Statement may refer to:

A kind of expression in language (linguistics)

Statement (logic), declarative sentence that is either true or false

Statement (programming), the smallest standalone element of an imperative programming language

"Statement" (song), 2008 song by the Japanese band Boris

''Statements'' (album), 1962 album by jazz vibraphonist Milt Jackson

Financial statements, formal records of the financial activities of a business, person, or other entity

Mathematical statement, a statement in logic and mathematics

Political statement, any act or nonverbal form of communication that is intended to influence a decision to be made for or by a group

Press statement, written or recorded communication directed at members of the news media

Statement of Special Educational Needs, outlining specific provision needed for a child in England

a paper size also known as organizer L or half letter

See also

Sentence (linguistics), words grouped meaningfully to express a statement, question, exclamation, request or command

Theme (music), a statement in music

de:Statement ckb:دەربڕین fi:Väittämä

Coordinates	28°36′36″N77°13′48″N
name	Wiz Khalifa
alt	Wiz Khalifa holding a microphone
background	solo_singer
birth name	Cameron Jibril Thomaz
alias
born	September 08, 1987Minot, North Dakota, United States
origin	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
genre	Hip hop
occupation	Rapper, Singer
years active	2005–present
label	Rostrum, Warner Bros., Atlantic
associated acts	Tinie Tempah, Snoop Dogg,Rick Ross, Curren$y, Big Sean, Fashawn, Mac Miller
website	wizkhalifa.com
notable instruments	}}

Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by the stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper. He released his debut album, ''Show and Prove'', in 2006, and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 2007. His eurodance-influenced single, "Say Yeah", received urban radio airplay, charting on the Rhythmic Top 40 and Hot Rap Tracks charts in 2008. Khalifa parted with Warner Bros. and released his second album, ''Deal or No Deal'', in November 2009. He released the mixtape ''Kush and Orange Juice'' as a free download in April 2010; he then signed with Atlantic Records. He is also well-known for his debut single for Atlantic, "Black and Yellow", which peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. His debut album for the label, ''Rolling Papers'', was released on March 29, 2011.

Early life

Khalifa was born on September 8, 1987 in Minot, North Dakota, to a mother and a father serving in the military. His parents divorced when Khalifa was about three years old. His parents' military service caused him to move on a regular basis. Khalifa lived in Germany, England, and Japan before settling in Pittsburgh where he attended Taylor Allderdice High School.

His stage name is derived from khalifa, an Arabic word meaning "successor", and wisdom, which was shortened to Wiz when Khalifa was fifteen. Khalifa stated to spinner.com that the name also came from being called "young Wiz 'cause I was good at everything I did, and my granddad is Muslim, so he gave me that name; he felt like that's what I was doing with my music." He got his stage name tattooed on his 17th birthday. He includes Camp Lo, The Notorious B.I.G. and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony among his influences.

Career

2005-08: Early mixtapes and ''Show and Prove''

Khalifa released his first mixtape, ''Prince of the City: Welcome to Pistolvania'', in 2005. The mixtape led to his first full length album entitled ''Show and Prove'' in 2006. Khalifa was declared an "artist to watch" that year in ''Rolling Stone'' magazine.

In 2007, Khalifa signed to Warner Bros. Records and released two mixtapes through Rostrum Records: ''Grow Season'', hosted by DJ Green Lantern and released on July 4, 2007, and ''Prince of the City 2'', released on November 20, 2007. His debut Warner Bros. single "Say Yeah" reached number 25 on the ''Billboard'' Rhythmic Top 40 music chart and number 20 on ''Billboard's'' Hot Rap Tracks. The song samples "Better Off Alone" by Alice Deejay. Khalifa's vocals from "Say Yeah" appear near the end of Pittsburgh mash up producer Girl Talk's 2008 album, ''Feed the Animals'', over music from Underworld's "Born Slippy", Usher's "Love in This Club", and the Cure's "In Between Days". Khalifa appeared with The Game, David Banner and Play-n-Skillz at U92's Summer Jam at the USANA Amphitheatre in West Valley City, Utah on August 2, 2008. Khalifa released the mixtapes ''Star Power'' in September 2008, and ''Flight School'' in April 2009 on Rostrum Records.

Khalifa parted ways with Warner Bros. Records in July 2009 after numerous delays in releasing his planned debut album for the label, ''First Flight''. Khalifa stated to the ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' that, "I learned a lot during my time there and matured as an artist during the process. I'm happy to be moving on with all of my material and having the chance to be in control of my next moves". Khalifa appeared with Girl Talk, Modey Lemon, Donora, Grand Buffet, and Don Caballero at the Amphitheatre at Station Square in Pittsburgh on July 31, 2009, where he announced that his relationship with Warner Bros. was over.

2009-10: ''Deal or No Deal''

Continuing his association with Rostrum Records, Khalifa released the single "Teach U to Fly", and the mixtape ''How Fly'', a collaboration with New Orleans rapper Curren$y, on August 9, 2009. Khalifa introduced a more melodic style on the mixtape, alternating between singing and rapping. He opened for Wu-Tang Clan member U-God at the 2009 CMJ Music Marathon in New York City. Khalifa released the mixtape ''Burn After Rolling'' on November 2, 2009, where he raps over familiar beats from other artists, including the songs "If I Were A Boy" and "Diva" by Beyoncé, "Walking on a Dream" by Empire of the Sun, "Luchini AKA This Is It" by Camp Lo, and "Best I Ever Had" by Drake. Khalifa released his second album, ''Deal or No Deal'', on November 24, 2009.

Khalifa performed at Emo's in Austin, Texas in March 2010 as part of the 2010 South by Southwest Music Festival. He appeared on the cover of ''XXL'' magazine that same month, for the magazine's annual list of Top 10 Freshman, which included Donnis, J. Cole, Pill, Freddie Gibbs, and Fashawn. Wiz Khalifa was named 2010 "Rookie Of The Year" by "The Source", with alongside Rick Ross, "The Man Of The Year". He toured with rapper Yelawolf on a 20-date tour, the Deal Or No Deal Tour. Khalifa released the free mixtape ''Kush and Orange Juice'' for download on April 14, 2010. Due to Khalifa's devoted grassroots fan base, the mixtape became the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter with the hash tag #kushandorangejuice, and "Kush and Orange Juice download” ranked No. 1 on Google’s hot search trends.

