Jon Stewart Biography, Life, Interesting Facts

Early Years And Education

Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz was born 28th November 1962, in New York City, in the United States. His parents were Donald and Marian Leibowitz. His father was a Professor of Physics, and his mother was a teacher. Leibowitz has three brothers, one older, and the other two are younger. 

His parents divorced when he was young, and this led Stewart to change his name in 2001.

Stewart studied at The College of William & Mary. His major was psychology, and he graduated in 1984.

Career

In 1986, Stewart returned to New York City. He had several different jobs from a contract administrator to a bartender.

He performed his stand-up comedy debut in 1987, and Newman soon became a regular performer at the Comedy Cellar.

In 1989, Stewart moved into television, and his first job was writing for Caroline's Comedy Hour. Within a year he became a co-host on Short Attention Span Theater.

In 1993, Stewart appeared on Late Night with David Letterman. As a result, he felt this was when his career started.

Later that year, he launched The Jon Stewart Show on MTV. His talk show became an instant hit for the network, but by 1995, the show finished.

David Letterman signed Stewart to his production company, and Stewart appeared regularly on talk shows.

The Daily Show

In 1999, Stewart became the host of The Daily Show. Initially, the show was a mix of news and humor, however, Stewart also became an advocate for various causes. These included speaking out on the treatment of veterans. He also spoke out about providing health care and benefits for the first responders of 9/11. He retired from the show in 2015.

Other Work

Stewart began directing in 2013 with the film Rosewater.

In 2015, he signed a four-year contract with HBO. Since then, he has appeared spasmodically on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Stewart has done regular acting work, and he has also begun working as a producer and director.

Between 1994 and 2016, he worked on almost 20 movies. Newman's appearances were mostly cameo roles, and he also started work as a producer and director. Stewart appeared in films such as Evan Almighty (2007), and The Beaver (2011).

He was also in over 30 television series or shows, including several Academy Awards presentations, and Spin City. His show, The John Stewart Show, aired 160 episodes.

Writing

Stewart has released three books.

The first was Naked Pictures of Famous People in 1998. The second was America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction in 2004.

His third book was Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race, published in 2010.

Awards And Honors

Stewart has received countless awards for his work.

His awards include over 20 Primetime Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, and three Peabody Awards.

Personal

In 2000, Stewart married Tracey Lynn McShane, and they have two children.

Stewart became a vegetarian in 2015 by choice. In 2017, Stewart and McShane won approval to open an animal sanctuary. The sanctuary's purpose is to save animals from being slaughtered and sold at live markets.