Background

Early Life

Colbert was born in Washington D.C. and grew up in Charleston, South Carolina as the youngest of eleven children. From an early age, Colbert noticed the stereotyping of southerners in the media, and taught himself to speak like a news anchor to avoid negativity. (Source: Interview with Colbert) After studying philosophy at Hampden-Sydney College, Colbert transferred to Northwestern University's School of Communication. At first, Colbert studied dramatic acting; long-form improvisation came next. After graduating in 1986, Colbert took a job at SecondCity, an improvisation theatre. The company offered free classes to their employees, which Colbert took part in and enjoyed.

Comedy

Colbert started his professional comedy career as an understudy for Steve Carell on SecondCity's touring company. In 1995, Colbert, with friends Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello, started sketch comedy show Exit 57 on Comedy Central. After Exit 57, Colbert moved from The Dana Carvey Show to Saturday Night Live to Good Morning America. In 1997 at Good Morning America Colbert met then-producer of The Daily Show Madeline Smithberg, who hired Colbert on a trial basis. At the same time, Colbert, Sedaris, and Dinello started work on Strangers with Candy. During his time on Strangers with Candy, Colbert was only able to film around 20 Daily Show segments a year.

The Daily Show

Colbert started on The Daily Show in 1997 as a "remote correspondent." Colbert developed a correspondent character that was "a fool who has spent a lot of his life playing not the fool", using logical fallacies and deadpan delivery as a source for humor.(Source: IGN interview with Colbert) Colbert won Emmys as a Daily Show writer in 2004, 2005, and 2006.

The Colbert Report

Starting October 17, 2005, Colbert has hosted The Colbert Report, a parody of cable-personality political punditry shows like The O'Reilly Factor. Opening to 1.2 million viewers nightly, The Colbert Report quickly became one of Comedy Central's highest-rated shows. Colbert's character often references his knowledge of Catholicism, science fiction, and The Lord of the Rings, and has an extensive history. Many personal details are used to create his backstory, but some, like his history in acting and comedy, are downplayed.

2006 White House Correspondents' Association dinner

On April 29, 2006, Colbert was the featured entertainer at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Association dinner. As his Colbert Report character, Colbert delivered a controversial routine directed at the current administration and media with lines such 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.

Receiving a lukewarm response from the audience, the routine garnered little coverage from the media, with Columbia University professor Todd Gitlin claiming this was because it was both very controversial and as critical towards the media as it was towards Bush. (Source: MTV Online) However, the clip became an internet sensation, driving Colbert Report ratings up 37% the week after the routine.

"I Am America (And So Can You!)"

Released on October 7, 2007, Colbert's book I Am America (And So Can You!) is a satirical autobiography of Colbert's fictional life story. As of October 19th, I Am America is fourth on Amazon.com's bestselling books list. (Source: Amazon.com)

2008 Presidential Bid

On the October 16, 2007 episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, an in-character Colbert appeared as "an average Joe", sitting on a bail of hay and drinking a beer. Colbert announced "he is officially considering whether or not he will announce if he is considering running for President of the United States" and would make his announcement "on a more prestigious show." On The Colbert Report fifteen minutes later, Colbert officially announced his candidacy, saying "After nearly 15 minutes of soul-searching, I have heard the call." On the following episode of his show, Colbert signed both the Democratic and Republican nomination forms on air. Colbert plans to run for both parties in his home state of South Carolina. Joe Warner, executive director of the South Carolina Democratic Party, says “From what I understand, he does have credible people down here, working to have him placed on the ballot."

Personal Life

Colbert claims he was not particularly political before joining The Daily Show, though says he is a Democrat. Colbert has humorously said that he "no problems with Republicans, just Republican policies." (Source: Harvard Institute of Politics) A practicing Roman Catholic, Colbert is an active Sunday School teacher. Colbert lives in New Jersey and is married to Evelyn McGee-Colbert. Colbert and his wife have three children: Madeline, Peter, and John, all of whom have appeared on The Daily Show. Colbert is deaf in his right ear, after a surgery that was intended to correct a severely perforated eardrum.

Awards and Honors

Colbert has won three Emmys writing for The Daily Show in 2004, 2005, and 2006, and was nominated for three Emmys for The Colbert Report in 2006. Colbert received two Peabody awards for his election coverage on The Daily Show in 2000 and 2004. On the first episode of The Colbert Report, Colbert used the word truthiness, which he defines as "that which one holds to be true regardless of what is supported by fact."Truthiness was chosen as the American Dialect Society's Word of the Year in 2005 and the Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year in 2006. The Merriam-Webster decision was voted on by the public, winning in a five-to-one margin. This is attributed to the Colbert Nation, viewers of The Colbert Report who take action in voting on things such as naming a Hungarian bridge spanning the Danube River after him. Time magazine named Colbert one of the top 100 most influential people in 2006, and the Time Online community voted him into the top 100 in 2007. Colbert received the Cross Examination Debate Association's Speaker of the Year 2007 award for "drive to expose the rhetorical shortcomings of contemporary political discourse." (Source: CEDA)

In 2006, Colbert was the only man, and second total, on Maxim Online's Sexiest TV News Anchors list. In the same year, People named him a "sexy surprise" in their Sexiest Man Alive honors, and GQ named him one of their "Men of the Year." February 2007 saw the unveiling of a new Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor "Stephen Colbert's AmeriCone Dream." Proceeds will be donated to various causes through the Stephen Colbert AmeriCone Dream fund. Oshawa, Canada mayor John Gray has declared March 20, 2007 (Gray's own birthday) "Stephen Colbert Day" to honor a previous bet with Colbert. In August 2007, Virgin America announced that one of their airplanes is named Air Colbert.

Additional Sources

(Source: Colbert's character biography)

(Source: Stephen Colbert Wikipedia entry)

Professional Positions

Accomplishments

Criticism

Additional Information

Biography Links