My family and I have been recording and watching Stephen Colbert for years, beginning with his years as a correspondent on The Daily Show, followed by his entire run on The Colbert Report and his current gig as host of The Late Show, which is having its final shows this week. While CBS said that it was for financial reasons, the perception is that it was really the result of Stephen’s jokes about Trump, especially as CBS’s parent company was negotiating a sale that needed administration approval.
My occasional blog series, JC’s Confessions, was inspired by Stephen’s Midnight Confessions from his early years at The Late Show, which was followed by a book.
Another long-running feature was Stephen asking his famous guests to answer the Colbert Questionnaire, which was supposed to reveal their inner selves and be “fully known.” In homage to Stephen and his talented writing team, I, a distinctly non-famous person, will share and answer the Colbert Questionnaire.
1. What’s the best sandwich?
Grilled cheese, made with Cabot cheddar cheese (which is white, not the bizarre orange that some cheddars are) on homemade white bread
2. What’s one thing you own that you really should throw out?
Deteriorating sheet music that I inherited from a friend of my family when I was a child
3. What is the scariest animal?
A violent person with a gun
4. Apples or oranges?
Apples, because, as Stephen often notes, you can’t put peanut butter on an orange. Also, for me and my delicate constitution, oranges are too acidic.
5. Have you ever asked someone for their autograph?
Lots of someones, as I often ask poets to sign their books for me
6. What do you think happens when we die?
I think that our soul, which can also be understood as our consciousness, continues to exist as energy. This allows us to reunite with loved ones who have passed away and to live eternally within Divine Love, which is my interpretation of heaven.
7. Favorite action movie? The Incredibles, because it gives action without blood and gore.
8. Favorite smell?
fresh-baked bread
9. Least favorite smell?
ammonia
10. Exercise: worth it?
Personally, no, except for physical therapy. One of the things that I’ve learned about my brain and body is that I don’t really get endorphin rush from exercise. I just get even more tired and, if I push too hard, will wind up needing a day or more of minimal activity or even bedrest to recover. My version of dealing with the chronic fatigue that can come with hEDS.
11. Flat or sparkling?
Flat, because my system doesn’t do well with bubbles.
12. Most used app on your phone?
Text. I use my phone as little as possible.
13. You get one song to listen to for the rest of your life: what is it?
“Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen” from Mahler’s Rückert Lieder with mezzo-soprano Janet Baker.
14. What number am I thinking of?
Of course, I can’t answer this in Stephen’s absence, but my choice would, of course, be wrong.
15. Describe the rest of your life in 5 words.
Family – Love – Creativity – Service – Thinking
I don’t know if anyone will think that my answers make me “fully known” or not, but I do love that phrase because it appears in one of my favorite Bible passages, 1 Corinithians 13. Like Stephen, I am a Catholic and I wonder if that passage was in his mind when they decided to use that term in the Colbert Questionnaire. I find it a comforting concept because so many problems in life seem to stem from misunderstanding among individuals and groups.
I know that Stephen is not retiring so we will hear more from him in whatever creative vehicles he chooses. I will miss, though, hearing from him on a regular basis.
Thank you, Stephen, for all the years of laughter and insight. I hope you get a chance to rest and rejuvenate and spend more time with family after all your hard work.
And, maybe, you should answer your own questionnaire, so you, too, are “fully known.”
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Joanne Corey 
Lovely tribute to his show.
My friend’s husband has worked on his crew since the beginning. It’s a hard loss on multiple levels.
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Thanks, Devon. Yes, it is so difficult for all the writers, crews, staff, musicians, and all the people who made the show possible. I think that Stephen was much more upset that the show was cancelled rather than just him not being renewed as host because he knew how many jobs would be lost. I hope that other shows will snap up the talented team members who worked so hard to bring us The Late Show over the years.
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Just after I wrote my comment, I was reading Robert Reich’s post about the end of The Late Show. He writes:
“When Colbert interviewed me last August about my latest book, CBS had just announced that his contract wouldn’t be renewed and that by late May the show would be off the air for good.
“A stagehand met me at the side door to the old Ed Sullivan Theater. As he led me to the greenroom, I asked him how everyone there was taking the news.
“Not well,” he said. After a pause he said, “We’re like a family here.”
“Some time later, Stephen came by the greenroom. I asked him how he was doing. “Oh, I’m fine,” he said. “I’ll find something else to do. But there are about a hundred people here who will be out of jobs, and frankly I’m worried about them.”
“They are like a family — Stephen Colbert, his executive producer, the segment producers and directors, showrunners, writers, cameramen, gaffers, grips, lighters, stagehands, custodians, musicians. Stephen has treated them like a family. His respect and concern for them is unusual in the business but consistent with the courtesy and kindness I discovered the first time I met him.”
Source: https://robertreich.substack.com/p/farewell-and-thank-you-stephen-colbert I know you don’t do Substack, Devon, but hope you don’t mind me quote from my email of the post.
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