by Lisa Rogak
“Being funny is the same way,” he continued. “You never think about the fans or the audience, because it’s not about that, though if you don’t have an audience, you’re screwed. It’s about the act of writing jokes. The thrill is in the creation of the comedy, or the doing of it, just like it is with soccer.”
After all, deep down, he still considers himself just a guy from Jersey. “I love it there to this day. What’s not to like? You have cheesesteaks, sand, sun. It’s great. There are places to bodysurf, bars, places to get your ass kicked by a biker with tattoos. In all honesty, I love the Jersey shore.
“The one thing I did that was great was I moved from Trenton, New Jersey, to New York to try and become a comedian,” he said.
“And the one great thing I’ve done is try.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Eternal thanks be to Superagent, aka Scott Mendel.
To be followed by everyone at St. Martin’s, including Peter Joseph as well as Tom Dunne, Sally Richardson, Melanie Fried, Margaret Brown, Aleks Mencel, Christy D’Agostini, Kathryn Hough, Laura Flavin, Joan Higgins, and the late Matthew Shear.
Also great thanks to Seth Bookey, who was an immense help when it came to digging into the life of Mr. Leibowitz.
Finally, to Alex Ishii for still being good for something …
NOTES
The page numbers for the notes that appeared in the print version of this title are not in your e-book. Please use the search function on your e-reading device to search for the relevant passages documents and discussed.
Introduction
“little hairy man of comedy”: Dennis McLellan, “He Has Faith in His Jokes.” Los Angeles Times, May 27, 1993.
“man screaming into the camera”: Chris Smith, “The Man Who Should be Conan.” New York magazine, January 10, 1994.
“the court jester of the family”: Manuel Mendoza, “Late Night’s New Kid Faces the Real World.” Chicago Tribune, September 23, 1994.
“too smart for that little body”: A. J. Jacobs, “Jon.” Esquire, July 2001.
“I’m nervous about everything”: Fresh Air, NPR, September 29, 2010.
“gives Jews their comic angst”: Maureen Dowd, “America’s Anchors.” Rolling Stone, November 16, 2006.
“because we’re not in charge”: Tad Friend, “Is it Funny Yet? Jon Stewart and the Comedy of Crisis.” The New Yorker, February 11, 2002.
“than I should be”: Stephen Thompson, “Interview: Jon Stewart.” AV Club, November 11, 1997.
“it’s going to fail”: Ed Bark, “Show Time for Stewart.” Dallas Morning News, January 10, 1999.
“and I don’t like working’”: Frazier Moore, “Jon Stewart Plans to Keep Pace with Quick-Witted Daily Show.” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, January 14, 1999.
“and turn it into something funny”: Bill Moyers Interviews Jon Stewart, PBS, July 11, 2003.
“I hope I’m not prying”: Larry King Live, CNN, December 8, 2004.
“two of them had to be—no?”: Larry King Live, CNN, December 8, 2004.
“something that will make you laugh”: Theresa Bradley, “Solidly Stewart.” ABCNews.com, November 14, 2002.
“Who wasn’t?”: “Oprah Talks to Jon Stewart.” The Oprah Magazine, June 1, 2005.
“coming from that perspective”: Jon Stewart, “Jon Stewart on the Art of Self-Deprecation.” GQ magazine, June 1999.
“It is all-consuming”: Jim Sullivan, “Jon Stewart: Growing Up on MTV.” Boston Globe, May 6, 1994.
“‘You know what? Screw this’”: David Segal, “The Seriously Funny Jon Stewart.” Washington Post, May 2, 2002.
“what I was doing”: Fresh Air, NPR, September 29, 2010.
“we want to stay”: Larry King Live, CNN, December 8, 2004.
“always open an ice-cream store”: Manuel Mendoza, “Late Night’s New Kid Faces the Real World.” Chicago Tribune, September 23, 1994.
“is mind-boggling to me”: Lee Breslouer, “Giving Everyone His Daily Dose.” University of Delaware Review, September 1999.
“sort of a dream life”: Robert Strauss, “Jon Stewart: You Know, That Guy on the Tube Television.” Los Angeles Times, November 30, 1994.
Chapter 1
“and actually played outside”: Geri Richter Campbell, “Dish.” Jane, January/February 1999.
“‘I can’t complain’”: Curt Schleier, “Timing Is Everything.” The Jewish Week, October 9, 1998.
“helped me have big friends”: Jeremy Gillick, “Meet Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz [AKA Jon Stewart].” Moment magazine, November/December 2008.
“made sense to me”: Curt Schleier, “Timing Is Everything.” The Jewish Week, October 9, 1998.
“make me recite prayers”: Jeremy Gillick, “Meet Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz [AKA Jon Stewart].” Moment magazine, November/December 2008.
