
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, March 12, 1994                   TAG: 9403120218
SECTION: SPECTATOR                    PAGE: 6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: SUSAN HOWARD NEWSDAY
DATELINE: NEW YORK                                LENGTH: Medium

GENERATION X MAY TURN JON STEWART INTO NEXT LETTERMAN

Jon Stewart slides into his dressing room and leans his spine against the door. His eyes search frantically for his beloved cigarettes. He looks nervous as he lights up, takes a protracted drag and talks within a cloud of his own smoke. The unexpected has happened, just minutes before taping, and Stewart is letting the sensation sink in. Supermodel (and Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover girl) Rachel Hunter, Stewart's guest for the day's show, has arrived at MTV's midtown Manhattan studio with a surprise guest of her own - singer Rod Stewart, Rachel's husband.

"When someone like Rod shows up, I mean, he's just so large," Jon Stewart says before he pauses and admits, "I can't believe I'm nervous, but I am. I've had three more bathroom breaks than I would normally."

Perhaps the star of "The Jon Stewart Show" is concerned about the singer's reaction to the quiz game planned for Hunter: Which Stewart - Rod or Jon - "has an imaginary friend named Burt, who makes him do bad things?"

OK, so it is Jon Stewart with the imaginary friend, but if Burt makes him do bad things the phantom friend must be on vacation. Whether the opinion comes from the fans populating his audience who say they like the casual atmosphere of the show or TV critics who like its uncontrived spontaneity, Stewart seems to be busting all the right moves as a zany talk-show host for Generation X, those famous post-baby boomers who are the heart of MTV's target audience (12- to 34-year-olds). Stewart says his audience is made up of "everyone who actually knows what's going on on `Melrose Place.' "

So life for the standup comedian is changing. More people recognize him now. "In general, fans have a very odd idea about what I do. They think you live this very glamorous, high lifestyle. That you travel in limos, helicopters and cruise ships." Not so, says Stewart, who recently upgraded from an apartment he shared to a one-bedroom that's all his because his cats (Sydney and Stanley) needed more room.

Known previously to MTV viewers as the host of the short-lived program, "You Wrote, You Watch It," (a show that turned viewers' letters into comic skits) Stewart is now attracting an audience that MTV says makes his show one of its highest rated non-music programs. His guests (Cindy Crawford, Denis Leary, Ben Stiller, poet Maggie Estep, Howard Stern) help Stewart's show feel cutting edge, leading New York magazine to anoint Stewart as "The Man Who Should Be Conan" - a swipe at another young, hip TV host. TV Guide calls Stewart "New York's Mr. Schmooze," and now he's getting ready for his movie debut, in Nora Ephron's "Night Before Xmas," which will also star Garry Shandling and Steve Martin.

Call these developments the metamorphosis of a psychology major into a standup comic into the quirkiest talk-show host this side of David Letterman. At the very least, Stewart must be the only talk host who must shave his neck on a regular basis.

It's not everywhere in talk TV you can see newly naturalized U.S. citizen Yakov Israel of New York City compete with the newly crowned Miss U.S.A., Lu Parker, in a quiz about American history. (Israel won.) Or watch Stewart's favorite game, "What's In Howard's Pants?" which calls for audience members to rummage through the stuffed pants of Stewart's sidekick, the dart-eyed Howard Feller (who looks like he could be a relative of "Seinfeld's" Kramer) until a "ham and ointment" sandwich emerges. Or watch the host do comic skits skewering everything from gangsta rappers to Calvin Klein underwear ads.

And where else can members of the MTV Generation find a TV host who dresses sort of like them? Stewart is the only talk host who doesn't own a suit. His fashion statement is faded jeans, a T-shirt, a sweater, sneakers or a black leather jacket.

This laid-back-dude persona is a big part of the show's sensibility. Stewart closes the show with the very cool signoff, "Later." But there's also the show's unstructured manner, as freestyle as hip-hop, in stark contrast to Conan O'Brien's Harvard Lampoon humor, which may strike some as pretentious.

Is there a secret to appealing to the much sought-after, much-labeled youth generation of the '90s? Stewart doubts it. "I wish there was some sort of formula like `Take one part Corey Feldman and one part Luke Perry and mix it with a dash of . . . ' I wish there was that kind of a formula that would add to that perfect mix every night, but I don't think there is. I think almost any guest we've had, including Tony Bennett, really appeals to kids. . . . If it doesn't look contrived and forced, then I think the show will always be cool to them." And coolness is not restricted to age, says Stewart, who rejects suggestions that his show is not for viewers who are baby boomers or older. "We don't pretend that people older than 30 don't exist, and this includes my open invitation to Frank Sinatra to come on the show."

If there is a secret to success Stewart thinks it must have to do with being daring. "We're not really afraid to flump, you know? There's no fear on this show."

by CNB