Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz, November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, writer, producer, director, progressive political commentator, actor, and television host. Stewart is known as the host of the satirical news program The Daily Show on Comedy Central from 1999 to 2015 and part-time since 2024. He hosted The Problem with Jon Stewart on Apple TV+ from 2021 to 2023. Stewart has received numerous accolades, including 24 Primetime Emmy Awards, 2 Grammy Awards, and 5 Peabody Awards. He was honored with the Bronze Medallion in 2019 and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2022.
Stewart started as a stand-up comedian but branched into television as host of Short Attention Span Theater for Comedy Central. He went on to host You Wrote It, You Watch It (1992–1993) and then The Jon Stewart Show (1993–1995), both on MTV, until The Jon Stewart Show was retooled, dropped by the network and moved to syndication. He has also appeared in several films, including Big Daddy (1999) and Death to Smoochy (2002). Stewart became host of The Daily Show in 1999, where he also was a writer and co-executive producer. After he joined, The Daily Show steadily gained popularity and critical acclaim, and during his tenure won numerous Emmy Awards and was nominated for news and journalism awards.
After leaving The Daily Show, Stewart maintained a low profile in entertainment industry circles, but used his celebrity and voice in a sustained advocacy for 9/11 first responders and war veterans' health benefits. In 2019, he received the New York City Bronze Medallion for his "tireless advocacy, inspiration, and leadership (helping to) pass the permanent authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act". He continued using his platform as an advocate for veterans by being instrumental in helping pass the Honoring our PACT Act of 2022, which expands healthcare access and funding to veterans exposed to toxic substances during their service including burn pits.
Stewart hosted the 78th and 80th Academy Awards. He is the co-author of the best-selling satirical books America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction in 2004, and Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race in 2010. He executive produced The Colbert Report (2005–2014), The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore (2015–2016), and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2015–2026). In February 2024, he returned to The Daily Show for Monday episodes, as well as in the role of an executive producer.
Early life and education
Stewart was born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz at Doctors Hospital on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City. His father, Donald Leibowitz (1931–2013), was an energy coordinator for the New Jersey Department of the Treasury, and his mother, Marian Leibowitz (née Laskin), was a teacher and later an educational consultant. Stewart's family is Ashkenazi Jewish; his parents had immigrated to the United States from Europe. One of his grandfathers was born in Manzhouli, present-day China. He is the second of four sons, with older brother Lawrence
Stewart's parents divorced when he was 11, and he became largely estranged from his father. He had his last name legally changed to "Stewart" in 2001. In 2015, he described his relationship with his father as "still complicated" after his father's death two years earlier. Stewart and his older brother, Lawrence, who was previously the chief operating officer of NYSE Euronext (the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange), grew up in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. He describes himself in high school as "very into Eugene Debs and a bit of a leftist." Stewart grew up in the era of the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal, which inspired in him "a healthy skepticism towards official reports." His first job was working with his brother at a Woolworth's store, and he has jokingly said that being fired by Lawrence himself was one of the "scarring events" of his youth.
After graduating from Lawrence High School in 1980, Stewart attended the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he initially majored in chemistry before switching to psychology. While at William & Mary, Stewart became a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, but eventually began disassociating himself from other members, leaving the fraternity altogether after six months. "My college career was waking up late, memorizing someone else's notes, doing bong hits, and going to soccer practice", he later said. He was a three-year starter in 1981, 1982 and 1983 with the Tribe men's soccer team. He had 10 goals and 12 assists on a squad that went 40–15–9 (.695) in his three seasons with the program. He is listed as Jon Leibowitz in official William & Mary Athletics records. The former head coach of the Tribe men's soccer team from 1971 to 2003, Al Albert, describes Jon as "athletic and feisty and quick" and added that he "wasn't the most technical or clinical player, but he could make things happen." He graduated from William & Mary in 1984 with a Bachelor of Arts. Twenty years later, the college awarded him an honorary Master of Arts degree.
After college, Stewart held numerous jobs: contingency planner for the New Jersey Department of Human Services, contract administrator for the City University of New York, puppeteer for children with disabilities, soccer coach at Gloucester High School in Virginia, caterer, busboy, shelf stocker at Woolworth's, bartender at the Franklin Corner Tavern (a blue-collar bar in Lawrence), and bartender at the City Gardens nightclub in Trenton, New Jersey.
