Stephen Colbert

{{bronze}}
[[File:Stephen Colbert 4 by David Shankbone.jpg|165px|thumb|Even his [[balls]] have balls.]]
{{pundits}}
{{cquote|This show's not about me. No, this program is dedicated to you: the heroes. And who are the heroes? The people who watch this show: average, hardworking Americans. You're not the elites. You're not the country club crowd. <b>I know for a fact that my country club would never let you in.</b> But you get it. And you come from a long line of 'it-getters.' You're the folks who say, 'something's got to be done.' Well, you're doing something right now. You're watching TV.|||On the opening broadcast of <i>The Colbert Report</i>, October 17th, 2005<ref>https://www.huffpost.com/entry/happy-anniversary-stephe_n_31917</ref>}}

{{cquote|The truthiness is, anyone can read the news to you. I promise to <i>feel</i> the news <i>at</i> you.|||On the opening broadcast of <i>The Colbert Report</i>, October 17th, 2005<ref>https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-truth-of-truthiness/</ref>}}

'''Stephen Colbert''' {{lived|1964|}} is an [[United States|American]] comedian, TV presenter, actor, producer, [[author]] and [[Politics|political]] commentator. Formerly a "correspondent" for ''[[The Daily Show]]'', he was the host of a [[Politically incorrect|satirical]] current-affairs show on Comedy Central called '''''The Colbert Report'''''.  His show directly followed Stewart's (and often used to overlap it slightly), rounding out Comedy Central's late night "fake news hour." 

''The Colbert Report'' was a [[Poe's Law|deadpan parody]] of [[Fox News]] shows, most especially that of [[Bill O'Reilly|Bill "Papa Bear" O'Reilly]]. Colbert played the part of a [[partisan]], airheaded [[pundit]] with a firm belief in the [[American Dream]] and a strong disdain for [[logic]] and [[reality]]. 

Colbert pronounces his name with a silent "t," and the name of the show is pronounced the same way — as in, ''The Colbear Repore'' — though the original pronunciation is with the hard "t." It is commonly believed that difference is intended to create a distinction between the persona and the actor,<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/11/business/media/stephen-colbert-to-succeed-letterman-on-late-show.html?_r=0 "People close to him said he had for some time believed he would soon have to move beyond the satirical Colbert character - though not from the name."]</ref> but Colbert has used the modified name for his entire career, partly due to his deathly fear of bears.<ref>[http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/videos/z8f9f5/exclusive---godless-killing-machines The Number #1 Threat to America.]</ref>

He has also appeared in the television and [[Films|film]] versions of ''Strangers With Candy'', in addition to many voiceover credits (notably in ''Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law'').

In September 2015, Colbert replaced David Letterman as host of the ''Late Show''. He brought over the ''Colbert Report''&#39;s core staff but not his old persona, <ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/stephen-colbert-to-replace-david-letterman-as-the-late-show-host-1.2605608 Stephen Colbert to replace David Letterman as The Late Show host], CBC</ref><ref>[http://www.avclub.com/article/here-are-tonights-top-10-questions-about-stephen-c-203319 Here are tonight's Top 10 questions about Stephen Colbert taking over for David Letterman], AV Club</ref> only reprising it for occasional bits such as a farewell to [[Bill O'Reilly]].<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbYpi_WbfkI&t=300s Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and ne'er brought to min'?</ref>

==Charity==
The Colbert Report has successfully auctioned several items that have featured prominently in the show, including a [[#Portraiture|portrait of Colbert]] which sold at auction for over $50,000,<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20070529065538/multimedia.savethechildren.org/newsroom/2006/auction-of-stephen-colberts.html Auction of Stephen Colbert Portrait Raises More Than $50,000 for Save the Children Rewrite the Future Campaign], Save the Children</ref> the proceeds of which went to Save the Children, and, most recently, the (political celebrity-autographed) cast he wore on his wrist for several weeks.  The cast sold for $17,200, and the proceeds were donated to The Yellow Ribbon Fund.<ref>[http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2027834_2027833_2027939,00.html Top 10 Stephen Colbert Moments], ''Time''</ref>

Another item sold by Colbert to benefit [[charity]] is the "wrist strong" bracelet.<ref>$5 of the $7.50 purchase price goes to The Yellow Ribbon Fund: [http://shop.comedycentral.com/The-Colbert-Report-WRISTSTRONG-Bracelet/M/B0038QUYJ0.htm Comedy Central Shop: Stephen Colbert's Wriststrong bracelet]</ref>