“‘a pussy can I be?’”: Tad Friend, “Is it Funny Yet? Jon Stewart and the Comedy of Crisis.” The New Yorker, February 11, 2002.
“memories of breaking into showbiz”: Ed Condran, “Stand-up Comedy Lifts Jon Stewart out of His Daily Show Seat.” The Morning Call, November 26, 1999.
“she had to fend for herself”: Fresh Air, NPR, September 29, 2010.
“go to Long Beach Island”: Ed Condran, “Stand-up Comedy Lifts Jon Stewart out of His Daily Show Seat.” The Morning Call, November 26, 1999.
“I was a weirdo”: David Rensin, “Jon Stewart: The Playboy Interview.” Playboy, March 2000.
“smart-ass versus smart”: Robert Strauss, “Jon Stewart: You Know, That Guy on the Tube.” Los Angeles Times, November 30, 1994.
“as the bell was ringing”: Jeremy Gillick, “Meet Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz [AKA Jon Stewart].” Moment magazine, November/December 2008.
“Jews had to live alphabetically”: Ibid.
“running around like idiots”: Marshall Owens, “Jon Stewart Recalls Life as a Local Boy.” The Daily Princetonian, March 23, 2000.
“very dogged when I’m unsuccessful”: Brian Kilmeade, The Games Do Count. New York: HarperCollins, 2008.
“the mall bathroom that day”: Cindy Pearlman, “Must Be Moving On.” Chicago Sun-Times, June 20, 1999.
“everybody making fun of me”: David Wallis, “Man of Style.” InStyle, February 1999.
“the late seventies dug that, man”: Fresh Air, NPR, September 29, 2010.
“to get my friends into fights”: Dennis McLellan, “He Has Faith in His Jokes.” Los Angeles Times, May 27, 1993.
“going to make sports my life”: David Wallis, “Man of Style.” InStyle, February 1999.
“ability to make people laugh”: Biography Presents Jon Stewart.
“tend not to go into comedy”: Ibid.
“eleven o’clock at night”: Jim Sullivan, “Jon Stewart: Growing Up on MTV.” Boston Globe, May 6, 1994.
“‘If I spit from here…’”: Allison Adato, “Anchor Astray.” George magazine, May 2000.
“defend my increased military spending”: Ibid.
“that I want to be”: Jon Stewart, “Bruce Springsteen’s State of the Union.” Rolling Stone, March 29, 2012.
Chapter 2
“not what I thought it meant”: Commencement Address, College of William & Mary, May 20, 2004.
“who just went by ‘Trip’”: J. D. Heiman, “Jon Stewart, The Comeback Comic.” New York Now, December 13, 1998.
“best of my college experience”: Al Albert, William and Mary Men’s Soccer. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2010.
“I developed my humor”: Meghan Williams, “Comedian, Alumnus Returns to College for Q&A Session.” The Flat Hat, November 1, 2002.
“a very funny guy”: Ibid.
“he was so quick-witted”: Jeremy Gillick, “Meet Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz [AKA Jon Stewart].” Moment magazine, November/December 2008.
“as you write five pages”: Steve Kroft, “Jon Stewart’s Rise to Stardom.” 60 Minutes, April 22, 2001.
“chances are you get a B”: Ben Domenech, “Jon Stewart: The
SIN Interview.” Student Information Network (William & Mary), April 26, 2002.
“to discuss a toga party”: Meghan Williams, “Comedian, Alumnus Returns to College for Q&A Session.” The Flat Hat, November 1, 2002.
“Don’t touch the carpet”: “Nightline Up Close: Jon Stewart.” ABCNews.com, November 12, 2002.
“some very attractive women in college”: Jeremy Gillick, “Meet Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz [AKA Jon Stewart].” Moment magazine, November/December 2008.
“didn’t let it bother him”: Ibid.
“the most of the talent he had”: Chris Weidman, “WM’s Most Famous Alum, Jon Stewart, Spun Soccer into Success.” WY Daily, October 25, 2010.
“they no longer called us gringos”: Jeremy Gillick, “Meet Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz [AKA Jon Stewart].” Moment magazine, November/December 2008.
“that in itself was probably annoying”: Ben Domenech, “Jon Stewart: The SIN Interview.” Student Information Network (William & Mary), April 26, 2002.
“The entire place is an elective”: Commencement Address, College of William and Mary, May 20, 2004.
“an amazing amount of [lousy] jobs”: Sheila Anne Feeney, “Heeeeeeere’s Jon: MTV’s New Talker.” Los Angeles Times, October 26, 1993.