Career
1986–1992: Stand-up and early career
With a reputation for being a funny man in school, He made his stand-up debut at The Bitter End, where one of his comedic idols, Woody Allen, also began. He began using the stage name Jon Stewart by dropping his last name and changing the spelling of his middle name, Stuart, to Stewart. He often jokes that it was because people had trouble pronouncing Leibowitz, or it "sounded too Hollywood" (a reference to Lenny Bruce's joke on the same theme). He has implied that the name change was due to a strained relationship with his father, with whom Stewart no longer had any contact.
Stewart became a regular at the Comedy Cellar, where he was the last performer every night. For two years, he performed at 2 a.m. while developing his comedy style. In 1989, he landed his first television job as a writer for Caroline's Comedy Hour. In 1990, he began co-hosting Comedy Central's Short Attention Span Theater with Patty Rosborough. In 1992, he hosted the short-lived You Wrote It, You Watch It on MTV, which invited viewers to send in their stories to be acted out by the comedy troupe The State.
Stewart said that his career did not take off until his March 6, 1992, appearance on NBC's Late Night with David Letterman. He was considered to take over the show when Letterman left it, but it was given to a then relatively unknown Conan O'Brien. He co-hosted MTV Spring Break '93 Blind Date from Daytona Beach with Melissa Rivers.
1993–1995: The Jon Stewart Show
Later in 1993, Stewart developed The Jon Stewart Show, a talk show on MTV, which was later dropped by the network and was syndicated for its last two years. The Jon Stewart Show was the first talk show on that network and was an instant hit, becoming the second-highest rated MTV show, behind Beavis and Butt-Head. In 1994, Paramount canceled The Arsenio Hall Show and, with new corporate sibling MTV (through MTV parent Viacom's acquisition of the studio), launched an hour-long syndicated late-night version of The Jon Stewart Show. Many local affiliates had moved Hall's show to 2 a.m. during its decline and Stewart's show inherited such early morning time slots in many cities. Ratings were dismal and the show was canceled in June 1995.
Among the fans of the show was David Letterman, who was the final guest of The Jon Stewart Show. Letterman signed Stewart with his production company, Worldwide Pants. Stewart then became a frequent guest host for Tom Snyder on The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder, which was produced by Letterman and aired after the Late Show on CBS. This led to much speculation that Stewart would soon replace Snyder permanently, but instead, Stewart was offered the time slot after Snyder's, which he turned down.
1994–1997: Film and other TV work
Stewart's first film role was a bit part in the box-office bomb Mixed Nuts. He landed a minor part in The First Wives Club, but his scene was deleted. In 1995, Stewart signed a three-year deal with Miramax. Stewart played romantic leads in the films Playing by Heart and Wishful Thinking. He had a supporting role in the romantic comedy Since You've Been Gone and in the horror film The Faculty. Other films were planned for Stewart to write and star in, but they were never produced. Stewart maintained a relationship with Miramax founders Harvey and Bob Weinstein and appeared in films they produced including Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Doogal, and the documentary Wordplay.
In 1996, Stewart hosted a short-lived talk show entitled, Where's Elvis This Week?, which was a half-hour, weekly comedy television program. It aired on Sunday nights in the United Kingdom on BBC Two. It was filmed at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City and featured a set of panelists, two from the UK and two from the United States, who discussed news items and cultural issues. The show premiered in the UK on October 6, 1996; five episodes aired in total. Notable panelists included Dave Chappelle, Eddie Izzard, Phill Jupitus, Nora Ephron, Craig Kilborn, Christopher Hitchens, Armando Iannucci, Norm Macdonald, and Helen Gurley Brown. In 1997, Stewart was chosen as the host and interviewer for George Carlin's tenth HBO special, George Carlin: 40 Years of Comedy. Stewart had a recurring role in The Larry Sanders Show, playing himself as an occasional substitute and possible successor to late-night talk show host Larry Sanders (played by Garry Shandling). Stewart also headlined the 1997 White House Correspondents' Dinner.
