Stephen Colbert Profile
This article is about Stephen Colbert, the actor. For the character he portrays on The Colbert Report, see Stephen Colbert (character).
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert in 2007
Birth name Stephen Tyrone Colbert
Born May 13, 1964 (1964-05-13) (age 43) Washington, D.C., USA
Medium Theatre, Television, Film, Books
Nationality American
Years active 1984–present
Genres Sketch comedy, Improvisational comedy, Character comedy, Political satire/News satire
Subject(s) American culture, Popular culture, Current events, Mass media/News media, American politics, American conservatism, The Christian Right, Political Punditry, Egomania, Xenophobia, Anti-Intellectualism
Influences Don Novello, Bill Cosby,
Influenced Rob Corddry,
Spouse Evelyn McGee-Colbert (3 children)
Notable works and roles Chuck Noblet in Strangers with Candy Stephen Colbert in The Daily Show and The Colbert Report Writer, I Am America (And So Can You!) Co-writer, America (The Book) Phil Ken Sebben and Myron Reducto in Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
Emmy Awards
Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program 2004, 2005, 2006 The Daily Show
Stephen Tyrone Colbert (IPA: /koʊlˈbɛɹ/) Colbert originally studied to be an actor, but became interested in improvisational theatre when he met famed Second City director Del Close while attending Northwestern University. He first performed professionally as an understudy for Steve Carell at Second City Chicago; among his troupe mates were comedians Paul Dinello and Amy Sedaris, with whom he developed the critically-acclaimed sketch comedy series Exit 57. Colbert also wrote and performed on the short-lived Dana Carvey Show before collaborating with Sedaris and Dinello again on the cult television series Strangers with Candy. He gained considerable attention for his role on the latter as closeted, gay history teacher Chuck Noblet. It was his work as a correspondent on Comedy Central's news-parody series The Daily Show, however, that first introduced him to a wide audience. In 2005, he left The Daily Show to host a spin-off series, The Colbert Report. Following The Daily Show's news-parody concept, The Colbert Report is a parody of personality-driven political opinion shows such as Bill O'Reilly's The O'Reilly Factor. Since its debut, the series has been successful, establishing itself as one of Comedy Central's highest-rated series, earning Colbert three Emmy nominations and an invitation to perform as featured entertainer at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in 2006. Colbert was named one of Time's 100 most influential people in 2006. His book, I Am America (And So Can You!) was No. 1 on The New York Times Bestseller List.
Contents
1 Early life 2 Career
2.1 Early career in comedy 2.2 Strangers with Candy 2.3 The Daily Show 2.4 The Colbert Report 2.5 2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner 2.6 Other work
3 Announced 2008 presidential bid 4 Personal life 5 Awards and honors 6 Filmography 8 Notes and references 9 External links
Early life Stephen Colbert was born in Washington, D.C. His father, James Colbert, was the vice president for academic affairs at the Medical University of South Carolina. His mother, Lorna Colbert, was a homemaker. In interviews, Colbert has described his parents as devout people who also strongly valued intellectualism and taught their children that it was possible to question the Church and still be Catholic. Colbert sometimes comedically refers to his surname as French, but his family is actually of Irish descent. On September 11, 1974, when Colbert was ten years old, his father and two of his brothers, Peter and Paul, were killed in the crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 while it was attempting to land in Charlotte, North Carolina. They were en route to enroll the two boys at Canterbury School in New Milford, Connecticut. Colbert attended Charleston's Episcopal Porter-Gaud School, where he participated in several school plays and contributed to the school newspaper but, by his own assessment, was not highly motivated academically.
