‘Exit 57’ (1995)
Colbert developed the sketch comedy Exit 57, which lasted a total of 12 episodes on Comedy Central in 1995-96, with fellow Second City Chicago troupe mates Paul Dinello and Amy Sedaris.
Colbert developed the sketch comedy Exit 57, which lasted a total of 12 episodes on Comedy Central in 1995-96, with fellow Second City Chicago troupe mates Paul Dinello and Amy Sedaris.
Colbert had a brief stint as a freelance writer for Saturday Night Live, during which time he voiced the character Ace (alongside Steve Carell, who voiced his partner, Gary) on The Ambigously Gay Duo. The animated comedy sketch about two superheroes whose sexual orientation is a matter of dispute debuted on The Dana Carvey Show but eventually found its home on SNL.
In The Daily Show's second season, Colbert joined as one of four correspondents who filmed segments from remote locations. He later served as a replacement anchor in the absence of Jon Stewart and nabbed three Emmys for his writing on the show.
Also with Sedaris and Dinello, Colbert developed the comedy series Strangers With Candy, a parody of after-school specials. Comedy Central picked up the show in 1998 and aired 30 episodes.
Beginning in 2001, Colbert voiced the characters of Reducto and Phil Ken Sebben in Adult Swim's Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law. When he left the show in 2005 to work on The Colbert Report, both of his characters were killed. He did, however, return to voice Phil for the series finale.
Colbert began hosting his own television show, a Daily Show spinoff that satirizes television news broadcasting, on Oct. 17, 2005. He plays a right-wing pundit, similar to Bill O'Reilly or Glenn Beck.
As the the featured entertainer for the White House Correspondents' Dinner on April 29, 2006, he took shots at the Bush Administration and the White House press corps. He joked about former president George W. Bush: "I stand by this man. I stand by this man because he stands for things. Not only for things, he stands on things. Things like aircraft carriers and rubble and recently flooded city squares. And that sends a strong message, that no matter what happens to America, she will always rebound — with the most powerfully staged photo ops in the world."
Released on Oct. 7, 2007, Colbert's book I Am America (And So Can You!) was No. 1 on The New York Times best-seller list. Unlike his show, the political satire was written mainly by Colbert, without much collaboration with the Colbert Report writing staff.
On Oct. 16, 2007, Colbert made a faux bid for the White House, intending to run both on the Republican and Democratic platforms. "After nearly 15 minutes of soul-searching, I have heard the call. I am hereby declaring that I will enter the presidential primary in my native South Carolina, running as a favorite son," Colbert said on his show.