Let’s hope he doesn’t drop the ball
Jon Stewart has won the Heisman – or at least the comedians’ version of the college football best-player trophy.
As host of tonight’s Academy Awards, Stewart joins an elite group that includes Steve Martin, Billy Crystal, Bob Hope and Johnny Carson.
“It doesn’t mean you’re going to have a good pro career, or even do well in the bowl game,” Stewart says, continuing the pigskin analogy. “But to get to that point means something. Now you’re in the club.”
What he’s really excited about is “getting to use the same bathroom Steve Martin did” and enjoying “refreshments” in the green room.
“My sincere hope is that there are some fun-size chocolate bars backstage, in, say, a wicker basket,” Stewart says. “Whether they be Musketeers or Milky Way, not really the issue.”
Between preparing for the Oscars, hosting Comedy Central’s award-winning fake news program “The Daily Show” and helping care for his newborn daughter and 19-month-old son, Stewart is going for a record-breaking season.
“Some people will burn themselves to the nub,” says the 43-year-old. “I’ve decided to exist in a sea of mediocrity. That’s allowed me to do all my tasks, but to in fact do them poorly.
“What we’re hoping is, in my daughter’s first two weeks, she’s not going to remember a whole lot of this. So instead of me being there, I just take my deodorant and jam it in her crib. She’ll have the faint smell of me but won’t really know I haven’t been an influence.”
The New Jersey native started doing stand-up in New York in 1986 and moved to television in 1990 as host of Comedy Central’s “Short Attention Span Theater.” He also hosted his own show on MTV and appeared in such films such as “Half Baked” and “Big Daddy” before taking on hosting duties at “The Daily Show” in 1999.
Since then, the program has become a cultural touchstone – even the main source of news for many young people. Time magazine named Stewart one of its most influential people of 2005.
Though he’s known for his irreverent approach to comedy and current events – he says Dick Cheney‘s recent shooting incident was like “a gift” – Stewart says he won’t get too topical, even in this year of highly political Oscar contenders.
“You’re gonna see a ton of ‘Munich’ stuff. Lots of hilarity to be mined there,” he deadpans.
Stewart says he’s just hoping to deliver a competent performance. He hopes to avoid “doing something so screwy,” a la David Letterman‘s infamous “Oprah/Uma,” that it’s repeated every year as Oscar lore.
Beyond that, just plain bombing would be OK.
“I’ve bombed in front of many fine audiences filled with many talented people,” he says. “And if this is that night, well, that’s the way it goes.”
The birthday bunch
Actor Dean Stockwell is 70. Actor Fred Williamson is 68. Actor Michael Warren (“Soul Food,” “Hill Street Blues”) is 60. Singer Eddy Grant is 58. Actress-comedian Marsha Warfield (“Night Court”) is 52. Comedian-magician Penn Jillette is 51. Singer Teena Marie is 50. Model Niki Taylor is 31. Actress Eva Mendes (“2 Fast 2 Furious”) is 28. Actor Jake Lloyd (“Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace”) is 17.