The Scene: The kitschy set of The Jon Stewart Show, with its host, a 29-year- old comic from New Jersey, whom NBC passed over in favor of Conan O'Brien. *The Lineup: Tony Bennett and Cindy Crawford. ''The reason Jon is hot right now,'' says Crawford, ''is he has a lot more freedom not being on a network. A guest like Howard Stern can come on and say penis on the air.'' *Worst Rookie Gaffe: While interviewing John Mellencamp, ''I said, 'So this is your 12th album,' and he went, 'No, this is my 14th,' and I said, 'You know, what's interesting about this album is its rhythm & blues feel,' and he's like, 'No, actually it's more of a thoughtful album.' So I said, 'Exactly!' Sometimes you feel pretty stupid.'' *The High Price of Fame: Recently mobbed by fans at a suburban Denny's. ''And Letterman keeps breaking into my house,'' he insists. *Stewart's Only Drawback: ''They have to shave my neck before every show,'' he says. ''Is that something I shouldn't have shared?''


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