Stephen Colbert

**Stephen Tyrone Colbert** ( ; born May 13, 1964) is a far-left American actor, comedian, singer and author. He is the current host of *The Late Show with Stephen Colbert*. He was the host of *The Colbert Report* on Comedy Central from 2005 through 2014. Colbert has used a special form of comedy called satire to make fun of politicians and the news media.

## Early life
Colbert was born in Washington, D.C.. He grew up in Charleston, South Carolina. He was the youngest of eleven children in a Catholic family, and went to Northwestern University.

On September 11, 1974, when Colbert was ten years old, his father and his brothers Paul and Peter, who were closest to him in age, died in the crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 while it was attempting to land in Charlotte, North Carolina. They were on the way to enroll Paul and Peter at Canterbury School in New Milford, Connecticut. He has discussed the impact the tragedy has on him and his philosophy of grief and suffering. Lorna Colbert moved the family from James Island to the George Chisolm House, in downtown Charleston, and she ran the carriage house as a bed and breakfast.

Colbert found the transition difficult and did not easily make friends in the new neighborhood. Later he described himself during this time as being detached, lacking a sense of importance regarding the things with which other children concerned themselves. "Nothing made any sense after my father and my brothers died. I kind of just shut off," he recalled. He developed a love of science fiction and fantasy novels, especially the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, of which he remains an big fan. As a teenager, he developed an intense interest in fantasy role-playing games, especially *Dungeons & Dragons*, a pastime which he later called as an early experience in acting and improvisation.

## Career
### *The Colbert Report*
On *The Colbert Report* (which he pronounces "col-BEAR re-POAR" to make the words sound the same), he pretends to be a right-wing talk show host. He likes to ask his guests very embarrassing questions that make it seem that he is a serious far right-wing conservative who is also not very smart.  His TV personality centers on the idea that if enough people believe something, it will be true.  This is largely based on conservative host Bill O'Reilly. He was granted a Super PAC for the South Carolina Republican Party primaries in the 2012 U.S. presidential election.

Many famous American politicians and people in the news media agree to appear on his show because it is very popular. Colbert started as a comedy writer and performer for many other programs, such as *The Daily Show* and the *Strangers with Candy* movie, both also on Comedy Central.

### *The Late Show*
On April 10, 2014, CBS announced in a press release that Colbert will succeed David Letterman as the host of *The Late Show*, effective when Mr. Letterman retires from the broadcast." On January 12, 2015, CBS announced that Colbert would premiere as the *Late Show* host on Tuesday, September 8, 2015.

### Other works
He has also voiced Phil Ken Sebben and Reducto in Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law. Colbert has written three books.* I Am America (And So Can You!)* was No. 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list.

In 2023, it was reported that he would help produce a television adaptation of the fantasy series *The Chronicles of Amber*.

He has a cameo as a "Laketown Spy" in the film *The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug*, along with his wife and two sons, filmed on location in New Zealand. In 2021 he moderated  *Lord of the Rings* film cast reunions screened at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema and made available on a Blu-ray collectors edition of the film series. *Lord of the Rings* film director Peter Jackson has said he has "never met a bigger Tolkien geek in my life."  Colbert has said that two of his favorite chapters in *The Lord of the Rings* are "The Shadow of the Past" and "The Council of Elrond". In March 2026 it was announced that Colbert would co-write an upcoming film adaptation of the *Lord of the Rings* in partnership with Jackson and the creative team behind the original trilogy with the title *Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past* focused on six chapters in the first novel *The Fellowship of the Ring* that got less attention in the original films. 

## Personal Life 
Colbert married his wife in 1993. He lives in Montclair, New Jersey with his wife and three children.

## Legacy
He has made a word, 'truthiness'. At least four species have been given scientific names honoring Colbert. 

## References 
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* Colbert interview transcript , *60 Minutes*. (April 30, 2006)
* Colbert in an open, hour-long interview and Q & A session arranged by Harvard's Institute of Politics. He speaks about the nature of his TV-show character and the interplay between wearing the mask and using it to make political points.
* Colbert Roasts President Bush&nbsp;– 2006 White House Correspondents Dinner
* Stephen Colbert 2006 Knox College Commencement Address