# Stephen Colbert's childhood **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 26, 2005, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colberts-childhood/323436 "2005-09-26T03:40:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colberts-childhood/323436/1 "2005-09-26T03:40:05Z")
In this week’s _New York Times Magazine_ there’s [an interview with Stephen Colbert](http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/25/magazine/25questions.html). Towards the bottom it mentions > [@](#): > > Q: Then how did you ever develop a sense of humor? > > A: Freud claimed that people don’t develop a sense of humor until their sense of childhood happiness has vanished. I think comedians are in some way damaged. > > Q: How are you damaged? > > Q:[Long pause.] I lost several members of my family when I was a child. My father and two of my brothers, the next two up from me. I was 10 years old, and the three of them died in an airplane crash. It was pretty bad. Largely because of his work, I really can’t tell whether or not he’s making this up. Did this really happen, or is he (_very_ darkly) joking? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colberts-childhood/323436/2 "2005-09-26T03:48:49Z")
He didn’t tell me that when I interviewed him, but he also said nothing that contradicts that statement. Based on that, the context, and this… > [@](#): > > Q:I’m so sorry. I had no idea. > A: I don’t generally talk about it. I don’t think he’s kidding at all. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colberts-childhood/323436/3 "2005-09-26T03:51:13Z")
Based on how it reads, he comes off as quite sober during the interview. I don’t think he was kidding. ---
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colberts-childhood/323436/4 "2005-09-26T15:29:58Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > He didn’t tell me that when I interviewed him, but he also said nothing that contradicts that statement. Based on that, the context, and this… > > I don’t think he’s kidding at all. Yeah, that does sound like it bolsters the “he’s serious” case, but then again I can easily see that being what he’d say if this were a bit on the show. He’s just so damned deadpan that I can’t tell when he’s _really_ being serious. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colberts-childhood/323436/5 "2005-09-26T15:47:42Z")
It probably wouldn’t be that hard to check if three people named Colbert were killed in a plane crash about 25-30 years ago, would it? ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colberts-childhood/323436/6 "2005-09-26T16:14:00Z")
Where is Stephen Colbert from, originally? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colberts-childhood/323436/7 "2005-09-26T17:20:13Z")
[Wiki sez it’s true.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Colbert) > [@](#): > > Stephen Colbert … born on May 13, 1964 in Charleston, SC…Colbert was raised in a Catholic family. At an early age, his father, who was a doctor, and two of his older brothers died in a plane crash. Probably have to go to Nexis to find Charleston, SC news stories from the late Sixties, though. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colberts-childhood/323436/8 "2005-09-26T18:44:09Z")
That tidbit was only added to the Wikipedia [yesterday](http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stephen_Colbert&diff=24042134&oldid=23888905), so it was likely sourced from the OP’s article. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colberts-childhood/323436/9 "2005-09-26T21:11:34Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > [Wiki sez it’s true.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Colbert)Probably have to go to Nexis to find Charleston, SC news stories from the late Sixties, though. It’s not on Wiki now. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colberts-childhood/323436/10 "2005-09-26T21:20:51Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > Where is Stephen Colbert from, originally? Despite what Wikipedia says, he was actually born in DC and grew up in Charleston. ---
**Author:** ![jimmmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colberts-childhood/323436/11 "2005-09-26T21:35:37Z")
In [this](http://www.jerriblank.com/colbert_filmforce.html) Interview - he seems to indicate “parents” who were forces beyond 10 years old * * * IGNFF: So, would you say that your parents pushed you in any one direction, or they were just hoping that you would find a direction? COLBERT: No, they were just hoping that I would find a direction. Just very supportive of what I eventually decided to try to do. But would have been perfectly happy if I had been lawyer or been a potter. IGNFF: Just something productive? ## COLBERT: Just something that could pay the rent. There is a 40 minute [Interview (audio)](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4464017) with him on NPR’s Fresh Air that might shed some light … I agree the Times seems serious tho. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colberts-childhood/323436/12 "2005-09-26T21:36:06Z")