2010: Signing with Atlantic Records

Citing music industry insiders, ''New York'' magazine wrote that Khalifa signed with Atlantic Records in April 2010, although the rapper did not confirm it. He stated to AllHipHop in June 2010 that he was working on a new album, but was weighing his options and had not yet decided on a label to distribute it. Khalifa confirmed to MTV on July 30 that he was signing an Atlantic Records deal.

Khalifa was featured in a remix and video for the 2010 Rick Ross single "Super High", alongside Curren$y. He guested on the mixtape ''Grey Goose, Head Phones, and Thirsty Women '' by St. Louis rapper M.C, and was featured on the track "The Breeze (Cool)" on rapper Wale's August 2010 mixtape ''More About Nothing''. Khalifa was named MTV's Hottest Breakthrough MC of 2010, winning with nearly 70,000 votes, and beating out finalists Nicki Minaj, J. Cole, Travis Porter, and Diggy Simmons.

Khalifa appeared at the Soundset 2010 festival in May 2010 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, alongside Method Man & Redman, Del the Funky Homosapien and Hieroglyphics, Atmosphere, Murs, Cage, and others. He also performed at the 2010 Rock the Bells festival, along with hip hop veterans Wu-Tang Clan, Snoop Dogg, Lauryn Hill, A Tribe Called Quest, Rakim, KRS-One, Jedi Mind Tricks and Slick Rick. Khalifa declined an invitation to tour with rapper Drake and launched his own "Waken Baken" tour, a 50-city national tour with rapper Yelawolf. The tour, scheduled to last from September to November 2010, has, as of October, sold out every venue. On November 2010, during his "Waken Baken" tour at East Carolina University, Wiz Khalifa was arrested for possession and trafficking of marijuana. He was then released the next morning after a $300K bail, and resumed his tour. Khalifa performed in a cypher during the 2010 BET Hip-Hop Awards. He recited his verse from the song, "The Check Point", from his mixtape with Curren$y, ''How Fly''.

2010-11: Mainstream success and ''Rolling Papers''

Khalifa released "Black and Yellow", his first single for Rostrum/Atlantic, produced by Stargate, which has received radio airplay. The single was peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100; the title of the song refers to the colours of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Khalifa will release his debut album with Atlantic Records in 2011. He appeared with Curren$y on the track "Scaling the Building" on producer Ski Beatz' 2010 album, ''24 Hour Karate School''. Khalifa's fanbase is known as the Taylor Gang, named after his love of Chuck Taylor All-Stars shoes.

On March 29, 2011, Khalifa released his first studio album, ''Rolling Papers''. The album debuted at number two on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, with first-week sales of 197,000 copies in the United States.

On June 26, 2011, Khalifa was nominated and won Best New Artist at the BET Awards of 2011.

Khalifa collaborated with the prolific British rapper Tinie Tempah whom Tinie announced in an interview with Rolling Stone that his next single is to be called "Till I'm Gone" and would feature Wiz Khalifa and is to be produced by Stargate. The single and the video song were released at the end of June 2011.

Personal life

Thomaz is dating Amber Rose, the former girlfriend of Thomaz's fellow hip-hop star Kanye West. He is also personal friends with rapper Yelawolf, and fellow Pittsburgh rapper, Mac Miller.

Discography

;Studio albums

''Show and Prove'' (2006)

''Deal or No Deal'' (2009)

''Rolling Papers'' (2011)

References

External links

Wiz Khalifa at MTV

Category:1987 births Category:Military brats Category:African American rappers Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Category:People from Minot, North Dakota Category:Rappers from Pennsylvania

bs:Wiz Khalifa ca:Wiz khalifa cs:Wiz Khalifa da:Wiz Khalifa de:Wiz Khalifa es:Wiz Khalifa fa:ویز خلیفا fr:Wiz Khalifa hr:Wiz Khalifa it:Wiz Khalifa he:ויז קאליפה nl:Wiz Khalifa ja:ウィズ・カリファ no:Wiz Khalifa pl:Wiz Khalifa pt:Wiz Khalifa ro:Wiz Khalifa ru:Wiz Khalifa simple:Wiz Khalifa sh:Wiz Khalifa fi:Wiz Khalifa sv:Wiz Khalifa vi:Wiz Khalifa zh:维兹·卡利法

Coordinates	28°36′36″N77°13′48″N
name	Stephen Colbert
birth name	Stephen Tyrone Colbert
birth date	May 13, 1964
birth place	Washington, D.C., United States
medium	Theatre, television, film, books
religion	Roman Catholic
nationality	American
active	1984–present
genre	Sketch comedy, news satire, improvisational comedy, character comedy, political satire, observational comedy, blue comedy
subject	American culture, American politics, American conservatism, The Christian Right, political punditry, popular culture, current events, mass media/news media, egomania, xenophobia, anti-intellectualism, sexuality
influences	Don Novello, Bill Cosby, George Carlin, Dean Martin, Jon Stewart, Steve Martin Bill O'Reilly
influenced	Rob Corddry, Ed Helms, Aasif Mandvi
spouse	Evelyn McGee-Colbert (3 children)
notable work	Chuck Noblet in''Strangers with Candy''Stephen Colbert in''The Daily Show'' and''The Colbert Report''Writer,''I Am America (And So Can You!)''Co-writer,''America (The Book)''Phil Ken Sebben and Myron Reducto in ''Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law''Professor Richard Impossible in ''The Venture Bros.''
signature	Stephen Colbert Signature.svg
website	ColbertNation.com

}} Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( or ; born May 13, 1964) is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's ''The Colbert Report'', a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.

Colbert originally studied to be an actor, but became interested in improvisational theatre when he met famed Second City director Del Close while attending Northwestern University. He first performed professionally as an understudy for Steve Carell at Second City Chicago; among his troupe mates were comedians Paul Dinello and Amy Sedaris, with whom he developed the critically acclaimed sketch comedy series ''Exit 57''.

