Biographic - Sunday September 6, 2009 Comic Strip Licensing and Permissions

Transcript

Born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz in New York, on November 28, 1962, he attended the college of William and Mary in Virginia, where he majored in psychology and played in the men's soccer team. After graduation, he worked a variety of jobs, from university contract administrator to busboy, and from puppeteer to bartender. Taking the stage name Jon Stewart, he began to make inroads on New York's stand-up comedy circuit, and in 1989, he landed a job as a writer on "Caroline's Comedy Hour." He co-hosted comedy central's "Short Attention Span Theater" before hosting a comedy sketch show on MTV, which led to his own MTV talk show. After moving over to Network TV, poor ratings saw the show's cancellation in 1995. Following a minor role in the Steve Martin movie "Mixed Nuts" his contribution to "The First Wives Club" ended up on the cutting room floor. But he landed leading roles in "Wishful Thinking" and "Playing By Heart" and his subsequent credits include "The Faculty" "Half Baked" Big Daddy" and "Death To Smoochy." He also had a recurring role on "The Larry Sanders Show" before replacing Craig Kilborn as host of "The Daily Show" in 1999. With Stewart at the helm, the show has carved out a unique niche in American Culture as satirical "fake news" show that has actually earned a slew of news and journalism awards. The show has spawned best-selling books and earned Stewart numerous awards. He has hosted both the Oscars and Grammys, and the production company he formed counts "The Colbert Report" among its success.

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