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Stephen Colbert

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Stephen Colbert
Colbert in October 2023
Birth nameStephen Tyrone Colbert[1]
Born (1964-05-13) May 13, 1964 (age 61)[2]
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Medium
  • Television
  • theater
  • film
  • books
EducationNorthwestern University (BA)
Years active1984–present
Genres
Subject(s)
Spouse
Evelyn McGee
​
(m. 1993)​
Children3
Parent(s)
Relative(s)
Signature

Stephen Tyrone Colbert[3] (/koʊlˈbɛər/ kohl-BAIR;[4] born May 13, 1964)[5] is a far-left American actor, comedian, singer and author. He is the current host of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He was the host of The Colbert Report on Comedy Central from 2005 through 2014.[6] Colbert has used a special form of comedy called satire to make fun of politicians and the news media.

Early life

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Colbert was born in Washington, D.C.. He grew up in Charleston, South Carolina. He was the youngest of eleven children in a Catholic family,[7] and went to Northwestern University.

On September 11, 1974, when Colbert was ten years old, his father and his brothers Paul and Peter, who were closest to him in age, died in the crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 while it was attempting to land in Charlotte, North Carolina.[8][9] They were on the way to enroll Paul and Peter at Canterbury School in New Milford, Connecticut.[10][11] He has discussed the impact the tragedy has on him and his philosophy of grief and suffering.[12][13] Lorna Colbert moved the family from James Island to the George Chisolm House, in downtown Charleston, and she ran the carriage house as a bed and breakfast.[14][15][16]

Colbert found the transition difficult and did not easily make friends in the new neighborhood.[17] Later he described himself during this time as being detached, lacking a sense of importance regarding the things with which other children concerned themselves.[18][19] "Nothing made any sense after my father and my brothers died. I kind of just shut off," he recalled.[20][21] He developed a love of science fiction and fantasy novels, especially the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, of which he remains an big fan.[22] As a teenager, he developed an intense interest in fantasy role-playing games, especially Dungeons & Dragons,[19][23] a pastime which he later called as an early experience in acting and improvisation.[24]

Career

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The Colbert Report

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On The Colbert Report (which he pronounces "col-BEAR re-POAR" to make the words sound the same), he pretends to be a right-wing talk show host. He likes to ask his guests very embarrassing questions that make it seem that he is a serious far right-wing conservative who is also not very smart. His TV personality centers on the idea that if enough people believe something, it will be true. This is largely based on conservative host Bill O'Reilly. He was granted a Super PAC for the South Carolina Republican Party primaries in the 2012 U.S. presidential election.[25]

Many famous American politicians and people in the news media agree to appear on his show because it is very popular. Colbert started as a comedy writer and performer for many other programs, such as The Daily Show and the Strangers with Candy movie, both also on Comedy Central.

The Late Show

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On April 10, 2014, CBS announced in a press release[26] that Colbert will succeed David Letterman as the host of The Late Show, effective when Mr. Letterman retires from the broadcast." On January 12, 2015, CBS announced that Colbert would premiere as the Late Show host on Tuesday, September 8, 2015.[27]

Other works

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He has also voiced Phil Ken Sebben and Reducto in Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law. Colbert has written three books. I Am America (And So Can You!) was No. 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list.

He has a cameo as a "Laketown Spy" in the film The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, along with his wife and two sons, filmed on location in New Zealand.[28][29][22]

In 2019, he hosted a conversation with the cast of the film Tolkien as part of an event for Montclair Film and Fathom Events.[30] In 2021 he moderated Lord of the Rings film cast reunions screened at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema and made available on a Blu-ray collectors edition of the film series.[31] Lord of the Rings film director Peter Jackson has said he has "never met a bigger Tolkien geek in my life."[32]

Colbert married his wife in 1993. He lives in Montclair, New Jersey with his wife and three children.[33]

Legacy

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He has made a word, 'truthiness'.[34] At least four species have been given scientific names honoring Colbert.[35][36]