1998–2015: The Daily Show
In 1998, Stewart hosted the television special Elmopalooza, celebrating 30 years of Sesame Street. He has guest-starred on other sitcoms including The Nanny, Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, Spin City and NewsRadio. The same year Stewart released his first book, Naked Pictures of Famous People (1998), a collection of humorous short stories and essays. The book reached The New York Times Best Seller List. In the mid-1990s, Stewart launched his own production company, Busboy Productions, naming the company in reference to his previous job as a busboy. Stewart signed a deal with Miramax to develop projects through his company, but none of his ideas have been produced. After Stewart's success as host and producer of The Daily Show, he revived Busboy Productions with Daily Show producers Ben Karlin and Rich Korson. In 2002, Busboy planned to produce a sitcom for NBC starring Stephen Colbert, but the show did not come to fruition.
Later that year, when Craig Kilborn left the show to replace Tom Snyder on The Late Late Show, Stewart began hosting The Daily Show on Comedy Central. The Daily Show blends humor with the day's top news stories, usually in politics, while simultaneously poking fun at politicians, newsmakers, and the news media. In an interview on The O'Reilly Factor, Stewart denied the show has any intentional political agenda, saying the goal was "schnicks and giggles" and that "[t]he same weakness that drove me into comedy also informs my show", meaning that he was uncomfortable talking without hearing the audience laugh. In his first Daily Show on-air appearance on January 11, 1999, Stewart told his guest that evening, Michael J. Fox, that he felt as if "this is my bar mitzvah". His style was described by one critic as, "Stewart does not offer us cynicism for its own sake, but as a playful way to offer the kinds of insights that are not permitted in more serious news formats that slavishly cling to official account of events."
He appeared in Half Baked as an "enhancement smoker" and in Big Daddy as Adam Sandler's roommate; he has joked on the Daily Show and in the documentary The Aristocrats that to get the role, he slept with Sandler. Stewart often makes fun of his appearances in the high-profile flop, Death to Smoochy, in which he played a treacherous television executive; and the animated film Doogal, where he voiced the villain Zeebad. In 2007, Stewart made a cameo appearance as himself in Evan Almighty, which starred former Daily Show correspondent Steve Carell. In the movie, Stewart was seen on a television screen in a fictional Daily Show episode poking fun at Carell's character for building an ark.
Until Trevor Noah permanently took over the show in 2015, Stewart hosted almost all airings of the program, except for a few occasions when correspondents such as Stephen Colbert, Rob Corddry, Jason Jones, and Steve Carell subbed for him, and during John Oliver's stint as host during the summer of 2013. Stewart won twenty Primetime Emmy Awards for The Daily Show as either a writer or producer, and two for producing The Colbert Report (2013–14), earning a total of twenty-two Primetime Emmy Awards, the most wins for a male individual. In 2005, Stewart and The Daily Show received the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album for the audiobook edition of America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction. In 2000 and 2004, the show won two Peabody Awards for its coverage of the US presidential elections in those years, called "Indecision 2000" and "Indecision 2004", respectively.
thumb |Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, US Navy Admiral [[Michael Mullen, being interviewed by Jon Stewart for the February 3, 2011, episode of The Daily Show]]
The show of September 20, 2001, the first show after the attacks of September 11, 2001, began with no introduction. Before this, the introduction included footage of a fly-in toward the World Trade Center and New York City. The first nine minutes of the show included a tearful Stewart discussing his personal view on the event. His remarks ended as follows:
In January 2005, CNN announced that it was canceling Crossfire. When asked about the cancellation, CNN's incoming president, Jonathan Klein, referred to 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."
On March 18, 2009, Carlson wrote a blog entry for The Daily Beast criticizing Stewart for his handling of the CNBC controversy (see below). Carlson discussed the CNN incident and claimed that 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 phenomenon following a March 4, 2009, The Daily Show sequence. CNBC canceled Rick Santelli's scheduled appearance on The Daily Show that day, so the show ran a short segment showing CNBC giving poor investment advice.
Subsequent media coverage of exchanges between Stewart and Jim Cramer, who had been featured heavily in the original segment, led to a highly anticipated face-to-face confrontation on The Daily Show. The episode received much media attention 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 Show that Stewart's criticism of the media was "naïve and misleading".
