Stephen Colbert
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Stephen Tyrone Colbert (/koʊlˈbɛɹ/; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian and satirist known for his dramatic style and deadpan comedic delivery. He is most famous for his work on The Daily Show, and as the star of its spin-off, The Colbert Report. The latter is a detournement of personality-driven, politically conservative news and opinion shows, especially Bill O'Reilly's The O'Reilly Factor.[The truthiness hurts] from Salon.com Colbert has been named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people for 2006.http://www.time.com/time/2006/time100/
Personal life
Colbert was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina on James Island, the youngest of eleven children in a Catholic family. When Colbert was ten years old, his father, James Colbert, the vice president for academic affairs at the Medical University of South Carolina, and his older brothers, Peter and Paul, were killed in an Eastern Airlines jet crash near Charlotte, North Carolina. They were reportedly en route to Connecticut to enroll the two boys in the Canterbury Preparatory School. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/25/magazine/25questions.html Washington Post obituary section, 9/15/1974
Stephen Colbert attended Charleston's exclusive Episcopalian Porter-Gaud School. He was formally educated at the historic and elite Hampden-Sydney College before transferring to Northwestern where he took acting classes, a choice that was influenced by his mother and a love of Bill Cosby. While there, he became involved in the improvisation troupe ImprovOlympic. After college he went to work at Second City and participated in improv classes there.http://www.avclub.com/content/node/44705
He is married to Evelyn McGee-Colbert, who appeared with him in an episode of Strangers with Candy as his mother. She played a nurse (uncredited) in the series pilot, as well. The couple has three children, all of whom have appeared on The Daily Show.
Although not particularly political before joining The Daily Show, Colbert is a self-described Democrat.http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,677356_3%7C21904%7C%7C0_0_,00.html Bill O'Reilly jokingly called for a boycott of The Colbert Report during an interview on The Daily Show, because he assumed that the name Colbert was French, "proving" that his satirical clone was a Frenchman.The Daily Show, 17 October 2005 Colbert is both an Irish and a French surname.http://www.one-name.org/profiles/colbert.html#origin.
Career in comedy
Early career
Colbert first performed with the Second City comedy troupe in Chicago, initially as an understudy for Steve Carell, who would also go to serve as a Daily Show correspondent. It was there he met Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello, with whom he would often collaborate later in his career. When Sedaris and Dinello were offered the opportunity to create a television series for HBO downtown productions, Colbert quit Second City and relocated to New York in order to work with them on Exit 57,[link] "An Interview with Stephen Colbert".IGN.com a sketch comedy show which aired on Comedy Central from 1995 to 1996. Despite only lasting for 12 episodes, the show was critically successful, garnering 5 CableAce nominations in 1995 in categories including best writing, performance, and comedy series.[link] Biography of Stephen Colbert from Comedy Central.com
Following the cancellation of Exit 57, Colbert worked briefly as a cast member and writer on The Dana Carvey Show, as well as a writer on Saturday Night Live, before taking a job filming humorous correspondent segments for Good Morning America. Only two of the segments he proposed were ever produced, and only one aired, but the job led his agent to refer him to the Daily Show's then-producer, Madeline Smithberg, who hired Colbert on a trial basis in 1997.[link] "Mediabistro.com interview with Stephen Colbert" During the same time frame, he worked again with Sedaris and Dinello to develop a new series for Comedy Central, Strangers with Candy, which was picked up in 1998, after he had already begun to work on the Daily Show. As a result, Colbert accepted a reduced role on the Daily Show -- filming twenty segments a year -- for Strangers with Candy's entire run.