References

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  1. ↑ Daly, Steven (May 18, 2008). "Stephen Colbert: the second most powerful idiot in America". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Monitor". Entertainment Weekly. No. 1207. Time Inc. May 18, 2012. p. 29.
  3. ↑ Daly, Steven (May 18, 2008). "Stephen Colbert: The Second Most Powerful Idiot in America". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on March 12, 2009. Retrieved September 15, 2009.
  4. ↑ Dowd, Maureen (November 16, 2006). "Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert: America's Anchors". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 9, 2006. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Monitor". Entertainment Weekly. No. 1207. May 18, 2012. p. 29.
  6. ↑ The Colbert Report (TV Series 2005–2014) - IMDb, retrieved 2022-03-29
  7. ↑ Solomon, Deborah (25 September 2005). "Funny About the News". The New York Times.
  8. ↑ "Fiery Charlotte Jet Crash Kills Sixty Nine Persons". Morning News. Florence, South Carolina. September 12, 1974. Archived from the original on March 29, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2020 – via GenDisasters.com.
  9. ↑ Phillips, Ian. "How Stephen Colbert endured tragedy and became one of the greatest political satirists of our time". Business Insider. Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  10. ↑ "Obituaries". The Washington Post. September 14, 1974.
  11. ↑ "Funny About the News - New York Times". www.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  12. ↑ "The Tragic Plane Crash That Changed Stephen Colbert Season 2 Episode 202". Oprah Winfrey. September 30, 2012. Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  13. ↑ Stephen Colbert and Anderson Cooper's beautiful conversation about grief. CNN. August 17, 2019. Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2019 – via YouTube.
  14. ↑ Aldridge, Rebecca (December 15, 2015). Stephen Colbert. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. p. 32. ISBN 978-1-4994-6260-9. Archived from the original on March 8, 2023. Retrieved October 5, 2020. Lorna hadn't remarried, and she was running a bed-and-breakfast out of a carriage house.
  15. ↑ Austin, Tom (May 14, 2014). "Stephen Colbert's Favorite Things to Do in Charleston". Travel + Leisure. Meredith Corporation. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved August 20, 2020. Back then, if I booked a guest, I got ten percent. A kid could have a whole weekend of fun on fifteen bucks......We'd go swimming off Sullivan's Island
  16. ↑ "39 East Bay Street (George Chisolm House)". Historic Charleston Foundation. Archived from the original on March 8, 2023. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Great Charlestonian? ... Or the greatest Charlestonian?". www.colbertsheroes.org. Archived from the original on 2007-01-08. Retrieved 2026-01-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  18. ↑ CBSNews. "The Colbert Report, Morley Safer Profiles Comedy Central's 'Fake' Newsman - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Archived from the original on 2006-08-20. Retrieved 2026-01-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  19. 1 2 P., Ken (August 11, 2003). "An Interview with Stephen Colbert". IGN. Archived from the original on January 5, 2014. Retrieved July 22, 2006.
  20. ↑ "An Interview With Steven Colbert". The Post and Courier. Charleston, SC. May 28, 2006. Archived from the original on May 28, 2006. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
  21. ↑ Findlay, Prentiss (April 9, 2014). "CBS picks Charleston's Stephen Colbert to succeed Letterman on 'Late Show'". Post and Courier. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
  22. 1 2 "Playboy Interview: Steven Colbert". November 16, 2012. Archived from the original on November 16, 2012. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
  23. ↑ Rausch, Allen (August 17, 2004). "Stephen Colbert on D&D". GameSpy. Archived from the original on August 18, 2006. Retrieved July 22, 2006.
  24. ↑ "Stephen Colbert | The A.V. Club". www.avclub.com. Archived from the original on 2006-02-02. Retrieved 2026-01-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  25. ↑ Shear, Michael (June 30, 2011). "Colbert Gets Permission to Form Super-PAC". The New York Times.
  26. ↑ "CBS Announces Stephen Colbert as The Next Host Of The 'Late Show'" (Press release). April 10, 2014. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  27. ↑ Collins, Scott (January 12, 2015). "Late Show With Stephen Colbert' will premiere Sept. 8, CBS says". Los Angeles Times.
  28. ↑ Goldberg, Matt (2013-12-30). "THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG Cameo Featuring Stephen Colbert". Collider. Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  29. ↑ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (November 22, 2019). Stephen Colbert Is "Darrylgorn" In The Next Installment Of The "Lord Of The Rings" Saga. Retrieved January 21, 2025 – via YouTube.
  30. ↑ "5 nerdy takeaways from the 'Tolkien' premiere Q&A hosted by Stephen Colbert". EW.com. Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  31. ↑ Summers, Brett (September 16, 2021). "Preview- Middle-Earth: The Ultimate Collector's Edition (4K Ultra HD Bluray)". Cult Faction. Retrieved February 25, 2025.
  32. ↑ "Peter Jackson on a possible Stephen Colbert 'Hobbit' cameo: 'I've never met a bigger Tolkien geek in my life' | EW.com". EW.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-27. Retrieved 2026-01-19.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  33. ↑ Milanese, Marisa (11 June 2015). "Celebrity Parents: Stephen Colbert". Parents. Archived from the original on 5 June 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  34. ↑ "Language Log: Truthiness or trustiness?". itre.cis.upenn.edu.
  35. ↑ Bond, Jason. "How to Name a Species – Taxonomy and Why it is Important". East Carolina University. Archived from the original on September 17, 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2008.
  36. ↑ Bond, Jason E.; Stockman, Amy K. (2008-08-01). "An Integrative Method for Delimiting Cohesion Species: Finding the Population-Species Interface in a Group of Californian Trapdoor Spiders with Extreme Genetic Divergence and Geographic Structuring". Systematic Biology. 57 (4): 628–646. doi:10.1080/10635150802302443. ISSN 1076-836X. PMID 18686196.

Further reading

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Other websites

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Audio/Video
Preceded by
David Letterman		 Host of The Late Show
2015-present		 Succeeded by
none
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