Back in my early twenties, I recall having a perhaps slightly ego-driven conversation with one of my best pals, about how ‘lean’ the state of comedy was at the time.
We periodically discussed the state of comedy in the early-to-mid Eighties as being in pretty bad shape. And it was. The headliners often seen on HBO back then were guys like Gilbert Godfried, Bobcat Goldthwait, Jeff Foxworthy, Andrew (Dice) Clay, to name just a few. It almost seemed like comedy’s ‘80s equivalent to the cultural bankruptcy of ’70s fashion.
To be fair, there was also a burgeoning of those names like Robin Williams and Eddie Murphy too, but the latter (Murphy) though funny to me at the time, his material was perhaps a bit one-dimensional in it’s appeal to a broader audience’s ‘prime-time’ view-ability, for lack of a better term. There was very little nuance, and pretty much went ‘straight to base’. The former (Williams) had more range, but seemed to me more of a performer with schtick, than in possession of a robust cache of actual comedic material. I tended to be more appreciative of him in his various roles as an actor, as time passed. And Williams was anything but one-dimensional. He was (is) one of my favorite entertainers, but not necessarily comedians.
But back to what this post is supposed to be about: A personal tribute to Jon Stewart. The time I recall my friend saying, while watching Letterman one night, “Man, I could do what he does!”, I agreed. Again—perhaps somewhat a bit ego-driven, and basking in “legend-in-our-own-mind” type indulgences in our early-twenties, we both often bantered how we felt like we too had that same type of edgy, wise-guy style of humor that we coveted as our own. Note: as I have matured, I no longer think I could have filled Letterman’s shoes.
All of this said, there is one comedian—and comedian just doesn’t seem like an appropriate title for him—that I continue to watch and think to myself, “Nope, I could NEVER be able to do what this guy does, not if I lived to be 100-years old”. His skills and his manner shatter any and all boxes, categories and genres of comedic genius, because he used his comedy in such a uniquely compelling way, to leave a legacy void that I really struggle to feel can, or will ever be filled by anyone else. His humor, the creative means by which he made his impact on an entire generation, his skills as a professional interviewer, and his ability to connect with his audiences, his humility, and particularly—his ability to show respect to those interviewees who surely don’t share his persuasions (a.k.a., Fox News and the like), continue to be for me, something I would wish to be able to achieve myself… but I know this will never happen. I mean, I’m not on that career path to begin with, and barring some bizarre miracle of epic proportions never will be. But were that the case, I’d be happy to be able to boast just a fraction of Jon Stewart’s class; his comedic genius; his personal integrity, his skills as a prime-time interviewer, of showing respect for all of his guests, his academic well read-ness in preparation for his interviews over these last umpteen years. Yeah…or no—this guy is / was in a class all by himself.
God bless his successor, Trevor Noah, for even trying to fill this vacuum that Stewart leaves. My hat is off to him too. The cliché “tough act to follow” seems not just putrid, but a complete non sequitur. I suspect, or hope that he will not try to reincarnate Jon, but contribute his own brand of…. whatever it’s called that Jon did these last several years. I hope so, because how do you do that?
Respect isn’t granted; it’s earned. Jon Stewart has earned my respect in ways that defy my best attempts to articulate here. I never want to be so arrogant to suggest I can speak for anyone else but myself, but I have no qualms saying how much he will be missed, and not just by me. God bless, Godspeed, kudos, bravo… and I wish I could say, “Encore!” Jon. Best of luck with whatever your future brings, and thanks for the many years of not just laughter, but validation, example, inspiration, timeless wit, and raising the bar of my own aspirations for personal integrity in all I do.