Colbert also wrote and performed on the short-lived ''Dana Carvey Show'' before collaborating with Sedaris and Dinello again on the cult television series ''Strangers with Candy''. He gained considerable attention for his role on the latter as closeted gay history teacher Chuck Noblet. It was his work as a correspondent on Comedy Central's news-parody series ''The Daily Show'', however, that first introduced him to a wide audience.

In 2005, he left ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'' to host a spin-off series, ''The Colbert Report''. Following ''The Daily Show's'' news-parody concept, ''The Colbert Report'' is a parody of personality-driven political opinion shows such as ''The O'Reilly Factor''. Since its debut, the series has established itself as one of Comedy Central's highest-rated series, earning Colbert three Emmy Award nominations and an invitation to perform as featured entertainer at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in 2006. Colbert was named one of ''Time's'' 100 most influential people in 2006. His book ''I Am America (And So Can You!)'' was No. 1 on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list.

Early life

Colbert was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Charleston, South Carolina, on James Island, the youngest of eleven children in an Irish Catholic family. Colbert and his siblings, in order from oldest to youngest, are James ("Jimmy"), Edward ("Eddie"), Mary, William ("Billy"), Margo, Thomas ("Tommy"), Jay, Elizabeth ("Lulu"), Paul, Peter, and Stephen.

Many of his ancestors immigrated to North America from Ireland in the 1800s before and during the Great Famine.

His father, James William Colbert, Jr., was the vice president for academic affairs at the Medical University of South Carolina. His mother, Lorna Colbert (née Tuck), was a homemaker. In interviews, Colbert describes his parents as devout people who also strongly value intellectualism and taught their children that it was possible to question the Church and still be Catholic. The emphasis his family placed on intelligence and his observation of negative stereotypes of Southerners led Colbert to train himself to suppress his Southern accent while he was still quite young. As a child, he observed that Southerners were often depicted as being less intelligent than other characters on scripted television; to avoid that stereotype, he taught himself to imitate the speech of American news anchors.

Colbert sometimes comedically claims his surname is French, but his family is actually of Irish and distant German descent. Originally, the name was pronounced in English; Stephen Colbert's father, James, wanted to pronounce the name , but maintained the pronunciation out of respect for his own father. However, James offered his children the option to pronounce the name whichever way they preferred. Stephen started using later in life when he transferred to Northwestern University, taking advantage of the opportunity to reinvent himself in a new place where no one knew him. Stephen's brother Ed, an intellectual property attorney, retained ; this was shown in a February 12, 2009 appearance on ''The Colbert Report'', when his youngest brother asked him, " or ?" Ed responded "", to which Stephen jokingly replied, "See you in Hell".

On September 11, 1974, when Colbert was ten years old, his father and two of his brothers, Peter and Paul, were killed in the crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 while it was attempting to land in Charlotte, North Carolina. They were en route to enroll the two boys at Canterbury School in New Milford, Connecticut. Shortly thereafter, Lorna Colbert relocated the family downtown to the more urban environment of East Bay Street in Charleston. By his own account, Colbert found the transition difficult and did not easily make new friends in his new neighborhood. Colbert later described himself during this time as detached, lacking a sense of importance regarding the things with which other children concerned themselves. He developed a love of science fiction and fantasy novels, especially the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, of which he remains an avid fan. During his adolescence, he also developed an intense interest in fantasy role-playing games, especially ''Dungeons & Dragons'', a pastime which he later characterized as an early experience in acting and improvisation.

Colbert attended Charleston's Episcopal Porter-Gaud School, where he participated in several school plays and contributed to the school newspaper but, by his own assessment, was not highly motivated academically. During his time as a teenager, he also briefly fronted a Rolling Stones cover band. When he was younger, he had hoped to study marine biology, but surgery intended to repair a severely perforated eardrum caused him inner ear damage. The damage was severe enough that he was unable to pursue a career that would involve scuba diving. The damage also left him deaf in his right ear. For a while, he was uncertain whether he would attend college, but ultimately he applied and was accepted to Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, where a friend had also enrolled. There he continued to participate in plays while studying mainly philosophy; he found the curriculum rigorous but was more focused than he had been in high school and was able to apply himself to his studies. Despite the lack of a significant theater community at Hampden-Sydney, Colbert's interest in acting escalated during this time. After two years, he transferred to Northwestern University's School of Speech (later named School of Communication) to study performance, emboldened by the realization that he loved performing even when no one was coming to shows.

Early career in comedy

While at Northwestern, Colbert studied with the intent of becoming a dramatic actor; mostly he performed in experimental plays and was uninterested in comedy. He began performing improvisation while in college, both in the campus improv team No Fun Mud Piranhas and at the Annoyance Theatre in Chicago as a part of Del Close's ImprovOlympic at a time when the project was focused on competitive, long form improvisation, rather than improvisational comedy. "I wasn't gonna do Second City", Colbert later recalled, "because those Annoyance people looked down on Second City because they thought it wasn't pure improv—there was a slightly snobby, mystical quality to the Annoyance people". After Colbert graduated in 1986, however, he was in need of a job, and a friend who was employed at Second City's box office offered him work answering phones and selling souvenirs. Colbert accepted, and discovered that Second City employees were entitled to take classes at their training center for free. Despite his earlier aversion to the comedy group, he signed up for improvisation classes, and enjoyed the experience greatly.

Shortly thereafter, he was hired to perform with Second City's touring company, initially as an understudy for Steve Carell. It was there he met Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello, with whom he often collaborated later in his career. By their retelling, the three comedians did not get along at first—Dinello thought Colbert was uptight, pretentious and cold, while Colbert thought of Dinello as "an illiterate thug"—but the trio became close friends while touring together, discovering that they shared a similar comic sensibility.

When Sedaris and Dinello were offered the opportunity to create a television series for HBO Downtown Productions, Colbert left The Second City and relocated to New York in order to work with them on the sketch comedy show ''Exit 57''. The series debuted on Comedy Central in 1995 and aired through 1996. Despite only lasting for 12 episodes, the show received favorable reviews and was nominated for five CableACE Awards in 1995, in categories including best writing, performance, and comedy series.

Following the cancellation of ''Exit 57'', Colbert worked for six months as a cast member and writer on ''The Dana Carvey Show'', alongside former Second City cast mate Steve Carell, as well as Robert Smigel, Charlie Kaufman, Louis C.K., and Dino Stamatopoulos, among others. The series, described by one reviewer as "kamikaze satire" in "borderline-questionable taste", had sponsors pull out after its first episode aired, and was canceled after seven episodes. Colbert then worked briefly as a freelance writer for ''Saturday Night Live'' with Robert Smigel. Smigel also brought his animated sketch ''The Ambiguously Gay Duo'' to ''SNL'' from ''The Dana Carvey Show''; Colbert provided the voice of Ace on both series, opposite Steve Carell as Gary. Needing money, he also worked as a script consultant for VH1 and MTV, before taking a job filming humorous correspondent segments for ''Good Morning America''. Only two of the segments he proposed were ever produced, and only one aired, but the job led his agent to refer him to ''The Daily Show's'' then-producer, Madeline Smithberg, who hired Colbert on a trial basis in 1997.

Television career

''Strangers with Candy''

During the same time frame, Colbert worked again with Sedaris and Dinello to develop a new comedy series for Comedy Central, ''Strangers with Candy''. Comedy Central picked up the series in 1998 after Colbert had already begun working on ''The Daily Show''. As a result he accepted a reduced role, filming only around twenty ''Daily Show'' segments a year while he worked on the new series.

''Strangers with Candy'' was conceived of as a parody of after school specials, following the life of Jerri Blank, a 46-year-old dropout who returns to finish high school after 32 years of life on the street. Most noted by critics for its use of offensive humor, it concluded each episode by delivering to the audience a skewed, politically incorrect moral lesson. Colbert served as a main writer alongside Sedaris and Dinello, as well as portraying Jerri's strict but uninformed history teacher, Chuck Noblet, seen throughout the series dispensing inaccurate information to his classes. Colbert has likened this to the character he played on ''The Daily Show'' and later ''The Colbert Report'', claiming that he has a very specific niche in portraying "poorly informed, high-status idiot" characters. Another running joke throughout the series was that Noblet, a closeted homosexual, was having a "secret" affair with fellow teacher Geoffrey Jellineck despite the fact that their relationship was apparent to everyone around them. This obliviousness also appears in Colbert's ''Daily Show'' and ''Colbert Report'' character.

Thirty episodes of ''Strangers with Candy'' were made, which aired on Comedy Central in 1999 and 2000. Though its ratings were not remarkable during its initial run, it has been characterized as a cult show with a small but dedicated audience. Colbert reprised his role for a film adaptation, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2005 and had a limited release in 2006. The film received mixed reviews. Colbert also co-wrote the screenplay with Sedaris and Dinello.

''The Daily Show''

Stephen Colbert joined the cast of Comedy Central's parody-news series ''The Daily Show'' in 1997, when the show was in its second season. Originally one of four correspondents who filmed segments from remote locations in the style of network news field reporters, Colbert was referred to as "the new guy" on-air for his first two years on the show, during which time Craig Kilborn served as host. When Kilborn left the show prior to the 1999 season, Jon Stewart took over hosting duties, also serving as a writer and co-executive producer. From this point, the series gradually began to take on a more political tone and increase in popularity, particularly in the latter part of the 2000 U.S. presidential election season. The roles of the show's correspondents were expanded to include more in-studio segments, as well as international reports which were almost always done in the studio with the aid of a greenscreen.

Unlike Stewart, who essentially hosts ''The Daily Show'' as himself, Colbert developed a correspondent character for his pieces on the series. Colbert has described his correspondent character as "a fool who has spent a lot of his life playing not the fool — one who is able to cover it at least well enough to deal with the subjects that he deals with". Colbert was frequently pitted against knowledgeable interview subjects, or against Stewart in scripted exchanges, with the resultant dialogue demonstrating the character's lack of knowledge of whatever subject he is discussing. Colbert also made generous use of humorous fallacies of logic in explaining his point of view on any topic. Other ''Daily Show'' correspondents have adopted a similar style; former correspondent Rob Corddry recalls that when he and Ed Helms first joined the show's cast in 2002, they "just imitated Stephen Colbert for a year or two". Correspondent Aasif Mandvi has stated "I just decided I was going to do my best Stephen Colbert impression".

Colbert has appeared in several recurring segments for ''The Daily Show'', including "Even Stevphen" with Steve Carell, in which both characters were expected to debate a selected topic but instead would unleash their anger at one another. Colbert commonly hosted "This Week in God", a report on topics in the news pertaining to religion, presented with the help of the "God Machine". Colbert filed reports from the floor of the Democratic National Convention and the Republican National Convention as a part of ''The Daily Show's'' award-winning coverage of the 2000 and 2004 U.S. Presidential elections; many from the latter were included as part of their ''The Daily Show: Indecision 2004'' DVD release. In several episodes of ''The Daily Show'', Colbert filled in as anchor in the absence of Jon Stewart, including the full week of March 3, 2002, when Stewart was scheduled to host ''Saturday Night Live''. After Colbert left the show, Rob Corddry took over "This Week in God" segments, although a recorded sample of Colbert's voice is still used as the sound effect for the God Machine. Later episodes of ''The Daily Show'' have reused older Colbert segments under the label "Klassic Kolbert". Colbert won three Emmys as a writer of ''The Daily Show'' in 2004, 2005, and 2006.

''The Colbert Report''

Since October 17, 2005, Colbert has hosted his own television show, ''The Colbert Report'', a ''Daily Show'' spin-off which parodies the conventions of television news broadcasting, particularly cable-personality political talk shows like ''The O'Reilly Factor'' and ''Glenn Beck''. Colbert hosts the show in-character as a blustery right-wing pundit, generally considered to be an extension of his character on ''The Daily Show''. Conceived by co-creators Stewart, Colbert, and Ben Karlin in part as an opportunity to explore "the character-driven news", the series focuses less on the day-to-day news style of the ''Daily Show'', instead frequently concentrating on the foibles of the host-character himself.

