How Jon Stewart built a successful career. Explore key moments that defined the journey.
Jon Stewart is an American comedian, writer, producer, director, political commentator, actor, and television host, best known for hosting The Daily Show from 1999 to 2015 and again beginning in 2024. He also hosted The Problem with Jon Stewart on Apple TV+ from 2021 to 2023. Throughout his career, Stewart has garnered significant recognition, including multiple Primetime Emmy Awards, Grammy Awards, and Peabody Awards. He received the Bronze Medallion in 2019 and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2022, solidifying his status as a prominent figure in American comedy and political satire.
Jon Stewart criticized CNN for selling a Biden book instead of reporting the news. Stephen A. Smith voiced his displeasure with Jake Tapper over the same book, creating media buzz.
In 1986, Jon Stewart returned to New York City to begin his career in comedy.
In 1989, Jon Stewart landed his first television job as a writer for Caroline's Comedy Hour.
In 1990, Jon Stewart began co-hosting Comedy Central's Short Attention Span Theater with Patty Rosborough.
On March 6, 1992, Jon Stewart appeared on NBC's "Late Night with David Letterman", which he credited as the turning point in his career.
In 1992, Jon Stewart hosted "You Wrote It, You Watch It" on MTV.
In 1993, Jon Stewart developed "The Jon Stewart Show", a talk show on MTV that became an instant hit.
In 1993, Jon Stewart started hosting "The Jon Stewart Show" on MTV.
In 1994, Paramount launched an hour-long syndicated late-night version of The Jon Stewart Show.
In June 1995, The Jon Stewart Show was canceled due to dismal ratings.
In 1995, "The Jon Stewart Show" was retooled, dropped by MTV, and moved to syndication.
In 1995, Jon Stewart signed a three-year deal with Miramax and played romantic leads in "Playing by Heart" and "Wishful Thinking".
On October 6, 1996, Jon Stewart hosted the premiere of "Where's Elvis This Week?", a comedy television program on BBC Two in the UK.
Jon Stewart had not produced a stand-up comedy special since 1996, before HBO announced in July 2017 that he would produce one.
In 1997, Jon Stewart hosted George Carlin's tenth HBO special, "George Carlin: 40 Years of Comedy". He also headlined the 1997 White House Correspondents' dinner.
In 1998, Jon Stewart hosted the television special "Elmopalooza", celebrating 30 years of Sesame Street, and released his first book, "Naked Pictures of Famous People" which became a New York Times Best Seller.
On January 11, 1999, Jon Stewart made his first on-air appearance on "The Daily Show" after replacing Craig Kilborn as host.
In 1999, Jon Stewart became the host of "The Daily Show", where he also served as a writer and co-executive producer. His involvement led to increased popularity and critical acclaim for the show.
In 2001, Jon Stewart hosted the Grammy Awards.
In 2001, The Daily Show received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Program.
In 2002, Jon Stewart appeared in the film "Death to Smoochy".
In 2002, Jon Stewart hosted the Grammy Awards for the second time.
In 2002, Jon Stewart's Busboy Productions planned to produce a sitcom for NBC starring Stephen Colbert, but the show did not come to fruition.
In late 2002, ABC offered Jon Stewart his own talk show to air after Nightline. However, ABC decided to give the slot to Jimmy Kimmel.
In mid-2002, Jon Stewart was rumored as a potential replacement for David Letterman on CBS amid speculation that Letterman might switch to ABC when his contract expired. Ultimately, Letterman renewed his contract with CBS.
In 2003, The Daily Show received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Program and Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy Series.
On October 15, 2004, Jon Stewart criticized CNN's Crossfire, telling hosts Tucker Carlson and Paul Begala to "stop hurting America" and referring to them as "partisan hacks".
In 2004, Jon Stewart and The Daily Show writing staff released "America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction", which became a top-fifteen best seller that year. He also delivered the commencement address at the College of William & Mary.
In 2004, Jon Stewart confronted Tucker Carlson and Paul Begala on Crossfire, criticizing the show's failure to properly inform viewers about politics and engaging in partisan hackery instead of honest debate. The exchange received much media attention.
