime is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
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. Stewart and correspondent
John OliverJohn Oliver is a British stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. He is best known for his work on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, for which he won an Emmy in 2009. He also plays a recurring character, Professor Ian Duncan, on the television series Community...
later poked fun at his lackluster reception on The Daily Show
's coverage of the
79th Academy AwardsThe 79th Academy Awards ceremony , honored the best films of 2006 and took place on February 25, 2007 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on ABC. Ellen DeGeneres hosted the ceremony for the first time. The producer was Laura Ziskin. The announcers were Don LaFontaine and Gina Tuttle.The nominees were...
by saying that the "
demoncall - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
of last year's Oscars had finally been
exorcisedExorcism is the religious practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed...
."
Stewart also hosted the
80th Academy AwardsThe 80th Academy Awards ceremony honored the best films in 2007 and was broadcast from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California on ABC beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST/8:30 p.m. EST, February 24, 2008 . During the ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented Academy Awards in 24...
on February 24, 2008. Reception this time, however, was far more positive.
Crossfire appearance
In a televised exchange with then-CNN personality
Tucker CarlsonTucker Swanson McNear Carlson is an American political news correspondent and conservative commentator for the Fox News Channel...
on
CrossfireCrossfire was a current events debate television program that aired from 1982 to 2005 on CNN. Its format was designed to present and challenge the opinions of a politically liberal pundit and a conservative pundit.-Format:...
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 BegalaPaul Edward Begala is an American political consultant and political commentator. He was an adviser to President Bill Clinton. Begala was a chief strategist for the 1992 Clinton-Gore campaign, which carried 33 states and made Clinton the first Democrat to win the White House in sixteen years...
as "
partisanIn politics, a partisan is a committed member of a political party. In multi-party systems, the term is widely understood to carry a negative connotation - referring to those who wholly support their party's policies and are perhaps even reluctant to acknowledge correctness on the part of their...
hacksHack writer is a colloquial and usually pejorative term used to refer to a writer who is paid to write low-quality, rushed articles or books "to order", often with a short deadline. In a fiction-writing context, the term is used to describe writers who are paid to churn out sensational,...
." When posted on the internet, this exchange became widely viewed and was 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 stated 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 wrestlingProfessional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
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 KerryJohn Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
, Stewart asked a series of "softball" questions (Stewart has acknowledged he voted for Kerry in the
2004 presidential electionThe United States presidential election of 2004 was the United States' 55th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. Republican Party candidate and incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democratic Party candidate John Kerry, the then-junior U.S. Senator...
). Stewart responded that he didn't realize "the news organizations look to Comedy Central for their 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 callsCrank Yankers is an American TV show produced by Adam Carolla, Jimmy Kimmel and Daniel Kellison that featured actual prank calls made by show regulars and celebrity guests, and re-enacted onscreen by puppets for a visual aid to show the viewer what is happening in the call...
! What is wrong with you?" In response to prods from Carlson, "Come on. Be funny," Stewart said, "No, I'm not going to be your monkey." Later in the show when Carlson jibed, "I do think you're more fun on your show," Stewart retorted, "You're as big a dick on your show as you are on any show." In response to Stewart's criticisms, Carlson said, "You need to teach at a journalism school," to which Stewart responded, "You need to go to one!"
Stewart discussed the incident on The Daily Show the following Monday:
In January 2005, CNN announced that it was canceling Crossfire. When asked about the cancellations, CNN/US' incoming president,
Jonathan KleinJonathan Klein is the former president of CNN/U.S., who was responsible for management oversight of all programming, editorial tone and strategic direction of the network. Klein led CNN during its coverage of the 2008 presidential election, which resulted in the highest ratings in the history of...
, referenced 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!"I Fought the Law" is a song written by Sonny Curtis of The Crickets and became popularized by a cover by the Bobby Fuller Four, which went on to become a top-ten hit for the band in 1966 and was also recorded by The Clash in 1979...
"
When asked about his relationship with Tucker Carlson on
CNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
's
Larry King LiveLarry King Live is an American talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was CNN's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly....
in February 2008, Stewart said: "It became this idea that it was personal between the two of us, and it wasn't… If there's one thing I regret about that thing, it was probably the idea that it was personal, that there was something I was saying about Tucker to Tucker, but actually it was about the show."