The concept for ''The Report'' was first seen in a series of ''Daily Show'' segments which advertised the then-fictional series as a joke. It was later developed by Stewart's Busboy Productions and pitched to Comedy Central, which greenlighted the program; Comedy Central had already been searching for a way to extend the successful ''Daily Show'' franchise beyond a half hour. The series opened to strong ratings, averaging 1.2 million viewers nightly during its first week on the air. Comedy Central signed a long-term contract for ''The Colbert Report'' within its first month on the air, when it immediately established itself among the network's highest-rated shows.

Much of Colbert's personal life is reflected in his character on ''The Colbert Report''. With the extended exposure of the character on the show, he often references his interest in and knowledge of Catholicism, science fiction, and ''The Lord of the Rings'', as well as using real facts to create his character's history. His alternate persona was also raised in South Carolina, is the youngest of 11 siblings, and is married. The actual Colbert's career history in acting and comedy, however, is often downplayed.

Politics

2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner

On Saturday, April 29, 2006, Stephen Colbert was the featured entertainer for the 2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. Standing a few yards from U.S. President George W. Bush—in front of an audience the Associated Press called a "Who's Who of power and celebrity"—Colbert delivered a searing routine targeting the president and the media. In his politically conservative character from ''The Colbert Report'', Colbert satirized the George W. Bush Administration and the White House press corps with such lines as:

}}

Colbert received a chilly response from the audience. His jokes were often met with silence and muttering, apart from the enthusiastic laughter of a few in the audience. The major media outlets paid little attention to it initially. ''Washington Post'' columnist Dan Froomkin and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism professor Todd Gitlin claimed that this was because Colbert's routine was as critical of the media as it was of Bush. Richard Cohen, also writing for ''The Washington Post'', responded that the routine was not funny. The video of Colbert's performance became an internet and media sensation, while, in the week following the speech, ratings for ''The Colbert Report'' rose by 37% to average just under 1.5 million total viewers per episode. In ''Time'' magazine James Poniewozik called it "the political-cultural touchstone issue of 2006". Writing six months later, ''New York Times'' columnist Frank Rich referred to Colbert's speech as a "cultural primary" and called it the "defining moment" of the 2006 midterm elections. The performance earned Colbert the "Gutsiest Move" Award on Spike TV Guys' Choice Awards on June 13, 2007.

2008 Presidential bid

Under his fictional persona in ''The Colbert Report'', Colbert dropped hints of a potential presidential run throughout 2007, with speculation intensifying following the release of his book, ''I Am America (And So Can You!)'', which was rumored to be a sign that he was indeed testing the waters for a future bid for the White House. On October 16, 2007, he announced his candidacy on his show, stating his intention to run both on the Republican and Democratic platforms, but only as a "favorite son" in his native South Carolina. He later abandoned plans to run as a Republican due to the $35,000 fee required to file for the South Carolina primary, however he continued to seek a place on the Democratic ballot and on October 28, 2007, campaigned in the South Carolina state capital of Columbia, where he was presented with the key to the city by Mayor Bob Coble.

After announcing his presidential ticket, he asked his viewers to cast their votes by donating to DonorsChoose.org, an online charity connecting individuals to classrooms in need. Colbert's promotion inspired $68,000 in donations to South Carolina classrooms, which benefited over 14,000 low-income students. Colbert teamed up with DonorsChoose.org again in 2008 by asking supporters of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to do the same. As a lead-up to the Pennsylvania primary, he created a "straw poll that makes a difference", where people could donate to Pennsylvania classroom projects in honor of their favorite candidate. Colbert viewers donated $185,000 to projects reaching 43,000 students in Pennsylvania public schools.

On November 1, 2007, the South Carolina Democratic Party executive council voted 13–3 to refuse Colbert's application onto the ballot. "The general sense of the council was that he wasn't a serious candidate and that was why he wasn't selected to be on the ballot", stated John Werner, the party's director. In addition, he was declared "not viable", as he was only running in one state. Several days later he announced that he was dropping out of the race, saying that he did not wish to put the country through an agonizing Supreme Court battle. CNN has reported that Obama supporters pressured the South Carolina Democratic Executive Council to keep Colbert off the ballot. One anonymous member of the council told CNN that former State Superintendent of Education Inez Tenenbaum had placed pressure on them to refuse Colbert's application despite his steady rise in polls.

Though Colbert's real-life presidential campaign had ended, current Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Joe Quesada established in an interview on ''The Colbert Report'' that Colbert's campaign was still going strong in the fictional Marvel Universe, citing the cover art of a then-recent issue of ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' which featured a Colbert campaign billboard in the background. Background appearances of Colbert campaign ads continued to appear in Marvel Comics publications, as recently as August 2008's ''Secret Invasion'' #5 (which also features a cameo of an alien Skrull posing as Colbert). In October 2008, Colbert made an extended 8-page appearance webslinging with Spider-Man in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' issue #573.

2010 Congressional testimony

On September 24, 2010, Colbert testified in character before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Security. He was invited by committee chairwoman Zoe Lofgren to describe his experience participating in the United Farm Workers' "''Take Our Jobs''" program, where he spent a day working alongside migrant workers in upstate New York. At the end of his often-humorous testimony, Colbert broke character in responding to a question from Rep. Judy Chu, D-CA, and explained why he cares about the plight of migrant workers:

}}

Democratic committee member John Conyers questioned whether it was appropriate for the comedian to appear before Congress and asked him to leave the hearing. Though Colbert offered to depart at the direction of the committee chairwoman, Rep. Lofgren requested that he stay at least until all opening testimony had been completed, whereupon Conyers withdrew his request.

Conservative pundits took aim at his Congress testimony not long after.

