We’ve covered Jon Stewart quite a lot over the years—mostly because of his run as host of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, which comes to a close on Thursday night, while keeping in mind his wonderfully Jewy given name, Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz. And, after 16 inspired years as a “fake” anchor, Stewart has deserved the attention: night after night he has trashed the messaging of network and cable news products, pricking at their methods with the sharp needle of media satire.
His delivery, backed by some incredible writing and interview rangling, proliferated the genre of “fake news,” and launched into superstardom (with the help of the Internet) the careers of a number of comedians who themselves went on to host their own Jon Stewart-esque shows, including Larry Wilmore, Stephen Colbert and John Oliver.
One of my personal Jon Stewart favorites, which I imagine makes a majority of best-of-Jon-Stewart-lists, didn’t actually occur on his show. Instead, it happened on CNN’s Crossfire on October 15, 2004. (Crossfire was then cancelled by January 2005.)
And here is Stewart being introduced as the new host of The Daily Show by the outgoing host, Craig Kilborn (begin at 8:03):
The following is our Stewart-related over the years, from a mash-up of his Jewish humor, to his in-the-works animal sanctuary:
Chuckles by Marc Tracy
Jon Stewart Buys Farm, Plans Animal Sanctuary by Jonathan Zalman
Jon Stewart’s Take on Netanyahu’s Election Win by Stephanie Butnick
Jon Stewart: ‘Behind Closed Doors I Only Quote Rabbinical Texts by Stephanie Butnick
Jon Stewart Leaving ‘The Daily Show’ This Year by Stephanie Butnick
Jon Stewart’s Jewnacular by Jonathan Zalman
Rahm Emanuel Sends Jon Stewart a Warning by Adam Chandler
Jon Stewart is a Prophet by Hadara Graubart
Bidding Farewell to ‘The Daily Show’ From Berlin by Giulia Pines
Jon Stewart’s Hosting Hiatus Dates Set by Adam Chandler
Who Was Jon Stewart’s Final Guest in 1995? David Letterman by Jonathan Zalman
Rushdie Calls Stewart Out on Yusuh Islam by Marc Tracy
A Few of Our Favorite Things (2008) by The Editors
Jonathan Zalman is a writer and teacher based in Brooklyn.
