J.R. Havlan, the only “Daily Show” writer who has been with the show since the beginning, is ending his run after 18 years.
The show plans a tribute to him in his last episode Thursday. Havlan, who hosts the excellent Writer’s Bloc Podcast, had hinted in recent episodes that he might be ready to try something else. With over 2,800 credits on the show, he has more than anyone including host Jon Stewart, since Havlan joined the show when it was hosted by Craig Kilborn from 1996 to 1998.
“Welcome surge of new followers on my last day @TheDaily Show. Nice to know you think I’ll be more entertaining now that I DON’T work there,” he wrote on Twitter Thursday.
The “Daily Show” has won 19 Emmys, including 10 consecutive wins for Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy Series. Besides making Stewart arguably the country’s preeminent political comedian, it helped launch the careers of Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell, and John Oliver, Wyatt Cenac, Samantha Bee and Jason Jones, among others.
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Havlan noted that his last joke was about Vice President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton competing to play up humble roots.
“Seems my final joke @DailyShow is ‘Joe Biden is so poor he s—s in a bucket.’ Also might have been my 1st!” he tweeted.
Watch the routine: