Jon Stewart to Receive Mark Twain Lifetime Award for Comedy

Jon Stewart to Receive Mark Twain Lifetime Award for Comedy
Jon Stewart presents the Pat Tillman award for service at the ESPY Awards in Los Angeles, on July 18, 2018. Phil McCarten/Invision/AP
The Associated Press
Updated:

WASHINGTON—Comedian, talk show host, and political influencer Jon Stewart has been named the 23rd recipient of the Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Award for lifetime achievement in comedy.

The 59-year-old Stewart—born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz—rose to prominence as a standup comic and host of multiple failed talk shows before taking over Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” in 1999. His 16-year run as “Daily Show” host turned him into a cultural and political force as Stewart trained his satirical eye on both politics and an increasingly polarized national media.