"As John Conyers notes, the media and spectators turned out to see whether Colbert would address the panel seriously as an expert on immigration and make the panel a joke, or stay in character and make the panel a bigger joke," - Ed Morrissey, Hot Air.}}

2010 Washington D.C. rallies

In September 2010, following Glenn Beck's ''Restoring Honor rally'', a campaign developed that called for Colbert to hold his own rally at the Lincoln Memorial. On the September 10, 2010 episode of the ''Daily Show'' and the ''Colbert Report'' Stewart and Colbert made preannouncements of a future event. On September 16, 2010, Stewart and Colbert announced competing rallies on the Washington, DC Mall on October 30, 2010, Stewart's "''Rally to Restore Sanity''", and Colbert's "''March to Keep Fear Alive''". Both were eventually merged into the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.

Super PAC

In May 2011, Colbert filed a request with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) asking for a media exemption for coverage of his political action committee, ColbertPAC, on ''The Colbert Report''.

In June 2011, during a public meeting, the FEC voted 5-1 to grant ''The Colbert Report'' a limited media exemption. The exemption allows unlimited donations of airtime and show resources to promote the Colbert Super PAC without requiring disclosure to the FEC, but only for ads appearing on ''The Colbert Report''. Following the hearing, Colbert formally filed paperwork for the creation of his Super PAC with the FEC secretary.

Other work

Stephen Colbert is co-author of the satirical text-and-picture novel ''Wigfield: The Can Do Town That Just May Not'', which was published in 2003 by Hyperion Books. The novel was a collaboration between Colbert, Amy Sedaris, and Paul Dinello, and tells the story of a small town threatened by the impending destruction of a massive dam. The narrative is presented as a series of fictional interviews with the town's residents, accompanied by photos. The three authors toured performing an adaptation of ''Wigfield'' on stage the same year the book was released. Colbert appeared in a small supporting role in the 2005 film adaptation of ''Bewitched''. He has made guest appearances on the television series ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', ''Spin City'', and ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'', and on the improvisational comedy show ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?''. He voiced the characters of Reducto and Phil Ken Sebben in the Adult Swim's ''Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law'' but left the show in 2005 to work on The Colbert Report. His characters were both killed, though he returned to voice Phil for the series finale. Colbert also has provided voices for Cartoon Network's ''The Venture Bros.'', Comedy Central's ''Crank Yankers'', and ''American Dad!'', as well as for Canadian animated comedy series ''The Wrong Coast''. He appeared as Homer Simpson's life coach, Colby Krause, in the ''Simpsons'' episode "He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs". Colbert filled in for Sam Seder on the second episode of ''The Majority Report'' on Air America Radio, and has also done reports for ''The Al Franken Show''. He appeared on a track on ''Wig in a Box'', a tribute album for ''Hedwig and the Angry Inch''. Colbert read the part of Leopold Bloom in ''Bloomsday on Broadway XXIV: Love Literature Language Lust: Leopold's Women Bloom'' on June 16, 2005 at Symphony Space in New York City. He appeared in a series of TV commercials for General Motors, as a not-too-bright investigator searching for the elusive (and non-existent in real life) "Mr. Goodwrench". He also portrayed the letter Z in ''Sesame Street: All-Star Alphabet'', a 2005 video release.

Colbert is a producer of ''The 1 Second Film'', the world's largest nonprofit collaborative art film. His video request that IMDb list his credit for ''The 1 Second Film'' ("it is as valid as most of my credits") enabled thousands of the film's producers to be listed in the massive movie database until they were removed in early 2007.

Colbert has released one book associated with ''The Colbert Report'', ''I Am America (And So Can You!)''. It was released on October 7, 2007 by Grand Central Publishing. Grand Central Publishing is the successor to Warner Books, which published ''America (The Book)'', written by ''The Daily Show'' staff. The book contains similar political satire, but was written primarily by Colbert himself rather than as a collaboration with his ''Colbert Report'' writing staff.

On November 23, 2008, his Christmas special, ''A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!'', aired on Comedy Central. It was released on DVD in November 2008.

In January 2010, Colbert was named the assistant sports psychologist for the US Olympic speed skating team at the 2010 Winter Olympics. He was also invited to be part of NBC's 2010 Winter Olympics coverage team by Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Universal Sports. In April, Colbert performed as Harry in the revival of Stephen Sondheim's musical ''Company'', presented by the New York Philharmonic at the Lincoln Center. The show, featuring Neil Patrick Harris in the starring role, ran for four nights and was filmed for later showings in movie theaters, which began June 15. In May 2011, Colbert joined Charleston to Bermuda Race yachting race, as the captain of ship "the Spirit of Juno". He finished second, five miles behind leaders "Tucana".

Personal life

Although, by his own account, he was not particularly political before joining the cast of ''The Daily Show'', Colbert has described himself as a Democrat according to a 2004 interview. In an interview at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard Institute of Politics, he stated that he has "no problems with Republicans, just Republican policies". He is also a practicing Roman Catholic and Sunday school teacher.

Colbert lives in Montclair, New Jersey with his wife, Evelyn McGee-Colbert, who appeared with him in an episode of ''Strangers with Candy'' as his mother. She also had an uncredited cameo as a nurse in the series pilot and a credited one (as his wife, Clair) in the film. McGee-Colbert actually met Jon Stewart, later a good friend of Colbert, before she met her husband in 1990. She is the daughter of prominent Charleston civil litigator Joseph McGee, of the firm Buist Moore Smythe McGee. The couple has three children: Madeleine, Peter, and John, all of whom have appeared on ''The Daily Show''. Colbert prefers, however, that his children not watch his show, ''The Colbert Report'', saying that "kids can't understand irony or sarcasm, and I don't want them to perceive me as insincere".

Awards and honors

In 2000 Colbert and the other Daily Show writers were the recipients of three Emmy Awards as writers for ''The Daily Show'' and again in 2005 and 2006. In 2005 he was nominated for a Satellite Award for his performance on ''The Colbert Report'' and again in 2006.

