As much as Comedy Central will miss Jon Stewart’s voice, it may miss his eye for talent even more.
The departing host was the driving force behind the careers of some of Hollywood’s biggest stars.
One major beneficiary is the man who used to follow Stewart’s telecast: Stephen Colbert.
Joining the “Daily Show” in 1997, Colbert became a go-to correspondent for Stewart and one of the show’s biggest success stories.
Colbert would go on to land his own program, “The Colbert Report,” in 2005. The show would arguably become funnier than the “The Daily Show” itself.
Colbert is now scheduled take over for David Letterman on CBS’s “Late Show” this fall.
However, Colbert isn’t alone.
Before he was Michael Scott of NBC’s “The Office,” Steve Carell was also a correspondent for Stewart from 1999 to 2005.
After leaving the show, Carell also launched a solid film career with hits like “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and “Despicable Me.”
Carell is now up for an Oscar at this year’s Academy Awards for his dramatic performance in “Foxcatcher.”
Ed Helms, another cast member of “The Office,” also got his start at “The Daily Show” before hitting it big with “The Hangover” trilogy which grossed $1.4 billion at the global box office.
Countless others can trace their success to a start with Stewart.
Olivia Munn, Rob Riggle, Mo Rocca, Larry Wilmore, Kirsten Schaal, Rob Corddry, Michael Che, Josh Gad and John Oliver were all somewhat unknown before Stewart made them famous.
As we near the end of the “Daily Show” era, it’s worth remembering that Stewart’s rise didn’t happen in a vacuum — the guy had a huge impact on pop culture in general.