Comedian and talk show host Jon Stewart wins Mark Twain Award

Jon Stewart (Phil McCarten/AP)

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

The 59-year-old Stewart, born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz, rose to prominence as a stand-up comic and host of multiple failed talk shows before taking over Comedy Central’s The Daily Show in 1999.