Strangers With Candy
Strangers with Candy first aired in 1999. Intended as a parody of after-school specials, the show was centered around Jerri Blank, a high-school drop out who has returned to school in her forties to try again. Besides functioning as a primary writer alongside series co-creators Sedaris and Dinello, Colbert played the role of Chuck Noblet, Jerri's strict and generally uninformed history teacher. In almost every episode, he is seen giving his class a lecture which is wildly inaccurate, often based on absurd, logically fallacious arguments. Colbert has likened this to the character he played on the Daily Show, and later on the Colbert Report, claiming that he has a very specific niche in portraying "uninformed, high-status idiot" characters, who are sometimes well-intentioned, but always wrong. Colbert reprised his role for the 2006 movie adaptation.
Noblet also openly hated Jerri Blank, in subversion of the common wisdom that students often erroneously believe their teachers hate them, and was depicted as carrying on a secret homosexual affair with the school's art teacher, portrayed by Paul Dinello, throughout the course of the series.
Colbert on The Daily Show
Some memorable segments he has appeared in for The Daily Show have included "Even Stephven" with Steve Carell, and "This Week in God." Memorable reports include the 2001 "break-up" of the Republicans "Singing Senators" following the defection of Jim Jeffords, and the report on Prince Charles and the British media reporting of royal family scandals through suggestive innuendo. In a few episodes of The Daily Show, Colbert filled in as anchor in the absence of Jon Stewart, including the full week of March 3, 2002 when Stewart was scheduled to host Saturday Night Live that weekend. On one occasion, guest interviewee Al Sharpton failed to arrive for the taping, so Colbert filled in as Sharpton.http://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/candy/2001-12-19-candy.htm Since Colbert left the show, the duty of filling in for Stewart has been assumed by Rob Corddry. Corddry has also taken over "This Week in God" segments.The Colbert Report
Since October 17, 2005, Colbert has produced and hosted his own television show, The Colbert Report, a parody of celebrity anchor news commentary shows like The O'Reilly Factor and Scarborough Country. With the first show, Colbert beat out Nightline in the late night television ratings. Colbert is credited as the show's executive producer, along with The Daily Show host Jon Stewart. Colbert performs the entire show in the character of a blustery right-wing pundit; this character's openly declared, irrational fear and hatred of bears is a popular running joke on the show. Comedy Central signed a long-term contract for The Colbert Report within its first month on the air, when it immediately established itself among the network's highest-rated shows.
In January 2006, the American Dialect Society named as its 2005 Word of the Year: truthiness, which Colbert featured on the premiere episode of the Report.http://www.vsocial.com/video/?l=5737 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.
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, delivering a 24-minute speech and video presentation which was broadcast on C-SPAN and MSNBC. In his faux-politically conservative character from The Colbert Report, Colbert satirized the 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."
Other roles
- Stephen Colbert also regularly performs as a voice actor on Cartoon Network's , which airs as part of the network's Adult Swim. He provides the voice of the villianous prosecuting lawyer Reducto, as well as Phil Ken Sebben, founder of the Sebben & Sebben law firm. His trademark "ha, ha!" -- followed immediately by a word or short phrase relevant to the scene -- is widely recognized among fans of the series.
Colbert also portrayed the letter Z in Sesame Street: All-Star Alphabet, a 2005 video release, opposite Nicole Sullivan as the letter A.
Trivia
Personal
- Colbert was an avid fantasy RPG player as an adolescent, a pastime to which he partly attributes his interest in acting. He was known to be an enthusiast of Lord of the Rings and the fantasy game Dungeons & Dragons, a fascination that began in high school.http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/dungeons-dragons-online/537989p1.htmlhttp://filmforce.ign.com/articles/433/433111p1.html When Viggo Mortensen appeared on The Daily Show, a sound-clip was played of Colbert reciting the detailed lineage and personal history of Mortensen's character, Aragorn. To reciprocate, Mortensen sent Colbert a platter of Lord of the Rings characters molded in chocolate. Stewart quipped that the gift would give Colbert a "four-hour erection."http://www.comedycentral.com/sitewide/media_player/play.jhtml?itemId=23494 Later, on June 7, 2006, Colbert noticed that CNN had, in its coverage of June 6 (6/6/06) put the picture of a Balrog in place of a devil. He spent a minute describing the difference between devils and Balrogs: "A devil is a fallen angel who refused to follow God and followed Satan into Hell; Balrogs are Maiar who refused to follow Eru and followed Morgoth into Thangorodrim". This is not entirely true, however, as Thangorodrim was not actually built at the time of Morgoth's expulsion (in actuality, they followed him into Udun). Colbert confessed his embarassment upon realizing this on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on July 12, 2006.
