Stephen Colbert, who posed as an egotistical conservative on 'The Colbert Report', is nothing like that in real life. Watson writes, "Off camera, the loud-mouthed self-promoter turns into a gentle polite father of three, a staunch Catholic and Sunday School teacher.....and a major comedic artist whose career has been as finely tuned as his jokes."
In this slender book Watson briefly traces Colbert's journey from his boyhood in South Carolina to television stardom.
Colbert was the youngest of eleven children in a loving intellectual family. Stephen's father James was a doctor; his mother Lorna was a devoted matriarch; and his siblings were fast-talking, funny, and fun.
Little Stephen Colbert
James and Lorna Colbert and their children
James Colbert reading to his children
The family moved all around for Dr. Colbert's career before settling in South Carolina for good. Encouraged to be adventurous, young Stephen enjoyed fishing and thought of being a marine biologist.
Then in 1974 tragedy struck. Stephen's father and two older brothers were killed in a plane accident and Stephen was devastated. He found his escape in books, playing Dungeons and Dragons, and acting in school plays.
Stephen Colbert in middle school
Stephen was very active in high school clubs, and one teacher remembers him as being brilliant, a little naughty, and super-charged with energy - in essence, an early version of the Stephen Colbert on television today.
Stephen Colbert in high school
Stephen Colbert's page in his high school yearbook
Stephen went to the ultra-conservative, all-male Hampton-Sydney College in Virginia, a stilted institution that "gave Colbert insight into the mainstream American values he now so sarcastically champions." Stephen didn't like the school but found an outlet by appearing in plays. At this point, Stephen planned to become a serious actor.
In junior year Colbert transferred to Northwestern University in Illinois, where a train-ride took him to Chicago and its many improv clubs. This is when Stephen Colbert changed the pronunciation of his name from Col-burt to Col-bear. He also lived in a co-ed dorm, broadened his horizons, and began his career as a comic.
Stephen Colbert liked comedy clubs
Stephen Colbert broadened his horizons
Watson writes about Stephen's early career and people he worked with, like Amy Sedaris, Paul Dinello, and Steve Carell.
Stephen Colbert, Amy Sedaris, and Paul Dinello
Stephen Colbert, Amy Sedaris, and Paul Dinello
Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell
Colbert struggled with hard times before he became successful, but eventually joined the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and then became host of The Colbert Report.
Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart
Stephen Colbert on The Colbert Report
The author describes some of Colbert's funny segments, which are classic and hilarious. For example, Colbert coined the term truthiness and got it into the dictionary; showed fans how to revise Wikipedia with their own 'truth'; tried to get a bridge named after him in Hungary; skewered politicians on Better Know a District; debated inane subjects with Steve Carell on Even Steven bits; ran for President; and much much more. (Colbert now hosts The Late Show, but that's not covered in this book.)
In Colbert's private life he wooed and married Evelyn McGee and they have three children. Colbert is a devoted husband and father, and makes sure to re-orient to domestic mode while driving home from his television shows.
Stephen Colbert and his wife Evelyn
Stephen Colbert with his wife and children
Colbert's good nature, open mind, and immense talent make him popular with colleagues, employees, and the public. I watched the 'The Best of the Colbert Report' and laughed through the whole thing. Thank you for being a balm in hard times Stephen Colbert.
Rating: 4 stars
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