**ShibbOleth** suggested to check if such an accident could have occurred, and that part’s easy. The NTSB has an [online databse](http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/query.asp) which lists every aviation accident since 1962. Since Colbert says this happened when he was 10, and we know his birthdate, we can pull up a list of fatal air accidents between his 10th and 11th birthday. My search turned up 745 during the period in question, 178 of which had at least 3 fatalaties (the article quotes Colbert as saying his father and two siblings were killed). Of those, one of departed from Charleston, SC, which previous posters have said is where he grew up. An Eastern Airlines flight from Charleston, SC to Charlotte, NC crashed during final approach on 9/11/1974, with 72 fatalities. Here’s [a link](http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=87041&key=0#) to the NTSB summary report. Here’s a link to the full report, [a 36-page PDF](http://amelia.db.erau.edu/reports/ntsb/aar/AAR75-09.pdf). ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colberts-childhood/323436/13 "2005-09-26T21:38:45Z")
> [@Mathochist](#): > > Yeah, that does sound like it bolsters the “he’s serious” case, but then again I can easily see that being what he’d say if this were a bit on the show. He’s just so damned deadpan that I can’t tell when he’s _really_ being serious. I know what you mean. But it’s just not funny, and if he was kidding, I don’t think he’d _miss_ like that. If I was making a joke like that, after the interviewer said “I’m sorry,” I’d have made another joke (“it’s okay, I didn’t like them” or “it was fine, more Christmas presents for me”)- that’d be the only way to make that funny. As I remember it, Stephen’s father was a University Dean. (I forget at which university, if he told me.) I Googled a bit and found that there is a James W. Colbert Distinguished Lecture Series connected to the Medical University of South Carolina. One of the hits contained the comment “The lecture is part of the James W. Colbert Jr. Distinguished University Lecture series honoring the late Dr. Colbert who served as vice president for academic affairs at the Medical University prior to his death in 1974.” Stephen was 10 in 1974. I think we can conclude this is true. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colberts-childhood/323436/14 "2005-09-26T21:52:43Z")
Ok. **Marley’s** info about his father was the final picee of the puzzle. A Proquest search turns up an obituary for James Colbert in the Washington Post on 9/15/1974. It reads: > [@](#): > > Dr. James Colbert, Jr, 53, vice president for academic affairs at the Medical University of South Carolina… died with two of his sons Wednesday in the Eastern Airlines jet crash near Charlotte, NC. Dr. Colbert, who lived in Charleston, was en route to Connecticut to enroll his sons Peter, 15, and Paul, 18, in the Canterbury Preparatory School. > …\… > Dr. Colbert is survived by his wofe, Lorna, and nine children. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colberts-childhood/323436/15 "2005-09-26T21:54:34Z")
Nice research. 11 kids? Wow. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colberts-childhood/323436/16 "2005-09-26T22:05:38Z")
The Colbert Report. Its French, Bitch! ---
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colberts-childhood/323436/17 "2005-09-27T00:40:09Z")
> [@anson2995](#): > > Ok. **Marley’s** info about his father was the final picee of the puzzle. A Proquest search turns up an obituary for James Colbert in the Washington Post on 9/15/1974. It reads: Yeah, that’s too much lining up to not be true, unless Colbert’s basically been faking his bios to set up this joke for use. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colberts-childhood/323436/18 "2005-09-27T03:10:14Z")
[Here’s more info from planecrashinfo.com.](http://www.planecrashinfo.com/1974/1974-41.htm) Seems it was totally due to flight crew error. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colberts-childhood/323436/19 "2005-09-27T03:16:51Z")
> [@Web site](#): > > The aircraft flew too low and struck trees 3.3 miles short of the runway during an approach in fog. Flightcrew’s lack of altitude awareness at critical points during the approach due to poor cockpit discipline in that the crew did not follow prescribed procedures. The crewmembers were preoccupied with conversations having nothing to do with the operating the aircraft while conducting an instrument approach. The aircraft was 50 knots too fast and 500 feet below the final approach fix. That’s beyond awful. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colberts-childhood/323436/20 "2005-09-27T06:23:27Z")
> [@Web Site](#): > > The crewmembers were preoccupied with conversations having nothing to do with the operating the aircraft while conducting an instrument approach. Would it be in bad taste for me to suggest that the crew of that plane sound like they would make excellent Dopers? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stephen-colberts-childhood/323436.md?page=2)