“Nothing ends”, Stewart said. I got into the Daily Show and Colbert while in college and for four years, I could not go to sleep until I heard their voices.
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And now, with only one show left, a media world without Jon Stewart is becoming a reality for many of his adoring fans.
Video cameos poked fun at the longtime host.
“Have fun feeding your rabbits, quitter”, said Bill O’Reilly, a frequent target of Stewart’s jabs.
Legendary satirist… Jon Stewart has signed off as host of The Daily Show.
With fellow New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen capping the show with a musical tribute, the ever-modest Stewart offered: “An artist I really admire once said that he thinks of his career as a long conversation with the audience, a dialog”.
Colbert bid the host goodbye by using a Lord of the Rings metaphor, saying he was the character Sam while Jon was Frodo because, “Jon, one of us is adult size and does not have hairy toes”.
“When you do something that you know you will never be as good at something as you were at this, you have to make peace with it”, Stewart said. “All of us who were lucky enough to work with you for 16 years are better at our jobs because we got to watch you do yours – and we are better people for having known you”.
That was the moment Stewart choked up; he was only saved from all-out blubbing thanks to the dual defences of ad break and group hug. He closed his last sermon by reminding viewers: “If you smell something, say something”. By the time he was over, Stewart was in tears, and probably so were many members of the audience.
Although, this is not the end, the show already has a new host and things will move on. He thanked his wife and two children “for teaching me what joy looks like”.
Craig Kilborn, who Stewart replaced as the show’s host in 1999, also sent his well-wishes.
For Stewart was never just a comic, he was a great newsman. “It’s just a continuation. It’s just a pause in the conversation”, Stewart said. “It was not at all the show where you are going to see all the headline news and he’s doing his normal shtick”, said Light, of New York.
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The Daily Show has had seen a plethora of talent pass through its doors over the years and on Thursday night it had a class reunion of sorts.