Criticism of Fox News
Throughout his tenure on The Daily Show, Stewart frequently 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 Party rally during a report on a more recent rally, making the latter event appear more highly attended than it was. The show's anchor, Sean Hannity, apologized for the footage use the following night. A month later, Stewart criticized Fox & Friends cohost Gretchen Carlson – a former Miss America and a Stanford graduate – for claiming that she googled 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; within five months, The Daily Show had 24 segments criticizing the Fox News coverage. This comment was ranked by the fact-checking site, PolitiFact, as false, with conditions. Stewart later accepted his error.
In 2014, Stewart engaged in an extended call-out of Fox News, based on their coverage of food stamps and US government assistance, opining that said coverage was biased. This culminated in segments across multiple episodes, specifically singling out Sean Hannity and his show's coverage of the Bundy standoff. Hannity would "return fire" by calling out Stewart for associating himself with Cat Stevens during his Rally in 2010. Stewart responded to this by criticizing Hannity for frequently calling Ted Nugent a "friend and frequent guest" on his program and supporting Nugent's violent rhetoric toward Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in 2007. In late August 2014, Stewart criticized the manner in which Fox News portrayed the events surrounding the shooting of teenager Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, and the subsequent protests from citizens.
2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
Stewart was an important factor in the unionization of the Comedy Central writers. The Daily Show writers were the first of Comedy Central's writers to be able to join the guild, after which other shows followed.
Stewart supported the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. On The Daily Show episode just before the strike, he sarcastically commented about how Comedy Central had made available all 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's choice to return to the air did bring criticism that he was undermining the writers of his show. Seth MacFarlane wrote an inside joke into an episode of Family Guy about this, causing Stewart to respond with an hour-long call in which he questioned how MacFarlane could consider himself the "moral arbiter" of Hollywood. Former Daily Show writer David Feldman also accused Stewart of being anti-union at the time and of punishing his writers for their decision to unionize by not using their material.
The Writers Guild Strike of 2007–2008 was also responsible for a notable mock feud between Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and Conan O'Brien in early 2008. Without writers to help fuel their banter, the three comedians concocted a crossover/rivalry to garner more viewers during the ratings slump. Colbert claimed that because of "the Colbert bump", he was responsible for Mike Huckabee's success in the 2008 presidential race. O'Brien claimed that he was responsible for Huckabee's success because not only had he mentioned Huckabee on his show, but also that he was responsible for Chuck Norris's 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 Show, and in turn, the success of Huckabee. This resulted in a three-part comedic battle among the three pundits, with all three appearing on each other's shows. The feud ended on Late Night with Conan O'Brien with a mock brawl involving the three hosts.
9/11 First Responders Bill
thumb|left|Stewart criticizes lawmakers for their inaction on the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund, in a speech on June 11, 2019.
thumb|Stewart speaking at a press conference for the 9/11 first responders in 2019
Over the years, Stewart sometimes used The Daily Show to argue for causes such as the treatment of veterans and 9/11 first responders. He is credited with breaking a Senate deadlock over a bill to provide health care and benefits for 9/11 emergency workers; the bill passed three days after he featured a group of 9/11 responders on the show. In March 2009, he criticized a White House proposal to remove veterans from Veterans Administration rolls if they had private health insurance; the White House dropped the plan the next day.
thumb|Stewart speaking to [[United States Army|US Army soldiers at Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan, in 2018]]
In February and June 2019, Stewart again went to Congress to oppose the $7.375 billion limit in pay-outs to 9/11 first responders through December 2020 and to lobby for permanent funding for the Victims Compensation Fund past December 2020, delivering a tearful testimony.
Stewart continued to be a vocal advocate, appearing on late night shows such as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, and news programs such as Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace, and The Fox Report with Shepherd Smith. On July 12, 2019, the House approved the bill overwhelmingly 402–12. The bill came to the Senate floor where it passed the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund through 2092, virtually funding health care for 9/11 victims and first responders for life. The vote was 97–2 with Republican senators Rand Paul (KY) and Mike Lee (UT) opposing. When hearing that the bill had been passed, Stewart responded by saying, "It has been the honor of my life working with the 9/11 first responders...these families deserve better...and I will follow you wherever your next adventure shall be."