“store proprietor, and window cleaner”: Megan Smolenyak, “Hey, Jon Stewart, Your Roots Are Showing.” Huffington Post, February 25, 2013.
“the Pine Barrens would be there”: Robert Strauss, “Jon Stewart: You Know, That Guy on the Tube.” Los Angeles Times, November 30, 1994.
“through the fan and get trapped”: “Nightline Up Close: Jon Stewart.” ABCNews.com, November 12, 2002.
“It was insane.” Robert Strauss, “Jon Stewart: You Know, That Guy on the Tube Television.” Los Angeles Times, November 30, 1994.
“tell me to clean them out”: Michael Kaplan, “New York’s Mr. Schmooze.” TV Guide, February 29, 1994.
“who couldn’t commit to a relationship”: Chris Smith, “The Man Who Should Be Conan.” New York magazine, January 10, 1994.
“to create something I felt part of”: “Oprah Talks to Jon Stewart.” The Oprah Magazine, June 1, 2005.
“fuck this. I need stand-up”: David Rensin, “Jon Stewart: The Playboy Interview.” Playboy, March 2000.
“all on the same day”: “Oprah Talks to Jon Stewart.” The Oprah Magazine, June 1, 2005.
“you’re not getting up the stairs”: David Rensin, “Jon Stewart: The Playboy Interview.” Playboy, March 2000.
“for the next seventy years?”: Tad Friend, “Is It Funny Yet? Jon Stewart and the Comedy of Crisis.” The New Yorker, February 11, 2002.
“the guy organizing the team”: Robert Strauss, “Jon Stewart: You Know, That Guy on the Tube.” Los Angeles Times, November 30, 1994.
“won’t save a seat for me”: David Rensin, “Jon Stewart: The Playboy Interview.” Playboy, March 2000.
“too young for a dental plan”: Alyssa Lustigman, “Jon Stewart Jimmies His Way into the TV Talk Show Door.” INsider Magazine, Winter 1994.
“it was like a bombshell”: David Rensin, “Jon Stewart: The Playboy Interview.” Playboy, March 2000.
“the person to discourage him”: Trenton Times, 2006.
“on a six-week lease”: Alyssa Lustigman, “Jon Stewart Jimmies His Way into the TV Talk Show Door.” INsider Magazine, Winter 1994.
“through the Holland Tunnel”: Interview with Bruce Springsteen, The Daily Show, March 19, 2009.
Chapter 3
“balls to go up on stage”: Lee Breslouer, “Giving Everyone His Daily Dose.” University of Delaware Review, September 1999.
“this is who my parents are’”: Jon Stewart, “Bruce Springsteen’s State of the Union.” Rolling Stone, March 29, 2012.
“find themselves caught in Yidlock”: Curt Schleier, “Timing Is Everything.” The Jewish Week, October 9, 1998.
“a guy in the audience yelled, “You suck!”: Martha Frankel, “Cosmo Q&A.” Cosmopolitan, January 1999.
“never to go near a stage again”: Paul Colby, The Bitter End. Cooper Square Press, 2002, pp. 143–4.
“better than anything else”: David Rensin, “Jon Stewart: The Playboy Interview.” Playboy, March 2000.
“I have no regrets about it”: Gail Shister, “Jon Stewart Says His Late-Night Show Is a Bit More Casual Than Others.” Knight Ridder Tribune News Service, October 11, 1994.
“some leftover resentment at my family”: Tad Friend, “Is It Funny Yet? Jon Stewart and the Comedy of Crisis.” The New Yorker, February 11, 2002.
“did whatever popped into my head”: Martha Frankel, Cosmo Q&A. Cosmopolitan, January 1999.
“write my first forty-five minutes”: Fresh Air, NPR, September 29, 2010.
“success on Adam, even back then”: Cindy Pearlman, “Must Be Moving On.” Chicago Sun-Times, June 20, 1999.
“It’s almost self-medication”: David Rensin, “Jon Stewart: The Playboy Interview.” Playboy, March 2000.
“working for falafel money”: Tara McKelvey, “Jon Stewart’s Dirty Laundry.” Mademoiselle, August 1994.
“open mikes for a plate of falafel”: Theresa Bradley, “Solidly Stewart.” ABCNews.com, November 14, 2002.
“it didn’t actually make sense”: Ibid.
“what to proceed with”: Ben Domenech, “Jon Stewart: The SIN Interview.” Student Information Network (William & Mary), April 26, 2002.
“In some ways, it’s gladiatorial”: Dennis McLellan, “He Has Faith in His Jokes.” Los Angeles Times, May 27, 1993.
“And not in a happy way”: Jim Sullivan, “Jon Stewart: Growing Up on MTV.” Boston Globe, May 6, 1994.
