How Jon Stewart went from Jersey kid to one of the most influential comics of all time

Jon Stewart was born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz on November 28, 1964 in New York City.

Getty Images

Stewart and his family eventually moved to New Jersey. He grew up in Lawrence.

His childhood in Jersey eventually become a huge part of his identity. Stewart revisited his home state in an episode of "Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee" with Jerry Seinfeld.

Stewart's parents were a teacher and a professor. When he was 11, his parents divorced. This had a profound impact on his life.

Getty Images

Source: The Guardian

Stewart's relationship with his father is still "complicated." This was the main reason he decided to change his last name. “There was a thought of using my mother’s maiden name, but I thought that would be just too big a f--- you to my dad,” Stewart recently told The Guardian.

Source: The Guardian

Stewart attended College of William and Mary in Virginia. He graduated in 1984 with a degree in psychology. While in college, Stewart said he felt directionless. “My college career was waking up late, memorizing someone else’s notes, doing bong hits, and going to soccer practice."

Source: New York Magazine

After graduating, Stewart worked many odd jobs. Among them, he was a bartender, soccer coach, puppeteer, and a busboy.

Getty Images

Source: The Week

Stewart remained in New Jersey for a while after college. He also worked in a cancer-research lab and researched female mosquitos as part of a New Jersey state project.

Source: New York Magazine

While Stewart lived in Trenton and from 1984 to 1987, he bartended at legendary punk club City Gardens. He has fond memories of the job, but it also partially inspired him to leave New Jersey and pursue his comedy dreams.

Getty Images

"And finding this place City Gardens was like, Oh, maybe I'm not a giant weirdo. Maybe there are other people who have a similar sense of yearning for something other than what they have now. I think it inspired a lot of people, man. It was a very creative environment. It was a place of great possibility." Stewart told Vulture in 2014.

Source: Vulture

In 1986, Stewart finally made the move from New Jersey to New York, and, by the next year, he had his first ever gig at The Bitter End in Greenwich Village.

Getty Images

Open since 1961, The Bitter End has also hosted legends like Woody Allen and Bob Dylan.

Source: People, The Bitter End

Stewart became a regular at New York's famed Comedy Cellar, located just down the street from The Bitter End. There, he became a regular and honed his craft. Recently, he returned for the first time in 20 years for a surprise set.

I took this guy to the @nyccomedycellar tonight and he couldn't resist the mic. The Cellar is where it all began for Jon. This was an awesome moment. #BackToTheBasics #Comedy #NYC #JonnyStew

A photo posted by TheMediumSizedJewish (@roryalbanese) on Jul 29, 2015 at 9:16pm PDTJul 29, 2015 at 9:16pm PDT

In 1991, Stewart landed his first job at Comedy Central as co-host of "Short Attention Span Theater."

Stewart claims he never felt like he made it until 1993, when he appeared on "Late Night with David Letterman." “When I walked onstage, I blanked,” Stewart told NY Magazine. “The audience is dark, and there’s just a little red light. At that moment you’d realize, it’ll be really quiet here if I don’t talk.”

Source: New York Magazine

Later that year, Stewart got his own talk show on MTV. "The Jon Stewart Show" lasted for from 1993 to 1995. Fittingly, Letterman was the show's last guest ever.

MTV via YouTube

Soon after, Stewart began acting in movies. He landed minor roles in '90s films "Wishful Thinking," "The Faculty," and "Half Baked."

While on "The Daily Show," he also starred in 1999's "Big Daddy" and 2002's "Death to Smoochy."

Even without a talk show, Stewart still ended up being a host in some way. From 1996 to 1998, Stewart wrote for HBO's "The Larry Sanders Show." He also frequently appeared on the show as a late-night host.

HBO via YouTube

One day, Stewart was having a conversation with his friend Madeleine Smithberg, the co-creator of "The Daily Show." She asked him whether or not she should stay or leave. As she described the job, Stewart liked what he heard.

Source: The New York Times

On January 11, 1999, Jon Stewart hosted his first ever episode of "The Daily Show," taking over from previous host Craig Kilborn.

Daily Show/Comedy Central

His first guest ever was Michael J. Fox. It wasn't until Stewart took over that the show began to focus on political satire.

It took Stewart a while to find his voice, but his sharp political perspective started to come across during the 2000 presidential election, which they called "Indecision 2000." This won the show its first Emmy.

The Daily Show/Comedy Central

"That’s what put 'The Daily Show' on the map. People didn’t know how to process what was happening. What the hell are hanging chads? The whole thing was so crazy. It was just perfect for satire. Jon found his rhythm in that moment. You could tell he had a lot to say, and a lot of opinions," former "Daily Show" executive producer Rory Albanese told The New York Times.

Source: The New York Times

Stewart's political influence only strengthened in the years to follow. In 2004, he appeared on the CNN show "Crossfire" and criticized the hosts. "Crossfire" was cancelled soon afterward.

CNN via YouTube

Stewart hosted the Oscars twice, first in 2006 and then again in 2008.

Getty Images

While Stewart has never planned on running for office, in 2010, he hosted the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear in Washington, D.C. Around 200,000 people showed up to the event.

Getty Images

Source: New York Times

In 2012, Stewart used his influence to raise money for his home state in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

Stewart directed the film "Rosewater," which came out in 2014. It tells the story of Maziar Bahari, an Iranian journalist who was imprisoned and accused of being a spy by the Iranian government after doing an interview with "Daily Show" correspondent Jason Jones.

Stewart's last "Daily Show" will be on Thursday, August 6. He has no immediate plans for the future. However, he does plan to spend more time with his wife and two kids. He also bought a farm in New Jersey which he plans to turn into an animal sanctuary.

Source: Philly.com

However, don't give up hope of seeing Stewart again: he could return to stand-up again.

Getty Images

(Source: The Hollywood Reporter)