Stephen Colbert’s wife praises him for still making fans laugh while ‘we’ve all been on the verge of tears’ and says The Late Show host has become TV’s ‘grief counselor’
The Late Show host Stephen Colbert’s wife of 28 years – Evelyn ‘Evie’ McGee – praised him for still making fans laugh while ‘we’ve all been on the verge of tears’ – calling him TV’s ‘grief counselor.’
‘The hard part of it is, he’s trying to make people laugh. It’s a comedy show, but he’s always been an emotional person,’ the 58-year-old daughter of politician Joseph McGee explained in the spring men’s fashion edition of WSJ. Magazine, which hits newsstands March 12.
‘We’ve all been on the verge of tears, frankly, a lot. I kind of feel sometimes that Stephen has become a grief counselor for people in real time on television. He didn’t seek that task out, and it’s hard. But that, I think, is his act of love.’
TV’s ‘grief counselor’: The Late Show host Stephen Colbert’s wife of 28 years – Evelyn ‘Evie’ McGee – praised him for still making fans laugh while ‘we’ve all been on the verge of tears’ (pictured in 2019)
The D.C.-born, South Carolina-raised 57-year-old discussed his unexpected transformation from a macho political satirist on Comedy Central to TV’s favorite soulful grief counselor on CBS.
‘We often realize we love something as we’re losing it,’ Stephen told the mag.
‘Many things were lost in the last five years: standards, morals, a shared reality, a shared civic engagement, a lot of friends. And Covid, of course, gave it all a special, piquant little zazz.’
Many have related to Colbert due to the unbearable losses in his family – his father James and two brothers Peter and Paul died in a 1974 plane crash followed by the 2013 death of his mother Lorna at age 92.
The 58-year-old daughter of politician Joseph McGee told WSJ. Magazine: ‘The hard part of it is, he’s trying to make people laugh. It’s a comedy show, but he’s always been an emotional person. We’ve all been on the verge of tears, frankly, a lot’
Evie continued: ‘I kind of feel sometimes that Stephen has become a grief counselor for people in real time on television. He didn’t seek that task out, and it’s hard. But that, I think, is his act of love’ (pictured June 14)
Man of faith: The D.C.-born, South Carolina-raised 57-year-old discussed his unexpected transformation from a macho political satirist on Comedy Central to TV’s favorite soulful grief counselor on CBS
Stephen told the mag: ‘Many things were lost in the last five years: standards, morals, a shared reality, a shared civic engagement, a lot of friends. And Covid, of course, gave it all a special, piquant little zazz’
For instance, two-time Oscar nominee Andrew Garfield felt comfortable enough with The Daily Show alum on the November 22nd episode of Late Show to discuss the 2019 death of his mother Lynn from pancreatic cancer.
‘The openness and ownership that he has with seemingly culturally taboo subjects, such as grief, allows his guests permission to be in contact and reveal those aspects of their own selves and experiences,’ the 38-year-old Englishman wrote in an email.
‘In turn, the audience gets to have a genuine, deep, and connected experience. So the show feels like an act of service to people. I think Stephen would have made a great priest.’
Stephen had originally envisioned that his time in the late night talk show circuit would be sillier but it ultimately ‘did not match the moment we became part of.’
‘We often realize we love something as we’re losing it’: Many have related to Colbert due to the unbearable losses in his family – his father James and two brothers Peter and Paul died in a 1974 plane crash followed by the 2013 death of his mother Lorna at age 92
‘I think Stephen would have made a great priest’: For instance, two-time Oscar nominee Andrew Garfield (L) felt comfortable enough with The Daily Show alum on the November 22nd episode of Late Show to discuss the 2019 death of his mother Lynn
The 38-year-old Englishman (pictured Sunday) said: ‘The openness and ownership that he has with seemingly culturally taboo subjects, such as grief, allows his guests permission to be in contact and reveal those aspects of their own selves and experiences. In turn, the audience gets to have a genuine, deep, and connected experience. So the show feels like an act of service to people’
‘I thought I could lay down my sword and shield down by the riverside, because that’s the part of the old gig I didn’t particularly like – anybody thinking, “Hey, what you do is important!”‘ Colbert said.
‘Because that is antithetical to being as silly as you possibly can, and I really love being dumb.’
Instead, the 10-time Emmy winner’s talk show has become more about love, which he admitted ‘sounds a little pretentious.’
Quoting the poet E.E. Cummings – whose father was also killed in a crash – Stephen said: ‘”Love is the every only god / who spoke this earth so glad and big.” So, why would you talk about anything else?’
‘I really love being dumb’: Stephen had originally envisioned that his time in the late night talk show circuit would be sillier but it ultimately ‘did not match the moment we became part of’ (pictured February 25)
‘Why would you talk about anything else?’ Instead, Colbert’s talk show has become more about love, which he admitted ‘sounds a little pretentious’ (pictured February 22)
‘I know that it’s hard for him’: The Late Show bandleader Jon Batiste (R, pictured February 1) revealed that the 10-time Emmy winner feels a bit burdened by his newfound title of ‘light bearer in a dark time’
The Late Show bandleader Jon Batiste revealed that Colbert feels a bit burdened by his newfound title of ‘light bearer in a dark time.’
‘I know that it’s hard for him, so we have a lot of private moments where it just naturally goes to that place,’ the 35-year-old Oscar-winning composer told the mag.
‘Because my role on the show is to really bring that sense of vibrance and uplift.’
The 35-year-old Oscar-winning composer (pictured June 14) told the mag: ‘We have a lot of private moments where it just naturally goes to that place, because my role on the show is to really bring that sense of vibrance and uplift’
Dapper: Stephen glammed up for the spread with help from stylist Antoni Axereas, hairstylist Jenna Robinson, and make-up artist Jesse Lindholm
‘After the State of the Union!’ On Tuesday, Colbert will feature Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and musical guest Big Thief on The Late Show
And with all the gaslighting going on in the deeply divided political sphere, the two-time Grammy winner – who coined the term ‘truthiness’ – said he’s ‘here to say every night that you’re not crazy. It’s crazy to say you’re crazy.’
Stephen glammed up for the spread with help from stylist Antoni Axereas, hairstylist Jenna Robinson, and make-up artist Jesse Lindholm.
Following President Joe Biden’s State of the Union on Tuesday, Colbert will feature Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and musical guest Big Thief on The Late Show.
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