Jon Stewart has been through a lot of different roles in his life. He is an American comedian, host, activist and political commentator!
So let’s dive into some facts and trivia about his life and career!
- His full name is Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz
- He was born in November 28, 1962
- He is an American comedian, writer, producer, director, activist, political commentator, actor, and television host
- He hosted The Daily Show, a satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 1999 to 2015
- 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 The Jon Stewart Show
- And then You Wrote It, You Watch It, both on MTV
- Jon Stewart has also had appeared in several films
- Such as Big Daddy (1999) and Death to Smoochy (2002)
- But did few cinematic projects after becoming host of The Daily Show in 1999
- He was also a writer and co-executive producer of the show
- After Stewart joined, The Daily Show steadily gained popularity and critical acclaim
- And during his tenure, The Daily Show won 22 Primetime Emmy Awards
- Stewart is known as an outspoken, humorous critic of personality-driven media shows
- In particular those of the U.S. media networks
- Such as CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC
- Critics say Stewart benefits from a double standard
- He critiques other news shows from the safe, removed position of his “news satire” desk
- Stewart asserts that neither his show nor Comedy Central purport 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 among its accolades
- Stewart hosted the 78th and 80th Academy Awards
- 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
- Jon Stewart was born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz on November 28, 1962,[4][5] in New York City
- His parents are Marian, a teacher and later educational consultant,,and Donald Leibowitz, a professor of physics at The College of New Jersey and Thomas Edison State College
- Stewart’s family are Jewish immigrants to America from Poland, Ukraine and Belarus
- One of his grandfathers was born in Manzhouli
- He is the second of four sons
- With older brother Lawrence and younger brothers Dan and Matthew
- Stewart’s parents divorced when he was eleven years old
- And Stewart was largely estranged from his father
- Because of his strained relationship with his father, which in 2015 he described as “still ‘complicated'”, he dropped his surname
- And began using his middle name, Stuart
- He had his surname legally changed to Stewart in 2001
- Stewart and his brother Lawrence, who was previously the Chief Operating Officer of NYSE Euronext, grew up in Lawrenceville, New Jersey
- There they attended Lawrence High School
- According to Stewart, he was subjected to anti-Semitic bullying as a child
- Stewart grew up in the era of the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal
- His first job was working with his brother at a Woolworth’s store
- Stewart graduated in 1984 from The College of William & Mary in Virginia
- There he played on the soccer team and initially majored in chemistry before switching to psychology
- While at William & Mary, Stewart became a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity
- But later disassociated himself from the fraternity and left after six months.
- His soccer coach would later describe him as a “good player” with “high energy”
- After college, Stewart held numerous jobs
- Such as a contingency planner for the New Jersey Department of Human Services, a contract administrator for the City University of New York, a puppeteer for children with disabilities, a soccer coach at Gloucester High School in Virginia, a caterer, a busboy, a shelf stocker at Woolworth’s, a bartender at the Franklin Corner Tavern, and a bartender at the legendary City Gardens in Trenton, New Jersey
- Stewart is Jewish by ethnicity but is irreligious
- While making the 1997 film Wishful Thinking, a production assistant on the film set Stewart up on a blind date with Tracey Lynn McShane
- They dated for four years
- jonStewart proposed to her through a personalized crossword puzzle created with the help of Will Shortz, the crossword editor at The New York Times
- They married in 2000
- On June 19, 2001, Stewart and his wife filed a joint name change application and legally changed both of their surnames to “Stewart”
- With the help of in vitro fertilization, the couple has two children
- In 2000, when he was labeled a Democrat, Stewart generally agreed but described his political affiliation as “more socialist or independent” than Democratic
- Stewart has voted for Republicans, the last time being in the 1988 presidential election when he voted for George H. W. Bush over Michael Dukakis
- He is a vocal proponent for single-payer health care system
- In 2013, Stewart and his wife bought a 12-acre (4.9 ha) farm in Middletown, New Jersey
- It is called “Bufflehead Farm”
- The Stewarts use it as a sanctuary for abused animals
- In 2015 Stewart started a vegetarian diet for ethical reasons
- His wife is a long-time vegan
- In 2017, Stewart and his wife received approval to open a 45-acre (18 ha) animal sanctuary in Colts Neck
- Yhat will be home to animals saved from slaughterhouses and live markets
Got anything to add?