Stephen Colbert (character)

Stephen Colbert
The Daily Show / The Colbert Report / The Late Show character
Stephen Colbert in character
First appearanceJune 26, 1997 on The Daily Show
Created byStephen Colbert
Portrayed byStephen Colbert
In-universe information
GenderMale
TitleDoctor of Fine Arts (honorary)
OccupationFormer correspondent on The Daily Show
Former host of The Colbert Report
SpouseLorraine[1]
RelativesStephen Colbert (identical twin cousin)
ReligionCatholic Church
NationalityAmerican

The Reverend Sir Dr. Stephen T. Mos Def Colbert D.F.A., Heavyweight Champion of the World,[2][3] is the fictionalized persona of political satirist Stephen Colbert, as portrayed on the Comedy Central series The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, and occasionally on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS. Described as a "well-intentioned, poorly informed high-status idiot"[4] and a "self-important right-wing commentator",[5] the character incorporates aspects of the real Colbert's life and interests but is primarily a parody of cable news pundits, particularly former Fox News prime time host Bill O'Reilly.[6]

Colbert first appeared as a correspondent on Comedy Central's news parody series The Daily Show in 1997 and remained a regular contributor until 2005, when he left to host The Colbert Report, a spin-off show satirizing personality-driven political pundit programs. He has also been featured in a number of other public performances, most notably at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, and as the author of the books I Am America (And So Can You!), I Am a Pole (And So Can You!), and America Again: Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren't.

Colbert's performance attracted widespread critical attention and acclaim, with a reviewer writing for Time magazine calling it "one of the greatest sustained performances in pop culture, TV or otherwise,"[7] while a Vulture reporter called him "one of TV’s greatest characters."[8]

On April 23, 2014, the character appeared on The Daily Show to announce that he had clearly "won television" and would be ending The Colbert Report because he had met his goal. This came after the real Colbert announced he would not be using the character when he replaced David Letterman as the host of Late Show on CBS in 2015.[9] The final episode of The Colbert Report aired on December 18, 2014.[10]

The character has made a few media appearances following the conclusion of The Colbert Report. He made a cameo appearance in the House of Cards season three episode "Chapter 27", which was released on February 27, 2015. He returned for the August 6, 2015, episode of The Daily Show to honor Jon Stewart during his final episode as host of the series. He made an appearance on the July 18, 2016, episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to do a special segment of "The Wørd", during the show's coverage of the 2016 Republican National Convention.[11]

  1. ^ "The Colbert Report, November 14, 2014". Archived from the original on November 17, 2014. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  2. ^ "JANUARY 21, 2013 — TA-NEHISI COATES". Comedy Central. January 21, 2013. Archived from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  3. ^ Gregory, Rabia (September 17, 2016). Marrying Jesus in Medieval and Early Modern Northern Europe: Popular Culture and Religious Reform. Routledge. p. 335. ISBN 9781317100201.
  4. ^ Solomon, Deborah (September 25, 2005). "Funny About the News". New York Times Magazine. Retrieved November 13, 2007.
  5. ^ Apfelbaum, Evan (October 17, 2011). "Prof. Evan Apfelbaum: A blind pursuit of racial colorblindness — Research has implications for how companies manage multicultural teams". MIT Sloan Experts. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT. Archived from the original on April 26, 2012. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  6. ^ Steinberg, Jacques (October 12, 2005). "The News Is Funny, as a Correspondent Gets His Own Show". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved July 13, 2006.
  7. ^ Poniewozik, James (December 19, 2014). "Review: The Colbert Report Is Dead. Long Live Stephen Colbert!". Time. New York City. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  8. ^ Fox, Jesse David (December 18, 2014). "I'm Happy for Colbert, But Let's Be Clear: We're Losing One of TV's Greatest Characters". Vulture. New York City. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference LateShow was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "Sign Off - From Eternity - The Colbert Report". Comedy Central. December 18, 2014. Archived from the original on August 19, 2015. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  11. ^ Zuckerman, Esther (July 19, 2016). "Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart resurrect "Stephen Colbert" on The Late Show". The A.V. Club. Chicago, Illinois: Onion, Inc. Retrieved July 19, 2016.