On March 18, 2009, Carlson wrote a blog entry for The Daily Beast criticizing Stewart for his handling of the CNBC controversy (see below). In this article, Carlson discusses the CNN incident and claims Stewart remained backstage for at least "an hour" and "continued to lecture our staff", something Carlson described as "one of the weirdest things I have ever seen."
Criticism of CNBC
Stewart again became a
viral internet phenomenonViral phenomena are objects or patterns able to replicate themselves or convert other objects into copies of themselves when these objects are exposed to them....
following a March 4, 2009, The Daily Show sequence. CNBC cancelled
Rick SantelliRick Santelli is an American on-air editor for the CNBC Business News network. He joined CNBC as an on-air editor on June 14, 1999, reporting primarily from the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade. He was formerly the vice president for an institutional trading and hedge fund account for...
's scheduled appearance but Stewart still ran a short segment showing CNBC giving bad investment advice.
Subsequent media coverage of exchanges between Jim Cramer, who had been featured heavily in the original segment, and Stewart, led to a highly anticipated face-to-face confrontation on The Daily Show. The episode received a large amount of media hype and became the second most-viewed episode of The Daily Show, trailing only the 2009 Inauguration Day episode. It had 2.3 million total viewers, and the next day, the show's website saw its highest day of traffic in 2009. Although Cramer acknowledged on the show that some of Stewart's criticisms of CNBC were valid and that the network could "do better," he later said on
The Today ShowToday is an iconic American morning news and talk show airing every morning on NBC. Debuting on January 14, 1952, it was the first of its genre on American television and in the world. The show is also the fourth-longest running American television series...
that Stewart's criticism of the media was "naïve and misleading."
Criticism of Fox News
For years, Stewart has regularly accused Fox News of distorting the news to fit a conservative agenda, at one point ridiculing the network as "the meanest sorority in the world." In November 2009, Stewart called out Fox News for using some footage from a previous
Tea PartyThe Tea Party movement is an American populist political movement that is generally recognized as conservative and libertarian, and has sponsored protests and supported political candidates since 2009...
rally during its report of a more recent one, making the later rally appear larger than it was. The show's anchor,
Sean HannitySean Hannity is an American radio and television host, author, and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. Hannity also hosts a cable news show, Hannity,...
, apologized the following night. A month later, Stewart criticized
Fox & FriendsFox & Friends is an American morning television show on the Fox News Channel.-History:The show begins at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time with the latest Fox News Live headlines and analyzes the news of the morning...
cohost
Gretchen CarlsonGretchen Elizabeth Carlson is an American television personality who currently co-hosts the Fox News morning show Fox & Friends along with Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade...
– a former
Miss AmericaThe Miss America pageant is a long-standing competition which awards scholarships to young women from the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
and Stanford graduate – for claiming that she
googleGoogle Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
d words such as "ignoramus" and "czar." Stewart said that Carlson was dumbing herself down for "an audience who sees intellect as an elitist flaw."
Stewart stepped up his criticism of Fox News in 2010; as of April 24, The Daily Show had 24 segments criticizing Fox News' coverage.
Bill O'ReillyWilliam James "Bill" O'Reilly, Jr. is an American television host, author, syndicated columnist and political commentator. He is the host of the political commentary program The O'Reilly Factor on the Fox News Channel, which is the most watched cable news television program on American television...
, host of
The O'Reilly FactorThe O'Reilly Factor, originally titled The O'Reilly Report from 1996 to 1998 and often called The Factor, is an American talk show on the Fox News Channel hosted by commentator Bill O'Reilly, who often discusses current controversial political issues with guests.The program was the most watched...
, countered that The Daily Show was a "key component of
left-wingIn politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
television" and that Stewart was a fan of Fox News because the network was so interesting to watch.
WGA strike of 2007–2008
Stewart was an important factor in the unionization of the writers for Comedy Central. The Daily Show writers were the first of Comedy Central's writers to be able to join the guild, after which other shows followed.
He supported the
2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strikeThe 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, more commonly referred to as simply the Writers' Strike, was a strike by the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West ....