Colbert is also very active in promoting the [[education]]al site DonorsChoose, where individuals donate materials needed for teaching to individual classes, be it basics or AV gear. One of his projects was inspiring his "nation" to donate to classes whose students are children of military personnel currently serving in [[Iraq War|Iraq]] and [[Afghanistan War|Afghanistan]].<ref>[http://www.army.mil/article/50853/salute-to-servicemembers-comedian-stephen-colbert-inspires-troops-at-home-and-abroad/ Salute to servicemembers, Comedian Stephen Colbert inspires troops at home and abroad], US Army</ref>

Colbert and his nation helped to save the US speed skating team after their sponsor, a [[Netherlands|Dutch]] bank, went belly up.  "Colbert Nation" became an official sponsor and kept them on the ice.<ref>[http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1163994/index.htm: The Year in Sports Media], ''Sports Illustrated''</ref>

==Dedicated to==
Mr. Colbert often mobilizes his "Colbert Nation" to name things after him. So far, he has gotten his own Ben & Jerry's flavor, "Americone Dream"; a minor league hockey mascot; an exercise machine on the International Space Station ([[NASA]]'s Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill); an airplane; a spider; an eagle; a falcon; and an elephant seal named after him.<ref>[http://talkshows.about.com/od/thecolbertreport/tp/NamedColbert.htm Things named after Stephen Colbert]</ref>

In Oshawa, [[Ontario]], March 20th is Stephen Colbert Day. The holiday was declared by Mayor John Gray in 2007 after he lost a bet with Colbert.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20120223150807/http://www.oshawa.ca/colbert/ Oshawa Pays Its Debt to TV Host Stephen Colbert]</ref>

==2006 White House Correspondents' Dinner==
In one of the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X93u3anTco finest moments] of the [[Dubya|Bush]] Administration, Colbert stood mere feet from the Dark Lord and tore apart his record and beliefs, as well as referring to his declining approval ratings multiple times, making frequent eye contact with the visibly angered president.

==Conservapedia==	
Upon hearing of [[Conservapedia]]'s [[Conservative Bible Project]], Colbert exhorted his audience on October 7, 2009 to crash the wiki and write him into the Bible as [[God]].<ref>[http://www.cc.com/video-clips/81wvda/the-colbert-report-tip-wag---conservapedia--louvre---honda-unicycle Tip/Wag - Conservapedia]</ref> They did so; Conservapedia's server collapsed under the extra load of page views and decidedly infantile (if moderately amusing) [[Wandalism|wandal]] attacks.
 
In a "follow up," Colbert interviewed site owner [[Andrew Schlafly]] on his show on December 8, 2009.<ref>[http://www.cc.com/video-clips/9o2lyz/the-colbert-report-andy-schlafly Viewable here]</ref>

==Presidential ambitions==
Stephen tried to run for president of the [[United States]] in [[2008 US Presidential Election|2008]].  He has indicated that he would run in both the [[Republican]] ''and'' [[Democratic]] primaries in his home state of [[South Carolina]].  The project ran aground (intentionally<ref>[http://www.npr.org/2012/10/04/162304439/colbert-re-becoming-the-nation-we-always-were NPR Interview] ([http://m.npr.org/story/162304439 Transcript]): "''You know, even in - even four years ago when I was running in 2008 in South Carolina and really sincerely like tried to get on the ballot, if I was doing well, I had a plan of how to drop out, which was that I was going to have a scandal.''"</ref>) due to his blatant attempts to con a snack food manufacturer into sponsoring his campaign.

He was then angling for a spot as [[Mike Huckabee]]'s running mate, but that plan also crapped out, when Huckabee dropped out of the race.

He mentioned a possible run in [[2012 U.S. Presidential Election|2012]], with the help of Doritos but nothing was confirmed.  Sadly Colbert probably left things too late but technically could have still run in states which allow write in candidates.<ref> [http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57358732-503544/stephen-colbert-isnt-really-running-for-president/ Stephen Colbert isn't really running for president], CBS News
</ref>

He also ran for "President of the United States of South Carolina," and would ''easily'' have won the election if such a post really existed.