- On that same program he also mentioned attending GenCon and spending time with Gary Gygax.
- Colbert is deaf in his right ear, as he has no ear drum in it. "I always wanted to be a marine biologist...but then I had this ear problem. I have no ear drum. (Flicks his ear.) So I had this operation at the Medical University when I was a kid. Now I can't get my head wet. I mean, I can, but I can't really scuba dive or anything like that. So that killed my marine biology hopes."http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=83674§ion=hiprofile He once joked to The New Yorker that "I had this weird tumor as a kid, and they scooped it out with a melon baller."http://www.newyorker.com/talk/content/articles/050725ta_talk_remnick On March 16, 2006, Colbert featured a review from Orlando Sentinel columnist Commander Coconut in his "Who's Attacking Me Now?" segment. The review stated that Coconut was unable to pay attention to anything but Colbert's ears, as his right one sticks out slightly. In a call to Coconut regarding the review, Colbert stated that the doctor also noticed it stuck out slightly when he pulled the tumor out. Colbert continued his diatribe for several minutes to the growing mortification of Coconut. After the replay of the phone conversation, however, Colbert stated that he had not in fact had a tumor in his ear.
- The San Francisco Zoo recently named a baby bald eagle after Colbert. He features clips of the bird occasionally on his show.
- Colbert teaches Sunday School, although he has been vague what level he teaches, only that he does it for his children.
Professional life
- Colbert was named as one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People for 2006.[Time magazine 100 Most Influential People of 2006]
- Within twenty-four hours over the weekend of April 29-30, 2006, Colbert was the keynote speaker at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner; co-hosted Saturday Night Live as the voice of animated character Ace, with Steve Carell's Gary; and was profiled on 60 Minutes.
- Colbert was the commencement speaker for the class of 2006 at Knox College. Colbert also received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts Degree from the college on June 3, 2006. http://www.knox.edu/x12547.xml On the June 8, 2006 show his Executive Producer credit changed to Dr. Stephen T. Colbert D.F.A. (in a possible parody of Bill Cosby's appearance in credits as "Dr. William H. Cosby" after having recieved an honorary degree) to reflect this.
- Colbert performed, in his deadpan newsanchor voice, the opening narration of the play / film Hedwig and the Angry Inch ("On August 13, 1961, in the middle of the city of Berlin...") as a track for the Wig in a Box (2003) CD, a compilation of music from and inspired by the play / film. His narration segues into Spoon performing "Tear Me Down."
- 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. Bloomsday is the annual celebration of one of literature's most famous days, June 16, 1904, from James Joyce's Ulysses.
Quotes
- "There's nothing wrong with stretching the Truth. We stretch taffy, and that just makes it more delicious."
- "If Truth Beauty and Beauty Truth, then I look beautiful tonight."
- "I am the Walrus. Goo goo ga Truth."
- "You tricked me!" "I tricked you into the truth sir."
- "Hey kid, wanna get morally high?"
- "Congressmen are gonna need a hell of a name. Something bold. Something sexy. Something with a little more zazz than F.E.M.A. Here’s what I propose: the Storm, Accident and Viral Emergency Unconditional Relief-Support and Emendation of Loss Federation (S.A.V.E.U.R.S.E.L.F.)"
- “When you’re hiking, you put this little bell on your clothes and it jingles. That makes the bears think it’s Christmas, which they hate because they are godless killing machines.”