In 2004, Jon Stewart spoke at the commencement ceremonies at William & Mary, his alma mater, and received an honorary Doctor of Arts degree. He was also the Class Day keynote speaker at Princeton University in 2004.
In 2004, The Daily Show received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Program and Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy Series.
In January 2005, CNN announced the cancellation of Crossfire, with incoming president Jonathan Klein referencing Jon Stewart's criticism as a factor.
From 2005, Jon Stewart served as an executive producer for "The Colbert Report".
In 2005, Comedy Central reached an agreement with Busboy, Jon Stewart's production company, to provide financial backing with a first-look agreement on all projects. The deal spawned The Daily Show spin-off The Colbert Report and its replacement, The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore.
In 2005, Jon Stewart and The Daily Show received the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language.
In 2005, Jon Stewart voiced President James A. Garfield for the audiobook version of Sarah Vowell's "Assassination Vacation".
In 2005, The Daily Show received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Program. Jon Stewart won the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album for his recording, America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction by Jon Stewart.
On March 5, 2006, Jon Stewart hosted the 78th Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. Critical reception was mixed.
On April 4, 2006, Jon Stewart confronted US Senator John McCain on The Daily Show about his decision to appear at Liberty University, an institution founded by Jerry Falwell.
In 2006, The Daily Show received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Program.
In 2007, Jon Stewart made a cameo appearance as himself in "Evan Almighty", where he was seen on a television screen in a fictional Daily Show episode poking fun at Steve Carell's character.
In 2007, Jon Stewart supported the Writers Guild of America strike. On The Daily Show episode just before the strike, he sarcastically commented about Comedy Central making episodes available for free online but without advertising and urged viewers to "go support our advertisers".
In 2007, Jon Stewart voiced Mort Sinclaire in Stephen Colbert's audiobook version of "I Am America (And So Can You!)".
In 2007, The Daily Show was involved in Stephen Colbert's announcement that he would run for president in 2008.
In 2014, Jon Stewart responded to Sean Hannity's criticism 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.
The Writers Guild Strike of 2007–2008 was responsible for a notable mock feud between Jon 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.
On January 7, 2008, Jon Stewart returned to The Daily Show after the Writers Guild of America strike began. He refused to use the show's title, referring to it as A Daily Show with Jon Stewart until the strike ended.
Jon Stewart had referred to his show as A Daily Show with Jon Stewart until the strike ended on February 13, 2008.
On February 24, 2008, Jon Stewart hosted the 80th Academy Awards, receiving a better reception than his previous hosting gig.
According to a Forbes list, Jon Stewart was earning $14 million a year in 2008.
In 2008, Jon Stewart appeared on the news program Democracy Now!.
In 2008, Jon Stewart was the Sacerdote Great Names speaker at Hamilton College.
In early 2008, during the Writers Guild Strike, Jon Stewart engaged in a mock feud with Stephen Colbert and Conan O'Brien. This three-part comedic battle involved all three appearing on each other's shows to boost viewership during the ratings slump.
On March 4, 2009, The Daily Show ran a segment showing CNBC giving poor investment advice after CNBC canceled Rick Santelli's scheduled appearance on the show.
In March 2009, Jon Stewart 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 due to his criticism.
On March 18, 2009, Tucker Carlson criticized Jon Stewart's handling of the CNBC controversy in a blog entry for The Daily Beast, referencing their earlier CNN exchange.
In November 2009, Jon Stewart "called out" Fox News for using 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. Fox News anchor Sean Hannity apologized for the footage use the following night.
In 2009, Jon Stewart had a face-to-face confrontation with Jim Cramer on The Daily Show, which became the second most-viewed episode of the show. While Cramer acknowledged some validity to Stewart's criticisms, he later deemed them naive.
In 2009, The Daily Show received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Program.
In March 2010, Jon Stewart announced that he had optioned the rights to the story of journalist Maziar Bahari.
In April 2010, Comedy Central renewed Jon Stewart's contract to host The Daily Show into 2013.
On September 16, 2010, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert announced the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, which would take place on October 30.
In December 2010, Jon Stewart was credited for bringing awareness of the Republican filibuster on the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act to the public, leading to the bill's passing.
