A Closer Look At Stephen Colbert's First Step Into The Spotlight
BOSTON (CBS) - Before he arrived at the Ed Sullivan Theater to take on the "The Late Show," and before he took on the pompous conservative character as host of "The Colbert Report," Stephen Colbert mastered the art of improv on the famous Second City stage in Chicago.
And he may have his Northwestern College roommate, Anne Libera, to thank for kick-starting his career. Libera, who was working at Second City back in the late 80's and is now the Director of Comedy Studies, remembers making the job offer, "I said 'why don't you come work for me?' You'll make more money than you're making, making futon frames."
Colbert began selling tickets at the Second City box office and soon theater-goers were buying those tickets to see Colbert on stage with fellow comics like Steve Carrell and Amy Sedaris. "He brought his intelligence and quirkiness, you know, to everything he did," says former colleague and current Executive Producer at Second City, Andrew Alexander. "He was a real ensemble player. He was one of those people that really supported his fellow actor," explains Alexander.
But comedy was not always Colbert's calling, "When he first started at Northwestern... he was going to be an actor. He was going to do Hamlet and he was going to do Greek tragedy," explains Libera. Fortunately for his fans Colbert chose a different path of making us laugh with his quick wit and intellectual curiosity. "He's one of the most brilliant talkers I've ever met in my life," says Libera.
"Everyone who works with Stephen has said that the thing about Stephen is that he makes the whole greater than the sum of the parts," says Libera. And his Second City family is excited for what's ahead for The Late Show, "he's a breath of fresh air," says Alexander. "He's the guy you want to watch," adds Libera, "he improvises, not just with the people he's on stage with, but he improvises with everybody who's in the audience which is going to make his show something that you are going to want to see."