, commenting on The Daily Show episode 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 without advertising, and said 'go support our advertisers'. The show went on hiatus when the strike began, as did other late night talk shows. Upon Stewart's return to the show on January 7, 2008, he refused to use the title The Daily Show, stating that "The Daily Show" was the show made with all of the people responsible for the broadcast, including his writers. During the strike, he referred to his show as A Daily Show with Jon Stewart until the strike ended on February 13, 2008. Stewart, as well as several other late night talk shows, returned to TV early in January even though the strike was not over, because their stage crews and production teams were suffering much more than the writers from the financial crunch, and by that point had been out of work for two months.
The Writers Guild Strike of 2007–2008 was also responsible for a notable mock feud between Stewart,
Stephen ColbertStephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...
, and
Conan O'BrienConan Christopher O'Brien is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer and performer. Since November 2010 he has hosted Conan, a late-night talk show that airs on the American cable television station TBS....
in early 2008. Without writers to help fuel their banter, the three comedians concocted a
crossoverA fictional crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders, or because of unauthorized efforts by fans, or even amid common...
/rivalry in order to garner more viewers during the ratings slump. Colbert made the claim that because of "the Colbert bump", he was responsible for
Mike Huckabee'sMichael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
success in the 2008 presidential race. O'Brien claimed that he was responsible for Huckabee's success because not only had he made mention of him on his show, but also that he was responsible for
Chuck NorrisCarlos Ray "Chuck" Norris is an American martial artist and actor. After serving in the United States Air Force, he began his rise to fame as a martial artist and has since founded his own school, Chun Kuk Do...
' success (Norris backed Huckabee). In response, Stewart claimed that he was responsible for the success of O'Brien, since Stewart had featured him on
The Jon Stewart ShowThe Jon Stewart Show was a short-lived talk show hosted by comedian Jon Stewart on MTV. It premiered in 1993 and became the second highest-rated program on the network behind Beavis and Butt-Head....
, and in turn the success of Huckabee. This resulted in a three-part comedic battle between the three pundits, with all three appearing on each other's shows. The feud ended on
Late Night with Conan O'BrienLate Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...
with a mock brawl involving the three hosts.
Honors and awards
Stewart and the rest of the members of The Daily Show have received two
Peabody AwardThe George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
s for "
Indecision 2000The Daily Show: Indecision 2000 was a series of special episodes featured on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart spoofing the 2000 Presidential Election. This series covered the primaries leading up to the general election between George W. Bush and Al Gore. The series featured "correspondents" at the...
" and "
Indecision 2004The Daily Show: Indecision 2004 is a DVD boxed set of several episodes of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart relating to the 2004 presidential election...
", covering the 2000 presidential election and the 2004 presidential election, respectively.
Stewart's The Daily Show received the
Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy ProgramThe Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program debuted in 1957, and has been annually awarded most years since 1964. It has had many slight name changes, mostly involving the addition or subtraction of the word comedy. Generally, the category has...
Emmy AwardAn Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2009, and the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy SeriesThe Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music Or Comedy Series is a category in the Primetime Emmy Awards. It is awarded annually to the best variety show or similarly formatted program of the year....
every year from 2003 to 2011.
Stewart won a
Grammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Comedy Album in 2005 for his recording,
America (The Audiobook): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction.
In the December 2003 New Year's edition of Newsweek, 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 at the end of that year.)
Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
named Stewart as its "Entertainer of the Year" for 2004.
In 2004, Stewart spoke at the commencement ceremonies at his alma mater, William and Mary, and received an honorary
Doctor of ArtsThe Doctor of Arts is a discipline-based terminal doctoral degree that was originally conceived and designed to be an alternative to the traditional research-based Doctor of Philosophy and the education-based Doctor of Education . Like other doctorates, the D.A. is an academic degree of the...
degree. Stewart was also the Class Day keynote speaker at
Princeton UniversityPrinceton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
in 2004, and the 2008 Sacerdote Great Names speaker at Hamilton College.
Stewart was also named one of the 2005 Time 100, an annual list of 100 of the most influential people of the year by
TimeTime is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine.
In addition, Stewart and The Daily Show received the 2005
National Council of Teachers of EnglishThe National Council of Teachers of English is an American professional organization dedicated to "improving the teaching and learning of English and the language arts at all levels of education...
(NCTE)
George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public LanguageThe NCTE George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language , established in 1975 and given by the National Council of Teachers of English Public Language Awards Committee, recognizes writers who have made outstanding contributions to the critical analysis...
.
Stewart was presented an Honorary All-America Award by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) in 2006.
AsteroidAsteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
116939 Jonstewart116939 Jonstewart is a main-belt asteroid discovered on April 15, 2004, by Catalina Sky Survey. It is named after American comedian Jon Stewart.- External links :*...
, discovered April 15, 2004, is named in his honor.
On April 21, 2009, President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf made Stewart a chief.
On October 26, 2010, Stewart was named the Most Influential Man of 2010 by
AskMen.comAskMen.com is a free online men’s web portal, with international versions in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia.-History:...
.
Personal life
In 2000, Stewart married Tracey McShane, his girlfriend of four years. The couple met on a blind date set up by a production assistant on Stewart's film, Wishful Thinking. On June 19, 2001, Stewart and his wife filed a joint
name changeName change generally refers to a legal act allowing a person to adopt a name different than their name at birth, marriage, or adoption. The procedures and ease of a name change depend on the jurisdiction. In general, common law jurisdictions have loose limitations on name changes while civil law...
application and legally changed both of their surnames to "Stewart." He proposed to his future wife through a personalized crossword puzzle created with the help of
Will ShortzWill Shortz is an American puzzle creator and editor, and currently the crossword puzzle editor for The New York Times.-Early life and education:...
, the crossword editor at
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. The couple had their first child, Nathan Thomas Stewart (named after Stewart's grandfather), in July 2004. Their second child, a daughter, Maggie Rose Stewart, was born in February 2006.
They also have a cat named Stanley and two pit bull terriers, Monkey and Shamsky (named after former
Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player
Art ShamskyArthur Louis Shamsky is a former Major League Baseball player. He played right field, left field, and first base from to for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, and Oakland Athletics. In he was the manager of the Modi'in Miracle of the Israel Baseball League.-Early life:Shamsky...
).
In 2000, when he was labeled a Democrat, Stewart generally agreed but described his political affiliation as "more socialist or
independentAn independent voter, those who register as an unaffiliated voter in the United States, is a voter of a democratic country who does not align him- or herself with a political party...
" than Democratic. Esquire magazine also calls him a humanist.
Stewart is an avid fan of both the
New York GiantsThe New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and the
New York MetsThe New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
and occasionally brings this up on his show. He gave an impassioned rant to open his show on February 4, 2008, immediately after the
Giants had defeated the Patriots in the Super BowlSuper Bowl XLII was an American football game on February 3, 2008 that featured the National Football Conference champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League champion for the 2007 season...
, about the Giants victory, noting his satisfaction in having bragging rights over Patriot and Red Sox sports fans who worked with him and had tormented him for years. Additionally he has mentioned his fandom on his show during interviews with
Tiki BarberAtiim Kiambu Hakeem-Ah "Tiki" Barber is an American football running back who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the second round of the 1997 NFL Draft. He played college football at Virginia....
and David Wright.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1994 |
Mixed Nuts Mixed Nuts is a motion picture comedy directed by Nora Ephron, based on the French comedy film, Le Père Noël est une ordure . Its cast includes Steve Martin, Madeline Kahn, Rita Wilson, Anthony LaPaglia, Garry Shandling, Juliette Lewis and Adam Sandler...
|
Rollerblader |
|
| 1996 |
The First Wives Club The First Wives Club is a 1996 comedy film, based on the best-selling 1992 novel of the same name by Olivia Goldsmith. Narrated by Diane Keaton, it stars Keaton, Goldie Hawn, and Bette Midler as three divorced women who seek revenge on their husbands who left them for younger women...
|
Elise's lover |
Scenes deleted |
| 1997 |
Wishful Thinking |
Henry |
| The Nanny Nanny may refer to:* Nanny, a child's caregiver* A grandmother * A Cajun word for godmother * A female goat* Nanny , a 1981–83 British drama series starring Wendy Craig* Nanny of the Maroons...
|
Bob |
NewsRadioNewsRadio is an American television situation comedy that aired on NBC from 1995 to 1999. The series was created by executive producer Paul Simms, and was filmed in front of a studio audience at CBS Studio Center and Sunset Gower Studios...
|
Andrew |
Episode 18 |
| Space Ghost Coast to Coast Space Ghost Coast to Coast is an American animated parody talk show hosted by the 60s Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Space Ghost. The show premiered on April 15, 1994 on Cartoon Network...