In 2010, Jon Stewart held an interview with a panel of four of the 9/11 first responders—Kenny Specht, Chris Bowman, Ken George and Kevin Devlin. They discussed their health problems with Stewart.
In 2010, Jon Stewart intensified his criticism of Fox News on The Daily Show, featuring 24 segments criticizing the network's coverage within five months. Bill O'Reilly responded by labeling The Daily Show as a "key component of left-wing television."
In 2014, Sean Hannity criticized Jon Stewart for associating himself with Cat Stevens during his rally in 2010. This was part of an extended "call-out" of Fox News based on their coverage of food stamps and government assistance.
On June 6, 2011, Jon Stewart hosted Maziar Bahari on The Daily Show.
On June 19, 2011, Jon Stewart, during an interview with Chris Wallace, called Wallace "insane" for suggesting Stewart's comparison of a Sarah Palin campaign video's marketing techniques to an anti-herpes medicine ad was a political comment. Stewart also stated that Fox viewers were the "most consistently misinformed" in political media, a claim later partially debunked by PolitiFact, leading Stewart to acknowledge his error.
In October 2011, Jon Stewart had a meeting with President Obama at the White House.
In 2011, The Daily Show received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Program.
In March 2012, Jon Stewart interviewed Bruce Springsteen for Rolling Stone.
In 2012, The Daily Show received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Program and Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy Series.
In March 2013, Jon Stewart announced he was leaving The Daily Show for 12 weeks to direct the film version of Maziar Bahari's book, "Then They Came For Me", later titled "Rosewater".
In March 2013, it was announced that Jon Stewart would take a 12-week hiatus from The Daily Show to direct the film "Rosewater".
Beginning June 10, 2013, The Daily Show correspondent John Oliver assumed primary hosting duties during Jon Stewart's break to direct "Rosewater".
In 2013, the Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Program and Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy Series instead went to The Daily Show spin-off The Colbert Report.
In April 2010, Comedy Central renewed Jon Stewart's contract to host The Daily Show into 2013.
In the summer of 2013, John Oliver filled in as the host of The Daily Show during Jon Stewart's absence.
In February 2014, Jon Stewart had a meeting with President Obama at the White House.
On July 14, 2014, Jon Stewart interviewed Hillary Clinton about the Middle East on The Daily Show.
In August 2014, Jon Stewart criticized Fox News for its portrayal of events surrounding the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and the subsequent protests. Stewart felt the coverage was biased.
In September 2014, Jon Stewart's film "Rosewater" premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.
On November 14, 2014, "Rosewater", directed by Jon Stewart, was released to general audiences.
In 2014, Jon Stewart's time as executive producer on "The Colbert Report" ended.
On February 10, 2015, Jon Stewart announced he was leaving The Daily Show.
In March 2015, Jon Stewart began a comedic feud with WWE wrestler Seth Rollins and appeared on WWE Raw during a Daily Show-styled segment hosted by Rollins.
On April 20, 2015, Jon Stewart indicated that his final show would be on August 6, 2015.
On July 28, 2015, it was reported that Jon Stewart had met with President Obama at the White House in October 2011 and February 2014.
On August 5, 2015, comedian Louis C.K. was selected to be the last guest before the final Daily Show episode with Jon Stewart.
On August 6, 2015, Jon Stewart hosted his final episode of The Daily Show.
On August 23, 2015, Jon Stewart hosted the WWE's SummerSlam at the Barclays Center and interfered in the match between Seth Rollins and John Cena, helping Rollins win.
In November 2015, Jon Stewart signed a four-year deal with HBO for exclusive digital content for HBO NOW, HBO Go, and other platforms, including an animated parody of a cable news network with an Onion-like portal.
From 2015, Jon Stewart executive produced "The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore" and "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert".
In 2015, Jon Stewart concluded his long tenure as the host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central.
In 2015, The Daily Show resurfaced, winning both categories for one last time for Stewart's swan song as host: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Program and Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy Series.
In 2015, Trevor Noah permanently took over as the host of The Daily Show, succeeding Jon Stewart.
