Jon Stewart

interview by Ed Condran

Most of neurotic Central Jersey native Jon Stewart’s high-profile gigs have been relatively short-lived. He had brief stints on Comedy Central’s Short Attention Span Theater and MTV’s You Wrote It You Watch It, as well as hosting a funny, freaky self-titled syndicated late-night talk show. But his ratings were as anemic as some of the supermodels that frequented the talk show. Even when he hit creative pay dirt with his work on The Larry Sanders Show, Stewart’s work has been characterized by critical acclaim and popular under-appreciation.

After he was snubbed as the replacement for Tom Snyder (whom Stewart often subbed for) in favor of Craig Kilborn on The Late Late Show, Stewart picked up Kilborn’s old gig on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show. He also procured a little security, signing on for four years and $6 million.

The Daily Show, a terrific send-up of the news, seems to be a perfect fit for Stewart, who is quite adept at skewering pretentious celebrities and creepy politicos.

How are you coping with the grind of The Daily Show?

The show is very demanding. They make us do it every day. I should have been put off by the title. Unfortunately I was too busy with other parts of the contract. Some days you don’t feel like writing jokes but they don’t seem to care. They just want their pound of flesh.

You are the type of performer who excels when you’re behind a desk.

That’s how it’s always been. That’s the only time I can talk to people. I can’t talk to people unless I have a desk in front of me. Otherwise I get tongue-tied. When I’m at a hot dog stand I have to point for food and hope they understand.

You could starve.

I have.

I bet you eat at hot dog stands. You chain-smoke and I hear that you don’t have the best diet in the world.

I’m not the healthiest guy. For instance I love cheesesteaks. I’ve been to Pat’s in Philly and did what had to be done there.

Speaking of Philly, I understand that’s where you got your first big break. At 9 you did Captain Noah and His Magical Ark.

Yes. I did standup on Captain Noah. He was tremendously kind. If he gave you the OK signal, you were set to work. Actually we played big-band music on the show. The funny thing about Captain Noah was that he wasn’t happy about things. You had to be on the set to see this. On TV you would see him go down the slide but there was more to it. He would go down the slide and say ‘Hey kids.’ He would then get up and jump off camera, grab a smoke and hope nobody would fuckin’ talk to him. It’s Captain Noah, baby.

You returned to Philadelphia in early October for a rare standup date at Temple University.

The gig was at the intersection of Help! and I Mean It Help! It’s a pretty crazy environment. Most colleges try to keep students somewhat buffered from reality but not there.

Your approach on The Daily Show isn’t as extreme as your work from your eponymous program or what you penned for Sanders.

We never think about how shocking or not shocking something might be. We’re not trying to buck the system. We’re just trying to come up with the funniest stuff possible. If something is very offensive, it’s not going to go on the air. The bottom line about what I’m doing now is that we’re trying to be as smart and funny as we can be. I’m just glad to be doing something that I’ll be doing for years to come that I really enjoy.

You come off as a regular guy — or is it just a shtick?

It appears that [I’m a regular guy] but I’m really living the life of Little Lord Fauntleroy. I bathe in gold each night. Actually I come off that way since showbiz is filled with such hubris. If you exhibit normal insecurities, like I do, it comes off as self-loathing.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart airs Mon.-Fri., 8:30 a.m., noon and 7 p.m., and Mon.-Thu., 11 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. on Comedy Central.

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