--- description: Stewart made "the evening news a daily habit again," the talk-show veteran wrote in 2001 title: How Dick Cavett Explained Jon Stewart's Greatness image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt983a26594b776220/69885d1b428a9e2be6cce679/cavett.jpeg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # How Dick Cavett Explained Jon Stewart's Greatness  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Aug 6, 2015 1:17 AM CUT  Dick Cavett and Jon Stewart at amFar's New York Gala To Honor Patti Labelle, Sumner Redstone and Peter Dolan in 2004 Dick Cavett and Jon Stewart at amFar's New York Gala To Honor Patti Labelle, Sumner Redstone and Peter Dolan in 2004Jamie McCarthy—WireImage / Getty Images  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Aug 6, 2015 1:17 AM CUT When Jon Stewart’s run behind _T_ _he_ _Daily Show_ desk ends on Thursday, he’ll have spent more than a decade at its helm—a feat that’s even more notable for the speed with which he proved, when he took over the show in 1999, that comedy and news could be combined to make a something new. But that doesn’t mean that he was the first person to ever combine the two elements. In 2001, when TIME pulled together a whole issue devoted to performers and entertainers who were at the top of their games, Stewart was profiled as America’s best talk-show host—and the man chosen to write about him was Dick Cavett, who knew more than a little bit about how difficult the job was. Jon Stewart and _The Daily Show_ were, Cavett wrote, “a blessed wedding of performer and format.” The craziness of the 2000 election season had given him the opportunity to shine, but the small moments were what mattered, Cavett said: --- > “” --- That “everything” includes a whole lot more than it used to, but the sentiment still works. **_Read the full Dick Cavett essay, here in the TIME Vault:_** [America’s Best](http://time.com/vault/issue/2001-07-09/page/75/ "undefined") [_Read more about the early days of the Daily Show: What Jon Stewart Had to Say About His First Episode_](http://time.com/3704378/jon-stewart-daily-show-1999/ "undefined") ### See Jon Stewart's Career Over the Years  Jon Stewart takes the reins as anchor of The Daily Show in 1999. Comedy Central/Everett  Stewart gets a cameo as Kevin Gerrity in the 1999 Adam Sandler movie Big Daddy. Columbia  Jay Leno interviews Jon Stewart on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno in 2000. NBC/Getty Images  Stewart plays Marion Frank Stokes in the 2002 black comedy Death to Smoochy Warner Bros.  Jon Stewart and his team win the first of many Emmys for The Daily Show in 2003. Chris Weeks—FilmMagic/Getty Images  Jon Stewart hosts the 78th Academy Awards in 2006. Academy of Motion Picture Arts—WireImage/Getty Images  Stewart has a cameo as himself on The Simpsons in 2008 in the episode "E Pluribus Wiggum." Fox  Steven Colbert and Jon Stewart host the Rally To Restore Sanity And/Or Fear on the National Mall on Oct. 30, 2010 in Washington, DC. Win McNamee—Getty Images  Jon Stewart interviews President Barack Obama on The Daily Show at the Harman Center for the Arts in Washington, DC, Oct. 26, 2010. Jim Watson—AFP/Getty Images  Jon Stewart speaks at the 51st USO Armed Forces Gala & Gold Medal Dinner on Dec. 13, 2012 in New York City. Michael Loccisano—Getty Images  Stewart makes his directorial debut in the 2014 drama Rosewater. Open Road Films  Jon Stewart announces his retirement for the end of 2015. 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