This book explores how comedian Stephen Colbert's satiric views of American life have captured the imagination of viewers around the world—and sharpened these individuals' own critical interpretations and opinions on current events.
Stephen Tyrone Colbert is an American comedian and actor who has built a following around the character he created—a character who is also named Stephen Colbert. Since 2005, he has hosted an Emmy-winning television show, The Colbert Report, on the cable channel Comedy Central. Colbert's character is a satirical version of conservative political pundits like Bill O'Reilly. Colbert the real person claims two honorary doctorates and Jordanian knighthood, and he sometimes does add the titles Dr. and Dr., Sir to his name, though usually as a joke. Colbert was born on May 13, 1964, the 11th and last child in his family. He grew up in Charleston, South Carolina. When he was 10 years old, his father and two brothers were killed in a plane crash as they were traveling to Connecticut to drop off the boys at boarding school. As all the other siblings were older, Stephen lived alone with his mother until he went away to college. Although the Colbert family is Catholic, Stephen attended Porter-Gaud School, a private Episcopal high school in Charleston. While in his teens, he became interested in drama and theater. For two years he attended Sydney-Hampden College in Virginia, an all-male institution, where he studied philosophy. Unhappy there, he transferred to Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, as a communications/theater major. Though his intent was to become a serious dramatic actor, friends drew him into Chicago's rich world of improvisational theater. After graduation from Northwestern in 1986, he joined Second City, the premier American training ground for improvisational comedians. With Second City, he was in a traveling company with the late Chris Farley (of Saturday Night Live), Amy Sedaris, and Paul Dinello and served as understudy for future coworker Steve Carell. Colbert found kindred spirits in Sedaris and Dinello. The three moved to New York, where they wrote and acted in several short-lived series for Comedy Central. Exit 57 looked at the weird and wacky lives of a group of young people. Strangers with Candy, their most successful endeavor, was about a problem teen who returns to high school decades later to get her diploma and is now a problem adult; it spawned a movie of the same title. If one watches the credits for Strangers with Candy, one might notice a certain Evelyn McGee—aka Mrs. Stephen Colbert. McGee was also a Charleston native; the two met in 1990, married, and have raised a family of three very non-show-business children. Colbert was also involved in writing for the short-lived The Dana Carvey Show. Among Comedy Central's programs in the late 1990s was The Daily Show, hosted at first by Craig Kilborn. The program was a send-up of real newscasts, complete with a team of correspondents. For a short time in the Kilborn years, those correspondents included Colbert. He also tried his hand at real news for ABC's Good Morning, America, where he covered humorous human interest stories. Only one of his pieces actually aired. In 1999, Craig Kilborn left The Daily Show and was replaced by Jon Stewart, an actor and stand-up comedian who had previously hosted a talk show on MTV. Reluctantly, Colbert accepted an offer to rejoin the cast of The Daily Show. With the smart, biting wit of Stewart at the helm, the show skyrocketed to success. Colbert began developing his character, a "poorly informed, high-status idiot," as a foil to Stewart. As many of The Daily Show's other correspondents—Steve Carell, Ed Helms, Rob Corddry—left the show for other movie or television projects, Comedy Central looked for a way to keep Colbert in its stable. What developed was a Daily Show spinoff, The Colbert Report. The Colbert Report parodies the shows of such pundits as Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh. Colbert proclaims his conservative version of the truth loudly and bombastically and refuses to be swayed from his beliefs by mere facts. His guests on the show have run the gamut from politicians to scientists to rock bands, from the sublime to the ridiculous. None are spared from Colbert's sharp tongue. The show engendered a fan following, known as Colbert Nation, which wields considerable clout in the real world. The real Stephen Colbert should not be mistaken for the character of the same name; while there is some overlap between the two, they are not the same. Both are proud, vocal Catholics; the real Stephen Colbert actually teaches Sunday school without his trademark irony. Whereas the character is staunchly Republican, the real Stephen Colbert holds a more Democratic views. And sometimes it is difficult to say whether an accomplishment belongs to the man or the character. Queen Noor of Jordan, for instance, knighted Stephen on one episode of his show—but, since he was in character, is he entitled to be called Sir, or just his character? He holds two honorary doctorates of fine arts, one from Knox College, the other from his alma mater, Northwestern University. Colbert lives with his wife and three children in New Jersey, a short commute to the Manhattan studio where The Colbert Report is taped.
Catherine M. Andronik, MLS, is a librarian at Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk, CT. She holds a bachelor's degree in English from Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, and a master of library science from Southern Connecticut State University.
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