NEW YORK (AP) – You want a great career in comedy? Start by landing a job as a correspondent on “The Daily Show”! Under Jon Stewart’s 16-year run as host, it became one of TV’s best launching pads.
Here are a few shining examples:
– Stephen Colbert (1997-2005). Arriving two years before Stewart became host, Colbert scored in his emerging persona as a right-wing blowhard correspondent. He left “The Daily Show” to launch his own companion show, which he hosted for a decade. Then, in late 2014, he exited Comedy Central for CBS, where in September he will step into the “Late Show” slot long occupied by David Letterman.
– Steve Carell (1999-2005). From 2005 to 2011, he starred in the NBC comedy “The Office,” then left to continue a thriving film career, including his Oscar-nominated performance in the 2014 drama “The Foxcatcher.”
– John Oliver (2006-2013). In April 2014, this droll Brit debuted his own weekly comic-commentary show, “Last Week Tonight,” on HBO.