UPDATED with video of Colbert’s appearance: Viewers curious to know what Actual Stephen Colbert is like, and what might his upcoming CBS late-night show be, got a good look Tuesday when the Comedy Central star made his first visit to David Letterman‘s Late Show since being named as his replacement. After telling Dave he’d been offered a gig with Dave’s old NBC show but turned it down because it was an unpaid internship — “It’s an expensive city,” Colbert explained. “The next job I’m taking here, that pays? Cause I’ve already signed” — Dave asked Colbert if he vacations well:
Tonight, Dave welcomes the new guy, Stephen Colbert (@StephenAtHome)! http://t.co/uXdj46fkYv #LSDL pic.twitter.com/oNXXAwuc1v
— Letterman (@Letterman) April 22, 2014
Years after he turned down the internship, Colbert tried to get a job writing on Dave’s show, but he landed a job elsewhere before Letterman’s camp came calling. Colbert actually brought along the Top 10 list he’d created back then — yes, he saved it — to apply for the gig: Top 10 Cocktails For Santa:
Related: CBS’ Late-Night Drama Not Over Despite Stephen Colbert Hire
Meanwhile, conservative media figures continue to tag along on this story — with FNC’s Bill O’Reilly closing out Monday’s The O’Reilly Factor telecast with commentary on his own earlier commentary about CBS having named Colbert to replace Dave. O’Reilly said he was amused the “liberal press” is upset that he’s “being mean to Colbert.” (Before O’Reilly knew Colbert would be named Letterman’s successor, he’d called Colbert a left-wing “deceiver” who does “damage because he gives cover to powerful people who are selling Americans a big lie that this country is bad” — this in response to a Colbert Report bit poking fun at O’Reilly for saying President Obama‘s focus on “equality” was an “opium-laced dream.”)
Related: Jon Stewart Kvells Over Stephen Colbert’s Move To CBS (Video)
O’Reilly on Monday said that while Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart may be a “communist sympathizer,” at least he mocks both sides of the political spectrum — but Colbert has “made a living exclusively satirizing the right.” O’Reilly warned that means he’s alienating about 40% of the country’s population who identify themselves as conservatives. You and I know that means 60% don’t identify themselves as conservatives, but O’Reilly speculated 60% isn’t a big enough audience to beat the two Jimmys — Fallon on NBC and Kimmel on ABC. “Colbert will have to be better than those guys to compete well in the ratings,” O’Reilly forecast. Watch here:
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