Growing Up Laughing_ My Story and the Story of Funny - Marlo Thomas [52]
Chapter 27
Twenty Questions for Stephen Colbert
Of all the comedians I grew up with, there isn’t one who reminds me of Stephen Colbert. He’s from another planet of comedy. Maybe that’s why he had his DNA shot into space.
In 2005, Colbert launched his late-night talk show, The Colbert Report, after a winning run on The Daily Show, starring his friend Jon Stewart. Within three years, Colbert’s character—an audacious, politically incorrect loudmouth—had run for president (in a campaign sponsored by Doritos), visited troops in Iraq (shaving his head on the air) and coined a word—“truthiness”—which serious journalists began using in their columns. He also began wearing a consciousness-raising bracelet in honor of his wrist, which he broke while cavorting around the stage.
Not since Archie Bunker has there been a character that we so strongly disagree with—but laugh at anyway. And when he’s out of character? The guy is wickedly smart . . .
—M.T.
Q1 You are so edgy-funny. And really fearless. Where did that come from?
I think it came from my mother. She would always say things like “In the light of eternity, none of this really matters.” If anything bothered you or embarrassed you, if you suffered in any way, she’d say, “It’s another jewel in your crown. Offer it up.”
Q2 Oh, that is so funny. So Catholic. Are you surprised that you’ve become such a serious force?
I do not accept this “serious force” stuff . . .
Q3 Journalists constantly credit you with being a driving force in our popular and political culture. I’d call that serious.
Look, Marlo, I just wanted to make it to Christmas. We went on the air in October 2005, and got a 32-show buy. I told my producers, “Don’t buy any nice furniture. Don’t get me a desk—I’ll just use that steel thing in the corner. Because we’re not going to be here at Christmastime.” And you know what? I’m still working on that idea—that by Christmas, we’re all going to be looking for work.
Q4 When I first saw The Colbert Report, I thought, Wow, this is hilarious—but it’s a three-week show. He’ll never be able to sustain this character.
That’s what my wife said! The thing about my character is, he is never wrong. What is factually accurate does not matter to him. What matters is how things feel. So in that way, my character is a little bit Zeitgeisty. He’s all about what is valued and devalued in the country. Americans don’t really value intellectualism. They value feeling over thinking. They’d rather feel things are the way they want them to be than examine the way they should be. And that aggressive, self-preservative ignorance is what my character is based upon. I have described him as—and the order of this is fairly important—a well-intentioned, poorly informed, high-status idiot.
Q5 What cracks you up personally?
I’m pretty omnivorous when it comes to that. I like all kinds of different things. When I was a kid, I loved Phil Silvers. And I really loved Steve Martin. I never did stand-up, so I don’t necessarily have performance joke structure in my head. What I like is behavior. I learned to do comedy through character behavior in Second City. And that’s what really appeals to me. I also like relationship humor, and I think my show has that—my relationship is with the audience. And with my guests.
Q6 I read that you once did a television show where the sponsors pulled out after one episode. True?
Yes, it was a sketch show starring Dana Carvey. I’d done television before that, but this was my big break. It was back in 1996, and at the time, the number one shows on TV were Home Improvement, with Tim Allen, and Seinfeld. They’d trade off week-to-week in the number one slot. We came on right after Home Improvement and had a 13-show guarantee.
In the very first show, Dana Carvey does an impression of Bill Clinton, talking about how he’s going to get rid of Hillary because she’s such a burden, and he’ll be both father and mother to the nation