Honoring our PACT Act
On September 30, 2021, Stewart debuted his Apple TV+ show, The Problem with Jon Stewart by discussing the effects burn pits have had on veterans. Earlier in 2021, the bill Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2021 (PACT Act) was introduced. The House of Representatives passed the bill by 256–174 on March 3, 2022, and passed the Senate by 84–14 on June 16, 2022. The bill was reintroduced to the Senate for minor changes which Republican senators including Pat Toomey, Ted Cruz, and Josh Hawley voted against, putting the bill in jeopardy. Their opposition was the unfounded claim that the bill could be used as a slush fund.
Stewart became a prominent advocate for the bill in person, on Twitter and on various cable news shows including Fox News' America's Newsroom with Bill Hemmer, CNN's The Lead with Jake Tapper, MSNBC's Morning Joe, and Newsmax. On July 28, 2022, Stewart held a press conference on Capitol Hill where he stated:
On August 2, 2022, the PACT Act passed in bipartisan measure, 84 to 11. Stewart was praised for lending his voice and celebrity to the issue and is credited as being an essential actor in getting the bill passed. Stewart stated after the bill's passing, that while it "feels good", it "shouldn't have been this hard". On August 10, the act was signed by President Joe Biden at a ceremony in the White House, where he praised Stewart for his commitment on this issue saying in part, "What you've done Jon, matters...It really, really matters. To refuse to let anybody forget, refuse to let them forget. And we owe you big, man. We owe you big."
Israel–Gaza war
Stewart has criticized Israel for its military and political conduct in the Palestinian territories. In 2023, Stewart, alongside other media figures, signed the Artists4Ceasefire open letter urging American president Joe Biden to call for a ceasefire in the ongoing Gaza war. He also criticized Biden's handling of the 2023 Gaza war which Stewart criticized for reluctancy to condemn the Israeli occupation of Palestine while condemning Russian aggression towards Ukraine; Stewart also described the Israeli policy towards Palestinians as a genocide.
Apple and free speech
In April 2024, Stewart claimed that Apple restricted him from interviewing Lina Khan, the Chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), on his podcast. This incident follows the U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit against Apple for alleged anti-competitive practices in the smartphone market. The lawsuit highlights potential harm to free speech due to Apple's dominance. Stewart's comments raise concerns about Apple's influence over content creation beyond its control of the mobile device market.
Personal life
Stewart is irreligious, but of Jewish heritage.
Marriage and family
A production assistant on Wishful Thinking arranged a 1995 blind date between Stewart and Tracey Lynn McShane. Stewart proposed to her through a personalized crossword puzzle created with the help of Will Shortz, crossword editor at The New York Times. Married in 2000, the two filed a joint name change application legally changing their surnames to "Stewart" on June 19, 2001. In 2015, he adopted a vegetarian diet for ethical reasons; he later adopted a vegan lifestyle. Tracey is a long-time vegan. He said the difference in how he feels "emotionally and physically is profound", adding "And I'm generally not comfortable with that – feeling so good – so it's hard for me not to go back to the old ways. I'm not accustomed to this euphoric sense of possibility. I much prefer the depression. The dark nights." Four years later, they received approval to open a 45-acre (18 ha) animal sanctuary in Colts Neck, New Jersey, a home to animals saved from slaughterhouses and live markets.
Interests
After leaving The Daily Show in 2015, Stewart took up playing the drums, saying it was partly to give his life the structure he no longer had without a daily late-night show to work on. He has since been taking drum lessons from New Jersey–based drum teacher Andy Bova, a former member of the indie-rock band No Wine For Kittens.
Stewart is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and was in attendance when Johan Santana threw the first no-hitter in franchise history on June 1, 2012. Shortly before he left the Daily Show in 2015, a compilation of Stewart's jokes about the team during his time on the show was played. He is also a fan of the New York Knicks, New York Giants, and New York Rangers.
Stewart is a known fan of the musical group Beastie Boys. Following the death of member Adam "MCA" Yauch, Stewart dedicated his next Daily Shows Moment of Zen to the artist. Member Adam "Ad-Rock" Horowitz also later appeared on the show as a guest to promote his appearance in the A24 movie While We're Young. Stewart narrates a chapter written by Michael "Mike D" Diamond in the audio version of their biographical Beastie Boys Book.