Career
Early career in comedy
Stephen Colbert and his wife Evelyn McGee-Colbert at the 2006 Time 100
While at Northwestern, Colbert studied with the intent of becoming a dramatic actor; mostly he performed in experimental plays and was uninterested in comedy. He began performing improvisation at the Annoyance Theatre in Chicago as a part of Del Close's ImprovOlympic at a time when the project was focused on competitive, long form improvisation, rather than improvisational comedy. "I wasn't gonna do Second City," Colbert later recalled, "because those Annoyance people looked down on Second City because they thought it wasn't pure improv—there was a slightly snobby, mystical quality to the Annoyance people." Despite his earlier aversion to the comedy group, he signed up for improvisation classes, and enjoyed the experience greatly. Shortly thereafter, he was hired to perform with Second City's touring company, initially as an understudy for Steve Carell. It was there he met Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello, with whom he often collaborated later in his career. By their retelling, the three comedians did not get along at first—Dinello thought Colbert was uptight, pretentious and cold, while Colbert thought of Dinello as "an illiterate thug" When Sedaris and Dinello were offered the opportunity to create a television series for HBO Downtown Productions, Colbert left The Second City and relocated to New York in order to work with them on the sketch comedy show Exit 57. Following the cancellation of Exit 57, Colbert worked for six months as a cast member and writer on The Dana Carvey Show, alongside former Second City cast mate Steve Carell, as well as Robert Smigel, Charlie Kaufman, Louis C.K., and Dino Stamatopoulos, among others. The series, described by one reviewer as "kamikaze satire" in "borderline-questionable taste," had sponsors pull out after its first episode aired, and was cancelled after seven episodes.
Strangers with Candy
Main article: Strangers with Candy
During the same time frame, Colbert worked again with Sedaris and Dinello to develop a new comedy series for Comedy Central, Strangers with Candy. Comedy Central picked up the series in 1998 after Colbert had already begun working on The Daily Show. As a result he accepted a reduced role, filming only around twenty Daily Show segments a year while he worked on the new series. Strangers with Candy was conceived of as a parody of after school specials, following the life of Jerri Blank, a 46-year-old dropout who returns to finish high school after 32 years of life on the street. Most noted by critics for its use of offensive humor, it concluded each episode by delivering to the audience a skewed, politically incorrect moral lesson. Another running joke throughout the series was that Noblet, a closeted homosexual, was having a "secret" affair with fellow teacher Geoffrey Jellineck despite the fact that their relationship was apparent to everyone around them. This obliviousness also appears in Colbert's Daily Show and Colbert Report character. Thirty episodes of the series were made, which aired on Comedy Central in 1999 and 2000. Though its ratings were not remarkable during its initial run, it has been characterized as a cult show with a small but dedicated audience.
Stephen Colbert reporting in front of a greenscreen as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
The Daily Show
Main article: The Daily Show
Stephen Colbert joined the cast of Comedy Central's parody-news series The Daily Show in 1997, when the show was in its second season. Originally one of four "correspondents" who filmed segments from remote locations in the style of network news field reporters, Colbert was referred to as "the new guy" on-air for his first two years on the show, during which time Craig Kilborn served as host. When Kilborn left the show prior to the 1999 season, Jon Stewart took over hosting duties, also serving as a writer and co-executive. From this point, the series gradually began to take on a more political tone and increase in popularity, particularly in the latter part of the 2000 U.S. presidential election season. The roles of the show's correspondents were expanded to include more in-studio segments, as well as international reports which were almost always done in the studio with the aid of a greenscreen. Unlike Stewart, who essentially hosts The Daily Show as himself, Colbert has appeared in several recurring segments for The Daily Show, including "Even Stephven" with Steve Carell, in which both characters were expected to debate a selected topic but instead would unleash their anger at one another. Colbert also commonly hosted "This Week in God," a report on topics in the news pertaining to religion, presented with the help of the "God Machine." Colbert also filed reports from the floor of the Democratic National Convention and the Republican National Convention as a part of The Daily Show's award-winning coverage of the 2000 and 2004 U.S. Presidential elections; many from the latter were included as part of their The Daily Show: Indecision 2004 DVD release. In several episodes of The Daily Show, Colbert filled in as anchor in the absence of Jon Stewart, including the full week of 3 March 2002, when Stewart was scheduled to host Saturday Night Live. After Colbert left the show, the duty of filling in for Stewart was assumed by Rob Corddry until his departure in August 2006. Corddry also took over "This Week in God" segments, although a recorded sample of Colbert's voice is still used as the sound effect for the God Machine. Later episodes of The Daily Show have reused older Colbert segments under the label "Klassic Kolbert." Colbert won three Emmys as a writer of The Daily Show in 2004, 2005, and 2006.
The Colbert Report
Main article: The Colbert Report
The set of The Colbert Report satirizes cable-personality political talk shows.