He was also nominated for three Emmys for ''The Colbert Report'' in 2006, including Best Performance in a Variety, Musical Program or Special, which he lost to Barry Manilow. Manilow and Colbert would go on to jokingly sign and notarize a revolving biannual custody agreement for the Emmy on the ''Colbert Report'' episode aired on October 30, 2006. He lost the same category to Tony Bennett in 2007 and Don Rickles in 2008.

In January 2006, the American Dialect Society named ''truthiness'', which Colbert coined on the premiere episode of ''The Colbert Report'', as its 2005 Word of the Year. Colbert devoted time on five successive episodes to bemoaning the failure of the Associated Press to mention his role in popularizing the word ''truthiness'' in its news coverage of the Word of the Year. On December 9, 2006, Merriam-Webster also announced that it selected ''truthiness'' as its Word of the Year for 2006. Votes were accepted on their website, and according to poll results, truthiness won by a five-to-one margin.

In June 2006, after speaking at the school's commencement ceremony, Colbert received an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts degree from Knox College. ''Time'' named Stephen Colbert as one of the 100 most influential people in 2006 and in May 2006, ''New York'' magazine listed Colbert (and Jon Stewart) as one of its top dozen influential persons in media. Colbert was named Person of the Year by the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado on March 3, 2007 and was also given the Speaker of the Year Award by The Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) on March 24, 2007 for his "drive to expose the rhetorical shortcomings of contemporary political discourse".

Colbert was named the 2nd Sexiest TV News Anchor in September 2006 by Maxim Online, next to Mélissa Theuriau of France and was the only man featured on the list. In November 2006, he was named a "sexy surprise" by ''People'' in the Sexiest Man Alive honors and in the December 2006 issue of ''GQ'' he was named one of ''GQ's'' "Men of the Year".

He was nominated for a TCA Award for ''The Colbert Report'' by the Television Critics Association in 2006 and also received two Peabody Awards for his work on ''The Daily Show: Indecision 2000'' and ''Indecision 2004''. In February 2007, Ben & Jerry's unveiled a new ice cream flavor in honor of Colbert, named Stephen Colbert's AmeriCone Dream. Colbert waited until Easter to sample the ice cream because he "gave up sweets for Lent". Colbert will donate all proceeds to charity through the new Stephen Colbert AmeriCone Dream Fund, which will distribute the money to various causes.

After the Saginaw Spirit defeated the Oshawa Generals in Ontario Junior League Hockey, Oshawa Mayor John Gray declared March 20, 2007 (the mayor's own birthday) Stephen Colbert Day, honoring a previous bet with Stephen. At the event, Mayor Gray referred to the publicity the bet brought the city, remarking, "This is the way to lose a bet".

Colbert was honored for the Gutsiest Move on the Spike TV Guys' Choice Awards on June 13, 2007 for his performance at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. In August 2007, Virgin America named an airplane. "Air Colbert", in his honor. On October 28, 2007, Colbert received the key to the city of Columbia, South Carolina from Mayor Bob Coble.

On December 20, 2007 Colbert was named Celebrity of the Year by The Associated Press. On April 2, 2008 he received a Peabody Award for The Colbert Report, saying in response, "I proudly accept this award and begrudgingly forgive the Peabody Committee for taking three years to recognize greatness".

In 2008 Colbert won the Emmy award for writing again, this time as a writer for the ''Colbert Report''. Colbert delivered the Class Day address to the graduating class of Princeton University on June 2, 2008, and accepted the ''Class of 2008 Understandable Vanity Award'', consisting of a sketch of Colbert and a mirror. He also has been announced as the Person of the Year for the 12th annual Webby Awards.

In 2008, East Carolina University associate professor Jason Bond named a species of trapdoor spider ''Aptostichus stephencolberti'' in honor of Stephen Colbert. In January 2010, Colbert received the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album for his album ''A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!''. He also announced the nominees for Song of the Year while toting a pre-released Apple iPad. Colbert will be the 2011 commencement speaker for Northwestern University, and receive an honorary degree.

COLBERT Treadmill

In 2009 NASA engineered a new treadmill for the International Space Station. It was brought to the ISS by the Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' during the STS-128 mission in August of 2009. The complex machine is now used eight hours daily by Astronauts and Cosmonauts living aboard the space station in order to maintain their muscle mass and bone density while spending long periods of time in a zero gravity environment. While engineers at NASA where constructing this treadmill it was simply called T-2 for more than two years. However, on April 14, 2009 the treadmill became the most famous piece of exercise equipment in the world when NASA renamed it to the "Combined Operational Load-Bearing External Resistance Treadmill", or COLBERT. NASA named the treadmill after Colbert, who took an interest during the Node 3 naming census for the ISS module, ''Tranquility''.

Colbert urged his followers to post the name "Colbert", which upon completion of the census received the most entries totaling 230,539, 40,000 votes more than the second place choice of Serenity. The COLBERT is expected to last the life of the ISS and will have seen about 38,000 miles when the Space Station is retired in 2020 but was also built with 150,000 mile lifespan if needed till 2028 or longer. Colbert realized he was the recipient of an extremely rare honor when astronaut Suni Williams came on ''The Colbert Report'' to announce that NASA had named the treadmill after him. Despite being an acronym, the COLBERT is the only piece of NASA engineered equipment in space that is named after a living human being.