In 2015, four months after leaving The Daily Show, Jon Stewart returned to reunite four 9/11 first responders. Only Kenny Specht was healthy enough to attend; Kevin Devlin had died and Chris Bowman and Ken George were too ill to make it.
Shortly before he left the Daily Show in 2015, a compilation played of Jon Stewart's jokes about the New York Mets during his time on the show.
On August 21, 2016, Jon Stewart returned as a special guest at SummerSlam.
In 2016, Jon Stewart's time as executive producer on "The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore" ended.
In 2016, the premiere of Jon Stewart's animated project with HBO was delayed from Fall 2016 to the first quarter of 2017.
On May 23, 2017, HBO cancelled Jon Stewart's short-form digital animated project due to technical issues related to production and distribution.
In July 2017, HBO announced that Jon Stewart would produce a stand-up comedy special for the network, marking his first since 1996, though it ultimately did not air.
In 2018, Jon Stewart and Dave Chappelle partnered for a duo comedy tour across the United States and the United Kingdom. Stewart also performed stand-up at the 13th Annual Standup for Heroes event.
In June 2019, Jon Stewart 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.
On July 12, 2019, the House approved the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund bill overwhelmingly (402-12). Stewart had been a vocal advocate and supporter of the bill.
On December 16, 2019, Jon Stewart was one of eighteen individuals and organizations awarded the Bronze Medallion for his advocacy on behalf of 9/11 victims and families. The Bronze Medallion is the highest award conferred upon civilians by New York City.
In 2019, Jon Stewart received the New York City Bronze Medallion for his advocacy and leadership in helping to pass the permanent authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act.
In June 2020, Jon Stewart's political satire film 'Irresistible' was released, starring Steve Carell and Chris Cooper.
In June 2019, Jon Stewart 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.
On September 30, 2021, Jon Stewart's new series, "The Problem with Jon Stewart", premiered on Apple TV+. Each episode focused on a single subject.
From 2021, Jon Stewart hosted The Problem with Jon Stewart on Apple TV+.
On March 3, 2022, the House of Representatives passed the PACT Act by a vote of 256-174.
On April 24, 2022, Jon Stewart was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., for his lifelong contribution to the world of comedy.
On June 16, 2022, the PACT Act passed the Senate by a vote of 84-14. However, the bill was reintroduced to the Senate for minor changes and faced opposition.
On July 28, 2022, Jon Stewart held a press conference on Capitol Hill advocating for the passage of the PACT Act.
On August 2, 2022, the PACT Act passed in a bipartisan measure, 84 to 11. Stewart was praised for his efforts in getting the bill passed.
In 2022, Jon Stewart was instrumental in helping pass the Honoring our PACT Act, which expands healthcare access and funding to veterans exposed to toxic substances during their service, including burn pits.
In 2023, Jon Stewart performed at the Netflix is a Joke comedy festival in Los Angeles.
In 2023, Jon Stewart, along with other media figures, signed the Artists4Ceasefire open letter urging American president Joe Biden to call for a ceasefire in the ongoing Gaza war.
In 2023, The Problem with Jon Stewart on Apple TV+ came to an end.
In January 2024, it was confirmed that Jon Stewart would return to The Daily Show as the weekly Monday guest host starting February 12, 2024, also serving as executive producer.
Jon Stewart will return to The Daily Show as the weekly Monday guest host starting February 12, 2024.
In February 2024, Jon Stewart returned to The Daily Show for Monday episodes and took on the role of executive producer.
In April 2024, Jon Stewart claimed that Apple restricted him from interviewing Lina Khan, the Chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), on his podcast, raising concerns about Apple's influence over content creation.
In May 2024, it was announced that Jon Stewart would additionally begin hosting The Weekly Show, an original podcast from Comedy Central.
In 2024, Jon Stewart returned to The Daily Show, the satirical news program on Comedy Central.
In late October, Jon Stewart extended his contract by one year to remain host of The Daily Show until the end of 2025.
In July 2019, the Senate passed the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund through 2092, virtually funding health care for 9/11 victims and first responders for life. Jon Stewart responded to the news saying it was the honor of his life working with 9/11 first responders.
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