Since October 17, 2005, Colbert has hosted his own television show, The Colbert Report, a Daily Show spin-off which parodies the conventions of television news broadcasting, Colbert hosts the show in-character as a blustery right-wing pundit, generally considered to be an extension of his character on The Daily Show. Conceived by co-creators Stewart, Colbert, and Ben Karlin in part as an opportunity to explore "the character-driven news," the series focuses less on the day-to-day news style of the Daily Show, instead frequently concentrating on the foibles of the host-character himself. The concept for The Report was first seen in a series of Daily Show segments which advertised the then-fictional series as a joke. It was later developed by Stewart's Busboy Productions and pitched to Comedy Central, which greenlighted the program; Comedy Central had already been searching for a way to extend the successful Daily Show franchise beyond a half hour. Much of Colbert's personal life is reflected in his character on The Colbert Report. With the extended exposure of the character on the show, he often references his interest in and knowledge of Catholicism, science fiction, and The Lord of the Rings, as well as using real facts to create his character's history. His alternate persona was also raised in South Carolina, is the youngest of 11 siblings, and is married. The actual Colbert's career history in acting and comedy, however, is often downplayed.
Stephen Colbert telling jokes several feet away from George W. Bush at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Dinner
2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner
Main article: Stephen Colbert at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner
On Saturday, April 29, 2006, Stephen Colbert was the featured entertainer for the 2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. Standing a few yards from U.S. President George W. Bush In his politically conservative character from The Colbert Report, Colbert satirized the George W. Bush Administration and the White House press corps with such lines as:
“ I stand by this man. I stand by this man because he stands for things. Not only for things, he stands on things. Things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently flooded city squares. And that sends a strong message, that no matter what happens to America, she will always rebound—with the most powerfully staged photo ops in the world. ”
The performance received a lukewarm response from the audience, and major media outlets paid little attention to it initially. Washington Post columnist Dan Froomkin and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism professor Todd Gitlin claimed that this was because Colbert's routine was as critical of the media as it was of Bush.
Other work
Stephen Colbert during an appearance at Florida State University.
Stephen Colbert is co-author of the satirical text-and-picture novel Wigfield: The Can Do Town That Just May Not, which was published in 2003 by Hyperion Books. The novel was a collaboration between Colbert, Amy Sedaris, and Paul Dinello, and tells the story of a small town threatened by the impending destruction of a massive dam. The narrative is presented as a series of fictional interviews with the town's residents, accompanied by photos. The three authors toured performing an adaptation of Wigfield on stage the same year the book was released. Colbert appeared in a small supporting role in the 2005 film adaptation of Bewitched. He has made guest appearances on the television series Curb Your Enthusiasm, Spin City, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and on the improvisational comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway?. He voiced the characters of Reducto and Phil Ken Sebben in the Adult Swim's Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law but left the show in 2005 to work on The Colbert Report. His characters were both killed, though he returned to voice Phil for the series finale. Colbert also has provided voices for Cartoon Network's The Venture Bros., Comedy Central's Crank Yankers, and American Dad!, as well as for Canadian animated comedy series The Wrong Coast. He appeared as Homer Simpson's life coach in the Simpsons episode "He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs". Colbert also voiced the announcer in the 2003 Xbox game Outlaw Volleyball. Colbert filled in for Sam Seder on the second episode of The Majority Report on Air America Radio, and has also done reports for The Al Franken Show. He appeared on a track on Wig in a Box, a tribute album for Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Colbert read the part of Leopold Bloom in Bloomsday on Broadway XXIV: Love Literature Language Lust: Leopold's Women Bloom on June 16, 2005 at Symphony Space in New York City. He appeared in a series of TV commercials for General Motors, as a not-too-bright investigator searching for the elusive (and non-existent in real life) "Mr. Goodwrench." He also portrayed the letter Z in Sesame Street: All-Star Alphabet, a 2005 video release. Colbert is a producer of The 1 Second Film, the world's largest nonprofit collaborative art film. His video request that IMDB list his credit for The 1 Second Film ("it is as valid as most of my credits") enabled thousands of the film's producers to be listed in the massive movie database until they were recently removed. Colbert has completed a new book, released on October 7, 2007 by Warner Books titled I Am America (And So Can You!). Warner Books was also the publisher of America (The Book), written by The Daily Show staff. The book contains similar political satire, but was written primarily by Colbert himself rather than as a collaboration with his Colbert Report writing staff.
