by David Steinberg

Comedian David Steinberg continues in his role as “Ear”—that is, a sounding board--to some of the funniest people working today.

DAVID STEINBERG: A bit casually dressed, are you--jeans and T-shirt?
Jon Stewart:
Clearly, I didn't realize we were to wear bat mitzvah attire. You said come by Friday night. It'll be late. We'll sit. We'll talk, I thought. In typical life, what would you wear? Let's say you're directing.

I'd dress like you.
But tonight, a suit. Very nice. I like the cuffs.

The cuffs are nice, yeah. A little too much, you think?
No, no, no.

A little too Jewish?
Is that a Jewish thing, the cuffs?

I don't really know. I'm not the expert on what are Jewish things or what are not Jewish things.
Oh, really, Mr. Steinberg?

When I was doing The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, he used to always know whether I had good or bad material by how quickly I said "Jew."
What would the over and under be?

Three minutes would be long for me. I would've been in there with, "You know Jews, Johnny…we have a different way of seeing the world."
And he would respond with something along the lines of, "You certainly are a silly, silly people."

Yeah.
Would he talk to you during the commercials? What would the general tenure of the discussion be? 'Cause I'm always looking for someone to fashion my commercial banter.

We would always be laughing about something. Sometimes it would be about how what I just did "sucked." But like most comedians, Johnny and I bonded not just about the people we liked but about the people we hated. So there was a lot to talk and laugh about.
Now, that's interesting—constructive things. Do you think he was the last of the guys that did a talk show unneurotically?