“and what am I doing?”: Chauncé Hayden, “Jon Stewart.” Steppin’ Out, December 23, 1993.
“for the first four years”: Steve Kroft, “Jon Stewart’s Rise to Stardom.” 60 Minutes, April 22, 2001.
“Chuckle Hutch and everybody’s hammered”: Chauncé Hayden, “Jon Stewart.” Steppin’ Out, December 23, 1993.
“he was heading for something bigger”: Biography Presents Jon Stewart.
“I just kept working at it”: Chris Smith, “America Is a Joke.” New York magazine, September 20, 2010.
“just stay in the game”: Biography Presents Jon Stewart.
“you have this weird thing about mopping”: John Sellers, “Gimme Stewart.” TimeOut New York, December 10, 1998.
“a guy talking about his grandmother”: Chauncé Hayden, “Jon Stewart.” Steppin’ Out, December 23, 1993.
“staying in my room and drinking’”: “America’s Anchors.” Rolling Stone, November 16, 2006.
“pleasant a time as he’d expected”: David Rensin, “Jon Stewart: The Playboy Interview.” Playboy, March 2000.
“pretty low common denominator”: Noel Holston, “Comic Is Casting about for a New Gig.” Minnesota Star-Tribune, June 16, 1995.
“my girlfriend who was living there”: Larry Getlen, “Our Possible Future Mayor … Maybe.” CityScoopsNY.com, May 19, 2009.
“it was an actual job”: Don Steinberg, “Laughing in the Streets.” Wall Street Journal, November 1, 2013.
“a superhero with a cape”: Jordan Zakarin, “Louis C.K.’s Home Turf.” The Hollywood Reporter, November 8, 2012.
“a reality-based show and a sketch show”: Dennis McLellan, “He Has Faith in His Jokes.” Los Angeles Times, May 27, 1993.
“but she was right”: Tom Phalen, “Endearing Jon Stewart Has Hit the Mainstream after MTV.” Seattle Times, March 23, 1995.
“people vomiting on animals”: Sheila Anne Feeney, “Heeeeeeere’s Jon: MTV’s New Talker.” Los Angeles Times, October 26, 1993.
“quiet here if I don’t talk”: Chris Smith, “The Man Who Should Be Conan.” New York magazine, January 10, 1994.
“like an audience with the pope”: David Rensin, “Jon Stewart: The Playboy Interview.” Playboy, March 2000.
“and you become a bigger star”: Biography Presents Jon Stewart.
“no such thing
as ‘made it’”: Ibid.
“they picked more experienced people”: Sheila Anne Feeney, “Heeeeeeere’s Jon: MTV’s New Talker.” Los Angeles Times, October 26, 1993.
“That can really demoralize you”: Biography Presents Jon Stewart.
Chapter 4
“we can take in that environment”: Dennis McLellan, “He Has Faith in His Jokes.” Los Angeles Times, May 27, 1993.
“he’s also very sweet”: Jill Gerston, “MTV Has a Hit with Words by Jon Stewart.” New York Times, March 13, 1994.
“than what you could have planned”: Michael Kaplan, “New York’s Mr. Schmooze.” TV Guide, February 29, 1994.
“Beavis, Butt-Head and me”: Jim Sullivan, “Jon Stewart: Growing Up on MTV.” Boston Globe, May 6, 1994.
“of course, that I’m miked”: Cathy Hainer, “Jon Stewart, MTV’s New Host with the Most.” USA Today, December 21, 1993.
“just being happy to be here”: Gail Shister, “Jon Stewart Says His Late-Night Show Is a Bit More Casual Than Others.” Knight Ridder Tribune News Service, October 11, 1994.
“cat litter that needs to be changed”: John Hughes, “X-Man.” Sun-Sentinel, March 15, 1994.
“without being too MTV.” Dennis McLellan, “He Has Faith in His Jokes.” Los Angeles Times, May 27, 1993.
“seven minutes at a time”: Alyssa Lustigman, “Jon Stewart Jimmies His Way into the TV Talk Show Door.” INsider Magazine, Winter 1994.
“off the air in six weeks”: Jacob Hoye, MTV Uncensored. Pocket Books, August 2001, p. 136.
“He was off me”: Ibid.
“to be hip and ironic”: Susan Howard, “Nighttime Talk, MTV Style.” The Record, 1994.
“a half-hour of my show”: Manuel Mendoza, “Just Call Him the Un-Conan.” Dallas Morning News, March 22, 1994.
“that the MTV audience recognized”: Chris Smith, “The Man Who Should Be Conan.” New York magazine, January 10, 1994.
“‘Are you gonna finish that?’”: Michael Rubiner, “Jon Stewart.” Rolling Stone, January 26, 1995.
