Stephen Colbert

Comedian, television host, writer

• Born: May 13, 1964
• Birthplace: Washington, DC

Also known as: Stephen Tyrone Colbert

Education: Hampden-Sydney College; Northwestern University

Significance: Stephen Colbert is an American comedian and television show host. He started his career writing comedy and appearing in sketch comedy series. He became well known for his appearances on the Comedy Central satirical series The Daily Show, for which he also wrote. He gained further acclaim with his own series The Colbert Report, which aired from 2005 to 2014 on Comedy Central. In 2015, Colbert became the host of the CBS late-night show The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, taking over for longtime host David Letterman after his retirement.

Background

Stephen Tyrone Colbert was born on May 13, 1964, in Washington, DC. He was the youngest of eleven children of Lorna and James William Colbert Jr. He grew up in a deeply devoted Irish Catholic family in Charleston, South Carolina. When Colbert was ten years old, his father and two of his brothers were killed in an airplane crash.

Afterward, he turned to books to overcome his grief. He developed a love of reading so strong that he preferred to read instead of completing his schoolwork. He finished high school and became interested in comedy and improvisation (improv) when he entered college. Colbert attended Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, where he studied philosophy. After one year, he realized that he would rather pursue a performing arts career and transferred to Northwestern University, in Evanston, Illinois. He received a bachelor's degree in theater from Northwestern in 1986. While there, he continued to focus on comedy writing and improv.

After he graduated, Colbert moved to Chicago, where he performed with the Second City comedy troupe. He met comedians Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello, and the three created and starred in the Comedy Central series Exit 57 from 1995 to 1996. In addition, he served as a comedy writer and appeared in sketch comedy shows such as The Dana Carvey Show and Saturday Night Live (SNL). On SNL, Colbert, along with actor Steve Carell, whom he would later work with on The Daily Show, were the voices of the characters of the animated segment "Ambiguously Gay Duo," which was originally from The Dana Carvey Show.

Life's Work

Colbert began writing for and appearing on the Comedy Central late-night satirical news series The Daily Show in 1997. He worked as one of four correspondents, including Carell, who reported on fake and humorous news stories. Colbert's focus was conservative politics. During his time on The Daily Show, he worked on several other projects. Colbert again teamed with Sedaris and Dinello for the series Strangers with Candy in 1999. The series was popular and spawned a movie of the same name in 2005.

In 2005, Colbert received his big break when his Daily Show persona was given his own Comedy Central show, The Colbert Report. The show was a parody of opinion shows featuring political pundits. Colbert used his deadpan humor to give satirical opinions on political issues of the day. On the debut episode, Colbert featured the word truthiness as his word of the day, and the word became American Dialect Society's Word of the Year in 2005.

In 2006, Colbert was invited to speak at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. His humor caused some controversy with several politicians and members of the media at the dinner. Two years later, his television persona jokingly ran for president. While working on The Colbert Report, Colbert continued to write for and sometimes appeared on The Daily Show until 2008.

Colbert also guest appeared on a variety of television shows and other projects during this time. He made headlines in 2012 when he made another faux bid for the US presidency. A huge fan of The Hobbit series of films, he received a cameo role in the second film of the series, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, in 2013. The Colbert Report aired until 2014.

In 2015, Colbert received the chance to drop his television persona and play himself for a new project. He took over for David Letterman when he retired from hosting The Late Show. On The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which began airing in 2015, Colbert has interviewed numerous famous people, such as actors, sports figures, and politicians.

Colbert announced in mid-2017 that he might consider a run for US president in 2020. He made the announcement on Russian television, leaving many people to ponder if he was serious. He later reiterated that he was joking but may consider a bid for the presidency in the future. In September 2017, Colbert hosted the Emmy Awards ceremony for the first time. The following year, he began serving as an executive producer for the new Showtime series Our Cartoon President, which was renewed for a second season in 2019.

Impact

Colbert helped to lighten and parody serious news stories, and he popularized the satirical late-night news format. He won several awards, including Primetime Emmy Awards, for writing and performing on The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He also authored several books, including I Am America (And So Can You!), America Again: Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren't, and Stephen Colbert's Midnight Confessions.

Personal Life

Colbert married Evelyn McGee in 1993. He and McGee grew up in the same area but did not know each other; they met later in life. The Colberts had three children: Madeline, Peter, and John. Colbert, who is deaf in one ear, admitted that he has a fear of bears and sometimes has bad dreams about the animals when he is stressed about something in his life. Colbert pronounces his last name as COLE-bear because he said it sounds classier than its original pronunciation of COLE-burt.

Principal Works

Television

Exit 57, 1995–1996

The Dana Carvey Show, 1996

Strangers with Candy, 1999–2000

The Daily Show, 1997–2008

The Colbert Report, 2005–2014

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, 2015–

Film

Strangers with Candy, 2005

Bewitched, 2005

The Love Guru, 2008

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, 2013

Nonfiction

I Am America (And So Can You!), 2007

America Again: Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren't, 2012

I Am a Pole (And So Can You!), 2012

Stephen Colbert's Midnight Confessions, 2017

Bibliography

Hibberd, James. "Stephen Colbert to Replace Letterman." Entertainment Weekly, 10 Apr. 2014, ew.com/article/2014/04/10/stephen-colbert-letterman. Accessed 10 Sept. 2017.

Holloway, Daniel. "Stephen Colbert to Host 2017 Emmy Awards." Variety, 23 Jan. 2017, variety.com/2017/tv/awards/colbert-host-2017-emmy-awards-1201966986. Accessed 10 Sept. 2017.

Lovell, Joel. "The Late, Great Stephen Colbert." GQ, 17 Aug. 2015, www.gq.com/story/stephen-colbert-gq-cover-story. Accessed 10 Sept. 2017.

Obeidallah, Dean. "President Stephen Colbert in 2020?" CNN, 10 July 2017, www.cnn.com/2017/06/25/opinions/colbert-president-2020-trump-obeidallah-opinion/index.html. Accessed 10 Sept. 2017.

"Stephen Colbert" Amazon, www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr‗nr‗p‗lbr‗one‗browse-bin‗0?fst=as%3Aoff&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Astephen+colbert%2Cp‗lbr‗one‗browse-bin%3AStephen+Colbert&keywords=stephen+colbert&ie=UTF8&qid=1505135688&rnid=2272759011. Accessed 10 Sept. 2017.

"Stephen Colbert." TV Guide, www.tvguide.com/celebrities/stephen-colbert/195978. Accessed 10 Sept. 2017.

"Who Is the Real Stephen Colbert? 13 Things You Might Not Know about the Late Show Host." E! Online, www.eonline.com/photos/12115/who-is-the-real-stephen-colbert-13-things-you-might-not-know-about-the-late-show-host/514960. Accessed 10 Sept. 2017.