Announced 2008 presidential bid
Main article: Stephen Colbert presidential campaign, 2008
Wikinews has related news: Colbert officially withdraws Presidential bid; Obama supporters pressured South Carolina
Under his fictional persona in The Colbert Report, Colbert dropped hints of a potential presidential run throughout 2007, with speculation intensifying following the release of his book, I Am America (And So Can You!), which he claimed was widely rumored to be a sign that he was indeed testing the waters for a future bid for the White House. On October 16, 2007, he announced his candidacy on his show, stating his intention to run both on the Republican and Democratic platforms, but only as a "favorite son" in his native South Carolina. On November 1, 2007, the South Carolina Democratic Party executive council voted 13-3 to refuse Colbert's application onto the ballot. “The general sense of the council was that he wasn’t a serious candidate and that was why he wasn’t selected to be on the ballot," stated John Werner, the party's director. In addition, he was declared "not viable,"
Personal life Although by his own account he was not particularly political before joining the cast of The Daily Show, Colbert is a self-described Democrat. Colbert lives in Montclair, New Jersey, with his wife Evelyn McGee-Colbert, who appeared with him in an episode of Strangers with Candy as his mother. She also had an uncredited cameo as a nurse in the series pilot, along with a credited one (as his wife, Clair) in the Strangers with Candy movie. McGee-Colbert actually met Jon Stewart, later a good friend of Colbert, before she met her husband in 1990. The couple have three children: Madeline, Peter, and John, all of whom have appeared on The Daily Show.
Awards and honors
Colbert at Knox College
Colbert was the recipient of three Emmy Awards as a writer for The Daily Show in 2004, 2005, and 2006, along with the rest of the Daily Show writers. He was also nominated for three Emmys for The Colbert Report in 2006, including "Best Performance in a Variety, Musical Program or Special," which he lost to Barry Manilow. Manilow and Colbert would go on to jokingly sign and notarize a revolving biannual "custody agreement" for the Emmy on the Colbert Report episode aired on October 30, 2006. He lost the same category to Tony Bennett at the 2007 Emmys. In 2005 and 2006 Colbert was nominated for Satellite Awards for his performance on The Colbert Report. He was also nominated by the Television Critics Association for a TCA Award for The Colbert Report in 2006. Colbert received two Peabody Awards for his work on The Daily Show: Indecision 2000 and Indecision 2004.
Stephen Colbert announces that the night's "Wørd" is truthiness in the premiere episode of The Colbert Report
In January 2006, the American Dialect Society named truthiness, which Colbert featured on the premiere episode of The Colbert Report, as its 2005 Word of the Year. Colbert devoted time on five successive episodes to bemoaning the failure of the Associated Press to mention his role in popularizing the word truthiness in its news coverage of the Word of the Year. In June 2006, after speaking at the school's commencement ceremony, Colbert received an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts degree from Knox College . Time named Stephen Colbert as one of the 100 most influential people in 2006. Colbert was named "2nd Sexiest TV News Anchor" in September 2006 by Maxim Online, next to Mélissa Theuriau of France. He was the only man on the list.
Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor, "AmeriCone Dream," named for Colbert
In February 2007, Ben & Jerry's unveiled a new ice cream flavor in honor of Colbert, named "Stephen Colbert's AmeriCone Dream." Colbert waited until Easter to sample the ice cream because he "gave up sweets for Lent." After the Saginaw Spirit defeated the Oshawa Generals in Ontario Junior League Hockey, Oshawa Mayor John Gray declared March 20, 2007 (the mayor's own birthday) "Stephen Colbert Day," honoring a previous bet with Stephen. At the event, Mayor Gray referred to the publicity the bet brought the city, remarking, "This is the way to lose a bet." Colbert was honored for the "Gutsiest Move" on the Spike TV Guys' Choice Awards on June 13, 2007. In August 2007, Virgin America announced that one of their airplanes is named Air Colbert. On October 28, 2007, Colbert received the key to the city of Columbia, South Carolina from Mayor Bob Coble. On December 20, 2007 Colbert was named Celebrity of the Year by The Associated Press. On April 2, 2008 Colbert received his third Peabody Award. Colbert has accepted an invitation to give the Class Day address to the graduating class of Princeton University on June 2, 2008.
Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1997 Shock Asylum Dr. Dewalt Short film
The Daily Show Correspondent Stephen Colbert 1997 - 2005 (regular) 2005 - (reoccurring)
1999 Let It Snow Happy Successful Guy Also known as Snow Days
Strangers with Candy Chuck Noblet 1999 - 2000
2000 Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law Myron Reducto / Phil Ken Sebben / The Eagle of Truth
2003 Nobody Knows Anything TV Newsman
2003 Chalkzone Himself (paring-up w/ Kurtwood Smith)
2004 Curb Your Enthusiasm Angry Tourist Uncredited
2005 The Great New Wonderful Mr. Peersall
Bewitched Stu Robison
Outlaw Tennis Announcer Video game
The Colbert Report Stephen Colbert
2006 Strangers with Candy: The Movie Chuck Noblet
2009 The 1 Second Film Self/Producer
Monsters vs. Aliens The President In pre-production
Stephen Colbert (character) Wikipedia in culture
Notes and references
^ a b Sternbergh, Adam. "Stephen Colbert Has America by the Ballots", New York, October 16, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-07-11.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Stephen Colbert
Find more about Stephen Colbert on Wikipedia's sister projects:
Dictionary definitions
Textbooks
Quotations
Source texts
Images and media
News stories
Learning resources
General
The Colbert Report Official Site Colbert Nation, maintained by Comedy Central Stephen Colbert at the Internet Movie Database Stephen Colbert Producer Profile for The 1 Second Film Wikiality.com, a wiki dedicated to Stephen Colbert and The Colbert Report
Audio/Video
'Daily Show' Correspondent Readies 'The Colbert Report', All Things Considered. (May 4, 2005) Bluster and Satire: Stephen Colbert's 'Report', Fresh Air. (December 7, 2005) Colbert interviewed, 60 Minutes (Transcript). (April 30, 2006) Colbert Roasts President Bush—2006 White House Correspondents dinner at Google Video, (Transcript). (April 29, 2006) A conversation with comedian Stephen Colbert, Charlie Rose. (December 8, 2006) Appearance at the Food Bank For New York City 2008 Can-Do Awards Dinner
v • d • e
Current correspondents and contributors to The Daily Show
Samantha Bee • Lewis Black • Buck Henry • John Hodgman • Jason Jones • Aasif Mandvi • Demetri Martin • John Oliver • Rob Riggle • Kristen Schaal • Larry Wilmore
v • d • e
The Colbert Report
People/characters Stephen Colbert (actor) • Stephen Colbert (character) • Tek Jansen
Elements Better Know a District • Truthiness • Wikiality • Recurring Segments
Special series Indecision 2006: Midterm Midtacular • Indecision 2008
Episodes 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • The Best of The Colbert Report
Related Correspondents' Dinner • The Daily Show • I Am America (And So Can You!) • Megyeri Bridge • Presidential campaign
Persondata
NAME Colbert, Stephen Tyrone
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION American comedian
DATE OF BIRTH May 13, 1964
PLACE OF BIRTH Washington, D.C., United States
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH
Top 5 Search Results
The Colbert Report - ComedyCentral.com Official site of The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert's sarcastic pundit show, which tackles important issues and tells guests why their opinions are just plain wrong.
Stephen Colbert - Wikipedia Biographical information on Stephen Colbert, a comedian, writer and correspondent for The Daily Show, and host of The Colbert Report.
Stephen Colbert (Character) - Wikipedia User-created article examining the influences that went into the making of the "Stephen Colbert" character played by Colbert on the The Colbert Report.
Stephen Colbert Filmography overview for comedic journalist Stephen Colbert, host of the Comedy Central series The Colbert Report. Features biography, trivia, photos, and a message board.
Stephen Colbert - Wikiality, the Truthiness Encyclopedia His Truthfully truthiness-ed Excellency The Most Honorable Rev. Fr. Professor Sir Dr. Stephen Tiberius "C-Train" Colbert, Esquire, D.F.A., SC, America's ...