==Super PAC==
In 2011 Colbert made a second foray into the American political system, this time in the form of a [[Citizens United|political action committee]] with the express purpose of "Making a better tomorrow, tomorrow."<ref>[http://www.colbertsuperpac.com/ ColbertPAC]</ref>

Super PACs can accept unlimited donations, so long as the identities of its donors are disclosed.  To highlight how much one can get away with, Colbert then formed a 501(c)(4) organization called "Colbert SuperPAC SHH."  501(c)(4) organizations can accept donations and do ''not'' have to reveal the names of their donors, and at the same time are allowed to make donations of their own to Super PACs.  ''Voil&aacute;!''  Non-traceability.

The Super PAC is renowned world-wide for taking an otherwise garbage candidate, [[Rick Perry|Rick Parry]] ("with an A, for America!"), and lifting him to an historic 
 victory!!!1!
 second place (!!...!)  in the Ames Straw Poll.{{nofact}}

The PAC was disbanded after the election and death of adviser [[Karl Rove|Ham Rove]].  In a nice consolation prize, he won a Peabody Award for his efforts.<ref>[http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/04/05/stephen-colberts-super-pac-satire-lands-him-a-peabody/ Stephen Colbert’s Super PAC Satire Lands Him a Peabody], ''Time''</ref>

==#CancelColbert?==
[[File:Colbert portrait.jpg|thumb|"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5HOt0ZOcYk I'D BUY THAT FOR A DOLLAR!]"]]
If you try to fire a comedian based on an out-of-context [[Twitter|tweet]] made by a Comedy Central account (at its heart mocking the owner of the [[Fun:American football|Washington Redskins]] for [[racist]] portrayals of [[Native American]]s) — by garnering the support of an [[Japanese American internment#Crankery|apologist for Japanese internment camps]]  —  you're gonna have a bad time.<ref>[http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/celebrity-news/the-a-list/stephen-colbert-plays-up-racism-claims-for-laughs-on-the-colbert-report/article17758833/ How Stephen Colbert is playing his Twitter controversy for big laughs], ''The Globe and Mail'' ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBPgXjkfBXM Full clip])</ref>

==Portraiture==
Stephen's "den" (part of ''The Colbert Report'' set) is graced with, among other things, a portrait of himself that is periodically updated, by being repainted with himself standing in front of it.  One that has a "meta-depth" of two, and has been retired from his den, has been graced with a place of great honor in the Smithsonian Institution's National Portrait Gallery in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref>[http://www.si.edu/Exhibitions/Details/Portrait-of-Stephen-Colbert-4638 Portrait of Stephen Colbert], Smithsonian</ref> Previous portraits have also been auctioned off.

==Quotes==
{{cquote|I '''teach''' Sunday School, motherfucker!|||To his guest, [[Stanford prison experiment|Philip Zimbardo]], 11 Feb. 2008<ref>Modern "bleep" techniques permit ready interpretation of what is not heard, much to the FCC and some other prudes' dismay.  Interview found [http://www.cc.com/video-clips/8sjpoa/the-colbert-report-philip-zimbardo here]</ref>}}
{{cquote|If this is going to be a [[The United States as a Christian nation|Christian nation]] that doesn't help the [[poor]], either we have to pretend that [[Jesus]] was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition and then admit that we just don't want to do it.<ref name=Quotes>[http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/6649.Stephen_Colbert Stephen Colbert Quotes]</ref>}}

==Publications==
*''I Am America (And So Can You!)'', 2007
*''I Am a Pole (And So Can You!)'', 2012
*''America Again: Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren't'', 2012
*''Stephen Colbert's Midnight Confessions'', 2017
*''Whose Boat Is This Boat?: Comments That Don't Help in the Aftermath of a Hurricane'', 2018

==See also==
*[[Truthiness]]

==External links==
*[http://www.colbertnation.com/ Official show site]
*[http://twitter.com/StephenAtHome StephenAtHome]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqgNeXMhZKw Suq Madiq]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95KTrtzOY-g The Word]
*[http://mashable.com/2014/12/17/better-know-a-district-colbert/?utm_cid=mash-com-Tw-main-link The best of Better Know a District]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTo50sKBbiM ''The Colbert Report'' finally wins an Emmy]
*[http://www.vulture.com/2014/04/stephen-colbert-tribute-losing-great-tv-character.html I’m Happy for Colbert, But Let’s Be Clear: We’re Losing One of TV’s Greatest Characters], ''New York Magazine''

==References==
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Categories: 2012 US Presidential candidates, Actors, Authors, Catholics, Comedians, Deities, Liberals, Living people, Parodists, Political pundits, Television