Filmography
Film
{| class= "wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="margin-right: 0;"
|-
!scope="col"| Year
!scope="col"| Title
!scope="col"| Role
!scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
!scope="row"| 1994
| Mixed Nuts
| Rollerblader
|
|-
!scope="row"| 1996
| The First Wives Club
| Elise's lover
| Scenes deleted
|-
!scope="row"| 1997
| Wishful Thinking
| Henry
|
|-
! rowspan="3" scope="row" | 1998
| Half Baked
| Enhancement Smoker
|
|-
| The Faculty
| Prof Edward Furlong
|
|-
| Playing by Heart
| Trent
|
|-
!scope="row"| 1999
| Big Daddy
| Kevin Gerrity
|
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | 2000
| The Office Party
| Pizza Guy
| Short film
|-
|Committed
| Party Guest
| Uncredited cameo
|-
!scope="row"| 2001
| Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
| Reg Hartner
|
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | 2002
| Death to Smoochy
| Marion Frank Stokes
|
|-
|The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina
| Godfrey (voice)
|
|-
!scope="row"| 2006
| Doogal
| Zeebad (voice)
|
|-
!scope="row"| 2007
| Evan Almighty
| rowspan="4" | Himself
| rowspan="4" | Cameo
|-
!scope="row"| 2008
| The Great Buck Howard
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | 2011
|The Adjustment Bureau
|-
| The Beaver
|-
!scope="row"| 2014
|Rosewater
|
| Director, producer, and writer
|-
!scope="row"| 2016
|Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
| Himself
| Cameo; Ultimate Edition only
|-
!scope="row"| 2020
|Irresistible
|
| Director, producer, and writer
|-
!scope="row"| 2024
|IF
| Robot (voice)
|
|}
Television
{| class= "wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="margin-right: 0;"
|-
!scope="col"| Year
!scope="col"| Title
!scope="col"| Role
!scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
!scope="row"| 1990–1993
| Short Attention Span Theater
| rowspan="3" | Himself (host)
| rowspan="2" | Various episodes
|-
!scope="row"| 1992–1993
| You Wrote It, You Watch It
|-
!scope="row"| 1993–1995
| The Jon Stewart Show
| 160 episodes; also creator, executive producer, and writer
|-
!scope="row"| 1994
| The State
| Fanmail Guy
| Episode: "2.4"
|-
!scope="row"| 1995
| 1995 Billboard Music Awards
| rowspan="2" | Himself (host)
| TV special
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="2"| 1996
| Where's Elvis This Week?
| 5 episodes
|-
| Jon Stewart: Unleavened
| rowspan="2" | Himself
| Stand-up special
|-
!scope="row"| 1996–1997
| The Larry Sanders Show
| 6 episodes
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="6"| 1997
| The Nanny
| Bobby
| Episode: "Kissing Cousins"
|-
| NewsRadio
| Andrew
| Episode: "Twins"
|-
| Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist
| Jon (voice)
| Episode: "Guess Who"
|-
| White House Correspondents' Dinner
| Himself (host)
| TV special
|-
| Space Ghost Coast to Coast
| rowspan="2" | Himself
| Episode: "Mayonnaise"
|-
| Mr. Show with Bob and David
| Episode: "A White Man Set Them Free"
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="2"| 1998
| Elmopalooza
| Himself (host)
| TV special
|-
| Since You've Been Gone
| Todd Zalinsky
| TV movie
|-
!scope="row"| 1999
| Spin City
| Parker
| Episode: "Wall Street"
|-
!scope="row"| 1999–2015,<br>2024–present
| The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
| rowspan="4" | Himself (host)
| 2,579 episodes; also executive producer and writer
|-
!scope="row"| 2001
| 43rd Annual Grammy Awards
| rowspan="2" | TV special
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="2"| 2002
| 44th Annual Grammy Awards
|-
| Saturday Night Live
| Episode: "Jon Stewart/India.Arie"
|-
!scope="row"| 2005–2014
| The Colbert Report
|
| 1,447 episodes; co-creator and executive producer
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="2"| 2006
| 78th Academy Awards
| Himself (host)
| TV special
|-
| American Dad!
