STEPHEN COLBERT Biography - Other artists & entretainers

 
 

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STEPHEN COLBERT

Name: Stephen Colbert                                                                       
Birth name: Stephen Tyrone Colbert                                                         
Born: 13 May 1964 Washington, D.C., USA                                                     
                                                                                           
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.               
                                                                                           
Colbert originally studied to be an actor, but became interested in                         
improvisational theater when he met famed Second City director Del Close while             
attending Northwestern University. He first performed professionally as an                 
understudy for Steve Carell at Second City Chicago; among his troupe mates were             
comedians Paul Dinello and Amy Sedaris, with whom he developed the critically-acclaimed     
sketch comedy series Exit 57.                                                               
                                                                                           
Colbert also wrote and performed on the short-lived Dana Carvey Show before                 
collaborating with Sedaris and Dinello again on the cult television series                 
Strangers with Candy. He gained considerable attention for his role on the                 
latter as closeted, gay history teacher Chuck Noblet. It was his work as a                 
correspondent on Comedy Central's news-parody series The Daily Show, however,               
that first introduced him to a wide audience.                                               
                                                                                           
In 2005, he left The Daily Show to host a spin-off series, The Colbert Report.             
Following The Daily Show's news-parody concept, The Colbert Report styles itself           
as a parody of personality-driven political opinion shows such as Bill O'Reilly's           
The O'Reilly Factor. Since its debut, the series has been successful,                       
establishing itself as one of Comedy Central's highest-rated series, earning               
Colbert three Emmy nominations and an invitation to perform as featured                     
entertainer at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in 2006.                 
Colbert was named one of Time's 100 most influential people in 2006. His book,             
I Am America (And So Can You!) was No. 1 on The New York Times Bestseller List.