(JNi.media) It is the end of an era. The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart, who was thought to have been irreplaceable, had his last show on August 6, and will pave the way for Trevor Noah, a South African comedian, to take over the hosting chair in September.
When Stewart took up the reins of Comedy Central’s popular news satire program, the host was the beloved, deadpan Craig Kilborn, whose departure at the time also seemed unthinkable.
Jon Stewart, born Jonathan Stewart Leibowitz, recently had a surprise visit from Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat from New York, who was taking a break from pondering the Iran nuclear deal to initiate a segment, “A Look Back: Let His People Laugh.” It began when Stewart was making fun of the venue chosen for an MSNBC interview with Senator Schumer about the Iran deal. “You brought an old New York Jewish man to a diner!” Stewart cried incredulous.
The segment poked fun at the fact that Schumer deflected questions about the controversial nuclear pact with comments about the diner’s food and the menu. The Senator made a Jewish joke referring to the segment, and Jon Stewart replied, “How did you know I was Jewish? For years, I have gone out of my way to avoid displaying any of the stereotypical characteristics of our shared heritage.”
“Then Jon,” Senator Schumer retorted, “You failed spectacularly. So tonight, I’d actually like to celebrate your membership to the tribe.”
What followed was a montage of yiddishisms during interviews, comparisons between an Easter basket and a seder plate, a baseball story called “The seventh inning kvetch,” a political segment entitled “Circumdecision 5773: Vote or Chai,” and finally, the circumcision of a hot dog. After the montage, Senator Schumer said, “Jon, it’s a miracle. You took one day’s worth of shtick and you kept it going for 16 years.”
Other memorable Jewish moments on The Daily Show included Stewart’s interview with Sacha Baron Cohen in the role of Borat Sagdiyev, Khazikstan’s most famous globetrotting journalist who put a generously mustached smile on anti-Semitism. The interview went smoothly, until Stewart raised his coffee mug and said “L’Chaim,” to which Borat added his own favorite toast, “Death to the Jews.” When Stewart revealed that he was Jewish, Borat asked if his horns had been removed with plastic surgery.
The Daily Show dealt with heated battles over an eruv in the Hamptons, the death of Purim, the photobombing controversy that ensued when Miss Israel jumped into Miss Lebanon’s photo-op, and actor Jason Bateman’s recalling that at his first seder he announced, “I want to be the bone,” which caused Stewart to evacuate his chair and double over, red in the face with laughter.
Stewart would go on to create not just a fake news show, but a way of thinking and looking at important issues. The show with Stewart hosting has been awarded eighteen Prime Time Emmy awards. A Pew Survey showed as many as 10% of viewers relied on The Daily Show for their news. Stewart made the show his own by departing from Kilborn’s formula and focusing on media and politics rather than emphasizing pop culture.
Jon Stewart had some success as a standup comedian prior to The Daily Show, but he reinvented the medium of infotainment and did not shy away from expressing his own views. In 2004, he appeared on “Crossfire” and basically told hosts Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson that their bipartisan bickering format was divisive and irrelevant. Stewart said boldly, “Here’s what I wanted to tell you guys. Stop.”
In January 2005, CNN announced that it was canceling Crossfire. When asked about the cancellation, CNN/U.S.’s incoming president, Jonathan Klein, cited Stewart’s appearance on the show: “I think he made a good point about the noise level of these types of shows, which does nothing to illuminate the issues of the day.”