| Himself (voice)
| Episode: "Irregarding Steve"
|-
!scope="row"| 2007
| Jack's Big Music Show
| Brunk Stinegrouber
| Episode: "Groundhog Day"
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="3"| 2008
| The Simpsons
| Himself (voice)
| Episode: "E Pluribus Wiggum"
|-
| 80th Academy Awards
| Himself (host)
| rowspan="2" | TV special
|-
| A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!
| Himself
|-
!scope="row"| 2009–2010
| Important Things with Demetri Martin
|
| 17 episodes; executive producer
|-
!scope="row"| 2010
| The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear
| Himself (host)
| TV special
|-
!scope="row"| 2012
| Robot Chicken
| Matt Trakker, Serpentor (voice)
| Episode: "Executed by the State"
|-
!scope="row"| 2013
| Big Time Rush
| Himself
| Episode: "Big Time Invasion"
|-
!scope="row"| 2014
| Phineas and Ferb
| Mr. Random (voice)
| Episode: "The Klimpaloon Ultimatum"
|-
!scope="row"| 2014
| Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
| Himself
| Episode "1.24", Cameo appearance
|-
!scope="row"| 2015–2016
| The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore
|
| 259 episodes; creator and executive producer
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="2"| 2015
| The Jim Gaffigan Show
| Himself
| Episode: "The Bible Story"
|-
| Gravity Falls
| Judge Kitty Meow Face-Shwartstein
| Voice; Episode: "Weirdmageddon 2: Escape from Reality"
|-
!scope="row"| 2015–2026
| The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
| Himself
| Also executive producer
|-
!scope="row"| 2021–2023
| The Problem with Jon Stewart
| Himself (host)
| Also creator, executive producer, and writer
|-
! rowspan="2" scope="row" | 2021
| Live in Front of a Studio Audience
| Carl
| Episode: "Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life"
|-
| No Responders Left Behind
| rowspan="2" | Himself
| Documentary film
|-
! scope="row" | 2024
| John Mulaney Presents: Everybody's in LA
| Episode: "Palm Trees"
|}
Accolades and achievements
thumb |upright |Stewart with the [[Peabody Award that he won with The Daily Show in 2005]]
Stewart and other members of The Daily Show have received three Peabody Awards for "Indecision 2000" covering the 2000 presidential election and the 2004 presidential election, respectively. He received his third Peabody in 2016 for his tenure at The Daily Show.
The Daily Show received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Program in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2015 and Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy Series for 10 consecutive years from 2003 to 2012. In 2013, the award for both categories instead went to The Daily Show spin-off The Colbert Report. In 2015, The Daily Show resurfaced, winning both categories for one last time for Stewart's swan song as host. Stewart won the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album in 2005 for his recording, America (The Book): 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 2004, with the magazine predicting that he would emerge as an absolute sensation in that year. (The magazine said they had been correct at the end of that year.) Stewart was named among the 2005 Time 100, an annual list of 100 of the most influential people of the year by Time magazine.
In 2004, Stewart spoke at the commencement ceremonies at his alma mater, William & Mary, and received an honorary Doctor of Arts degree. Stewart was the Class Day keynote speaker at Princeton University in 2004, and the 2008 Sacerdote Great Names speaker at Hamilton College. Stewart and The Daily Show received the 2005 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language. Stewart was presented an Honorary All-America Award by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) in 2006. 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.
For his advocacy on behalf of 9/11 victims and families, Stewart was one of eighteen individuals and organizations awarded the Bronze Medallion on December 16, 2019. The Bronze Medallion is the highest award conferred upon civilians by New York City.
Bibliography
- Naked Pictures of Famous People (Rob Weisbach Books, 1998). .
- America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction (Warner Books, September 2004). .
- Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race (Grand Central Publishing, 2010). .
See also
- New Yorkers in journalism
References
Further reading
- David Marchese, "Jon Stewart Is Back to Weigh In", The New York Times Magazine, June 15, 2020.
- Lisa Rogak, Angry Optimist: The Life and Times of Jon Stewart. New York: Saint Martin's Griffin, 2014. .
- Bruce Watson, Jon Stewart: Beyond the Moments of Zen. New Word City, 2014.
External links
- The Daily Show profile
- Jon Stewart on Twitter