Why He's No. 16

Stephen Colbert is the Emmy Award-winning host of The Colbert Report, America’s leading source for satirical right-wing journalism. Prior to landing his very own eponymous program, Stephen Colbert was a senior correspondent on The Daily Show and he served as a cocreator, writer and star of the cult comedy hits, Strangers with Candy and Exit 57.

Back Stage

Stephen Tyrone Colbert (born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, satirist, actor and writer known for his ironic style, particularly in his portrayal of uninformed opinion leaders and deadpan comedic delivery. Strangers with Candy was conceived of as a parody of after school specials, following the life of Jerri Blank, a 46-year-old dropout who returns to finish high school after 32 years of life on the street. Most noted by critics for its use of offensive humor, it concluded each episode by delivering to the audience a skewed, politically incorrect moral lesson.



Colbert served as a main writer alongside Sedaris and Dinello, as well as portraying Jerri's strict but uninformed history teacher, Chuck Noblet, seen throughout the series dispensing inaccurate information to his classes. Colbert has likened this to the character he played on The Daily Show and later The Colbert Report, claiming that he has a very specific niche in portraying "poorly informed, high-status idiot" characters. Another running joke throughout the series was that Noblet, a closeted homosexual, was having a "secret" affair with fellow teacher Geoffrey Jellineck despite the fact that their relationship was apparent to everyone around them. This obliviousness also appears in Colbert's Daily Show and Colbert Report character. Thirty episodes of the series were made, which aired on Comedy Central in 1999 and 2000. Though its ratings were not remarkable during its initial run, it has been characterized as a cult show with a small but dedicated audience. Colbert reprised his role for a film adaptation, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2005 and had a limited release in 2006. The film received mixed reviews. Colbert also co-wrote the screenplay with Sedaris and Dinello.



Colbert appeared in a small supporting role in the 2005 film adaptation of Bewitched. He has made guest appearances on the television series Curb Your Enthusiasm, Spin City, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and on the improvisational comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway?. He voiced the characters of Reducto and Phil Ken Sebben in the Adult Swim's Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law but was forced to leave the show in 2005 to work on The Colbert Report. His characters were both killed, though he returned to voice Phil for the series finale. Colbert also has provided voices for Cartoon Network's The Venture Bros., Comedy Central's Crank Yankers, and American Dad!, as well as for Canadian animated comedy series The Wrong Coast. He appeared as Homer Simpson's life coach in the Simpsons episode "He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs".



Colbert filled in for Sam Seder on the second episode of The Majority Report on Air America Radio, and has also done reports for The Al Franken Show. He performed the opening narration of the play Hedwig and the Angry Inch on a CD compilation of music from and inspired by the play and film. Colbert read the part of Leopold Bloom in Bloomsday on Broadway XXIV: Love Literature Language Lust: Leopold's Women Bloom on June 16, 2005 at Symphony Space in New York City. He appeared in a series of TV commercials for General Motors, as a not-too-bright investigator searching for the elusive (and non-existent in real life) "Mr. Goodwrench." He also portrayed the letter Z in Sesame Street: All-Star Alphabet, a 2005 video release. On October 14, 2007, Stephen wrote Maureen Dowd's column in the New York Times, where, among poking fun at Frank Rich and several presidential hopefuls, he stated he would run for president for the sum of 15 million dollars. Republican White House hopefuls have been debating who among them is a real Republican.



That's a debate where Colbert can definitely distinguish himself from the rest -- he is totally unquestionably fake. Colbert was the recipient of three Emmy Awards as a writer for The Daily Show in 2004, 2005, and 2006, along with the rest of the Daily Show writers. He was also nominated for three Emmys for The Colbert Report in 2006, including "Best Performance in a Variety, Musical Program or Special," which he lost to Barry Manilow. Manilow and Colbert would go on to jokingly sign and notarize a revolving biannual "custody agreement" for the Emmy on the Colbert Report episode aired on October 30, 2006. He lost the same category to Tony Bennett at the 2007 Emmys. In 2005 and 2006 Colbert was nominated for Satellite Awards for his performance on The Colbert Report. He was also nominated by the Television Critics Association for a TCA Award for The Colbert Report in 2006. Colbert received two Peabody Awards for his work on The Daily Show: Indecision 2000 and Indecision 2004.Stephen Colbert announces that the night's "Word" is truthiness in the premiere episode of The Colbert Report.

Forcaste

Stephen Colbert first performance was at Annoyance Theatre in Chicago and after he went to The Second City improvisational theatre where he worked for a brief period. After leaving The Second City Colbert moved to New York where he worked on "Exit 57", a sketch comedy show. After two years the show was canceled and he started working for "The Dana Carvey Show" as a cast member.