J. R. Havlan

J. R. Havlan is a former writer for The Daily Show,^[1] where he won eight Emmys for Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program.^[2] Before his writing career, he was a stand-up comic, including a stint doing crowd warm-up for Politically Incorrect which led to writing jokes for that show's monologue.^[3] J.R. was also a writer for the New York Times best-selling books "America: The Book", "Earth: The Book", and the 2006 and 2008 Academy Awards. Most recently, J.R. created and hosts his own podcast called Writers' Bloc,^[4] on which he interviews other television and film comedy writers about their backgrounds, beginnings and influences with a focus on the process of writing comedy. Although no longer a writer for the Daily Show he still maintains a close friendship with Jon Stewart.

He graduated from California State University, East Bay (previously known as California State University, Hayward) in 1987 with a degree in finance. Havlan has Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry.^[5]

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