- "Some say, 'Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.' I say, 'Those who ignore history are in for a big surprise.'"
- "When I think about the truth, I touch myself!"
- "You want the truth? You can't handle the the truth! But I've got an oven mitt. This is the Colbert Report!"
- "I've got 99 problems, but the truth ain't one!"
- "By the power of Grayskull, this is the Colbert Report."
- "I'm not a copy machine, but I have this whip!"
- "War in Iraq, great war or the greatest war?"
- "Need I remind you that if the Democrats take control of Congress, Democrats will be in control of Congress!"
- "This is the Colbert Report. And for our foreign viewers, THIS IS THE COLBERT REPORT!"
- "Today is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. But what really matters is how thick it is."
From the 2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner
- “But guys like us, we don't pay attention to the polls. We know that polls are just a collection of statistics that reflect what people are thinking in 'reality.' And reality has a well-known liberal bias.”
- “Though I am a committed Christian, I believe that everyone has the right to their own religion, be you Hindu, Jew or Muslim. I believe there are infinite paths to accepting Jesus Christ as your personal savior.”
- (Expressing his awe in standing next to President Bush, and referring to the Dick Cheney hunting incident)
"To be this close to the man [Bush], I feel like I'm dreaming. Somebody pinch me. You know what, I'm a pretty sound sleeper, that may not be enough. Somebody shoot me in the face. Is he really not here tonight? Dammit. The one guy who could have helped."
- (Referring to Reverend Jesse Jackson)
"Very interesting and challenging interview. You can ask him anything, but he's going to say what he wants, at the pace that he wants. It's like boxing a glacier. Enjoy that metaphor, by the way, because your grandchildren will have no idea what a glacier is."
- "Every night on my show, The Colbert Report, I speak straight from the gut, okay? I give people the truth unfiltered by rational argument; I call it the "No Fact Zone." Fox News, I hold a copyright on that term."
- "I believe that the government that governs best is the government that governs least, and by these standards, we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq."
- "Nothing satisfies you [reporters]... everybody asks for personnel changes, so the White House has personnel changes. And then you write, 'oh, they're just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.' First of all, that is a terrible metaphor. This administration is not sinking, this administration is soaring! If anything, they are rearranging the deck chairs on the Hindenburg!"
See also
- The Colbert Report
- The Colbert Report recurring elements
- The Daily Show
- Strangers with Candy
- Exit 57
- Truthiness
- Stephen Colbert at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner
References
External links
- [Colbert Nation.com: the unofficial website of Stephen Colbert], run by Comedy Central
- [Official website of The Colbert Report] on Comedy Central
- [The Daily Show Correspondents: Stephen Colbert]
- [Colbert's Heroes] fan site
- [No Fact Zone.Net - Giving people the truth about Stephen Colbert, unfiltered by rational argument] fan site
- [Stephen Colbert Profile], NNDB
- Articles
- [The King of Comedy] from child.com (2004)
- [Life, the Docudrama], Newsweek (October 21, 2005)
- [The Truthiness Teller], Newsweek (February 16, 2006)
- [Great Charlestonian? ... Or the greatest Charlestonian? Stephen Colbert] from the Charleston Post & Courier (April 29, 2006)
- [The Colbert Blackout], Washington Post, (May 2, 2006)
- [Colbert Tells College Graduates: Get Your Own TV Show]
- [10 Questions] and [Interview] from IGN
- [Comedy as News], Fresh Air (March 1, 2004)
- [A Fake Newsman's Fake Newsman: Stephen Colbert], Fresh Air (January 24, 2005)
- [Fake Newsman Stephen Colbert], Fresh Air (April 8, 2005)
- ['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)
- [Comedy Central Video] Colbert interviews Robert Greenwald, director of The Big Buy: How Tom DeLay Stole Congress
- 60 Minutes segment: [video] and [transcript] (April 30, 2006)
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