|
Himself |
Guest |
| 1998 |
Half BakedHalf Baked is a 1998 stoner comedy film starring Dave Chappelle, Jim Breuer, Harland Williams and Guillermo Díaz. The movie was directed by Tamra Davis, and co-written by star Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan...
|
Enhancement Smoker |
|
Since You've Been GoneSince You've Been Gone is a 1998 U.S. made-for-TV movie directed by David Schwimmer about a 10th anniversary class reunion. Apart from Schwimmer himself, the film starred Philip Rayburn Smith, Joy E. Gregory, Joey Slotnick, Teri Hatcher, Jon Stewart, Rachel Griffiths and Lara Flynn Boyle. Love...
|
Todd Zalinsky |
TV film |
| The Faculty The Faculty is a 1998 science fiction horror film written by Kevin Williamson and directed by Robert Rodriguez...
|
Prof Edward Furlong |
|
Playing by HeartPlaying by Heart is a 1998 comedy-drama film, which tells the story of several seemingly unconnected characters.-Plot:Among the characters are a mature couple about to renew their vows ; a woman who accepts a date offer from a stranger ; a gay man dying of AIDS and his mother who has...
|
Trent |
|
| 1999 |
Big Daddy Big Daddy is a 1999 American comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan and starring Adam Sandler. The film was released on June 25, 1999 by Columbia Pictures.-Plot:...
|
Kevin Gerrity |
|
| 2000 |
The Office Party |
Pizza Guy |
Short film |
| Committed - Plot :The ever-optimistic Joline faces a challenge when her husband, flaky news photographer Carl , leaves her to find himself in Texas. Joline tracks Carl down and observes him, acquainting herself with his schedule and new friends - Plot :The ever-optimistic Joline (Heather Graham) faces a...
|
Party Guest |
Uncredited cameo A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
|
| 2001 |
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is a 2001 American action adventure comedy film written, directed by, and starring Kevin Smith as Silent Bob, the fifth to be set in his View Askewniverse, a growing collection of characters and settings that developed out of his cult favorite Clerks...
|
Reg Hartner |
|
| 2002 |
Death to SmoochyDeath to Smoochy is a 2002 American dark comedy film directed by and starring Danny DeVito and starring Robin Williams, Edward Norton, Catherine Keener, and Jon Stewart.-Plot:...
|
Marion Frank Stokes |
|
| The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina is a 2002 direct-to-video animated film directed by Glenn Chaika. Its running time is 74 minutes...
|
Godfrey |
Voice |
| 2006 |
The Magic Roundabout The Magic Roundabout, , is a 2005 British computer-animated film based on the television series of the same name...
(Doogal in North America) |
Zeebad |
Voice |
| Wordplay Wordplay is a 2006 documentary film directed by Patrick Creadon. It features Will Shortz, the editor of the New York Times crossword puzzle, crossword constructor Merl Reagle, and many other noted crossword solvers and constructors...
|
Himself |
DocumentaryDocumentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
|
| American Dad |
Himself |
Voice, 1 episode |
| 2007 |
Evan Almighty Evan Almighty is a 2007 American religious comedy film and the stand-alone sequel to Bruce Almighty . The film was directed by Tom Shadyac, written by Steve Oedekerk, and starring Steve Carell as the title character. Morgan Freeman also reprised his role as God from the original film. Production of...
|
Himself |
|
| 2008 |
The SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
|
Himself |
Voice, 1 episode"E Pluribus Wiggum" is the tenth episode of The Simpsons nineteenth season, first broadcast January 6, 2008 on Fox. It was written by Michael Price and directed by Michael Polcino, and it guest starred Jon Stewart and Dan Rather as themselves...
|
| The Great Buck Howard The Great Buck Howard is a 2008 American comedy-drama film directed by Sean McGinly that stars Colin Hanks and John Malkovich. Tom Hanks also appears as the father of his real-life son's character. The character Buck Howard is inspired by the mentalist The Amazing Kreskin, whose popularity was at...
|
Himself |
|
| 2011 |
The Adjustment Bureau The Adjustment Bureau is a 2011 American fantasy romantic thriller film loosely based on the Philip K. Dick short story, "Adjustment Team". The film was written and directed by George Nolfi and stars Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. The cast also includes Anthony Mackie, John Slattery, Michael Kelly,...
|
Himself |
External links
in 2010 in 2005