Filmography

! Year!!Title!!Role!!Notes
1993		Chet Davies	First role
1995	''Exit 57''	Various
1996	''The Dana Carvey Show''	Various
	''Shock Asylum''	Dr. Dewalt
''The Daily Show''		1997–2005 (regular)2005 – present (recurring)
		Happy Successful Guy	Also known as ''Snow Days''
'' Whose Line is it Anyway''	Stephen Colbert
''Strangers with Candy''	Chuck Noblet	1999–2000
2000	''Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law	Myron Reducto / Phil Ken Sebben / The Eagle of Truth	2000–2007
2003	''Nobody Knows Anything''	TV Newsman
2003	''Chalkzone	Himself (paring-up w/ Kurtwood Smith)
	''Curb Your Enthusiasm''	Tourist Man
''Law and Order: Criminal Intent''	James Bennett
''The Venture Bros.''	Professor Richard Impossible	2004–2006
	''The Great New Wonderful''	Mr. Peersall
	Stu Robison
''Outlaw Tennis''	Announcer	Video game
''The Colbert Report''		2005 – present
2006		Chuck Noblet	Feature film based on TV show
	''The Love Guru''	Jay Kell (Hockey Announcer)
''A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!''	Santa Claus, Stephen Colbert
	''Monsters vs. Aliens''	The President (voice)
''The 1 Second Film''	Self/Producer

Bibliography

Colbert, Dinello, Sedaris. ''Wigfield: The Can-Do Town That Just May Not'' (Hyperion, May 19, 2004) ISBN 0-7868-8696-X

''America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction'' (Warner Books, September 2004) ISBN 0-446-53268-1

''I Am America (And So Can You!)'' (Grand Central Publishing, October 9, 2007) ISBN 0-446-58050-3

Discography

''A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!'' in 2008

''Stephen Colbert with the Black Belles — Charlene II (I'm Over You)'' in 2011

References

External links

; General

The Colbert Report Official Site

Stephen Colbert Producer Profile for The 1 Second Film

Wikiality.com, a wiki dedicated to Stephen Colbert and ''The Colbert Report''

Collected news and commentary at ''The New York Times''

Stephen Colbert: His Many Faces - slideshow by ''Life magazine''

; Audio/Video in 2008 in 2005 in 2006

Colbert interview transcript, ''60 Minutes''. (April 30, 2006)

Colbert in an open, hour-long interview and Q & A session arranged by Harvard's Institute of Politics. He speaks about the nature of his TV-show character and the interplay between wearing the mask and using it to make political points.

, (April 30, 1441/59811 Transcript). (April 29, 2006)

A 2007 appearance at the Glamour magazine Women of the Year Awards to honor Nancy Pelosi.

Category:1964 births Category:Living people Category:Actors from South Carolina Category:Actors from Washington, D.C. Category:American people of German descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American comedians of Irish descent Category:American film actors Category:American media critics Category:American satirists Category:American television actors Category:American television personalities Category:American television talk show hosts Category:American television writers Category:American voice actors Category:American writers of German descent Category:American writers of Irish descent Category:Emmy Award winners Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Hampden–Sydney College alumni Category:Northwestern University alumni Category:People from Charleston, South Carolina Category:People from Essex County, New Jersey Category:Second City alumni Category:South Carolina Democrats Category:United States presidential candidates, 2008 Category:Writers from South Carolina Category:Writers from Washington, D.C. Category:Writers Guild of America Award winners Category:American Roman Catholics Category:American political pundits

ar:ستيفن كولبير bn:স্টিভেন কোল‌বেয়ার bg:Стивън Колбърт ca:Stephen Colbert cs:Stephen Colbert cy:Stephen Colbert da:Stephen Colbert pdc:Stephen Colbert de:Stephen Colbert et:Stephen Colbert es:Stephen Colbert eo:Stephen Colbert fa:استیون کلبر fr:Stephen Colbert gl:Stephen Colbert ko:스티븐 콜베어 id:Stephen Colbert it:Stephen Colbert he:סטיבן קולבר la:Stephanus Colbert hu:Stephen Colbert nl:Stephen Colbert ja:スティーヴン・コルベア no:Stephen Colbert pl:Stephen Colbert pt:Stephen Colbert ru:Кольбер, Стивен simple:Stephen Colbert sh:Stephen Colbert fi:Stephen Colbert sv:Stephen Colbert vi:Stephen Colbert yi:סטיווען קאלבערט zh-yue:Stephen Colbert zh:史蒂芬·科拜尔

Coordinates	28°36′36″N77°13′48″N
name	Amber Rose
sex	female
origin	ghana, california
birth place	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
height	5'8''
haircolor	Natural brunette (dyed blonde with buzzcut)
eyecolor	Brown
weight	149 pounds
shoesize	7
agency	Creative Artists Agency }}

Amber Rose (born October 21, 1982) is an American model. She is best known for her high-profile relationships with rappers Kanye West and Wiz Khalifa. Rose posed for a Louis Vuitton print advertisement featuring Lamon Coleman's new line of sneakers.

In September 2009, Rose announced plans to launch her own line of eyewear. She walked the runway at New York Fashion Week for "Celestino", and she was unveiled as the new face of "Boadicea the Victorious" perfume. She has said that being with Wiz Khalifa was the best decision she made after going through a rough relationship with ex-boyfriend Kanye West.

Rose has also made cameos in music videos such as Ludacris' "What Them Girls Like", Young Jeezy's "Vacation", Mary Mary's "God in Me", Nicki Minaj's "Massive Attack", and Fabolous "You Be Killin' Em."

In 2010 she appeared in Russell Simmons' reality show about his two assistants, Running Russell Simmons. She also starred in a PSA by NOH8 Campaign. In 2011, Amber Rose was a guest judge on Season 3 of ''RuPaul's Drag Race''.

References

Category:1982 births Category:Living people Category:People from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:American female models

ja:アンバー・ローズ ru:Роуз, Эмбер

Coordinates	28°36′36″N77°13′48″N
name	Bill Maher
birth name	William Maher, Jr.
birth date	January 20, 1956
birth place	New York City, New York, U.S.
alma mater	Cornell University
medium	Stand-Up, Television, Film, Books
nationality	American
active	1979–present
genre	Satire, Political satire, News Satire, Observational comedy
subject	American politics, current events, American culture, pop culture, freedom of speech, environmentalism, religion, human sexuality, recreational drug use, libertarianism, American liberalism, American conservatism
influences	Steve Allen, George Carlin, Johnny Carson, David Frost, Robert Klein, Don Rickles, Gore Vidal, Lenny Bruce
notable work	Elliot on Charlie HooverHost of Politically Incorrect Host of Real Time with Bill Maher
website	www.BillMaher.com
footnotes	}}

William "Bill" Maher, Jr. (; born January 20, 1956) is an American stand-up comedian, television host, political commentator, author and actor. Before his current role as the host of HBO's ''Real Time with Bill Maher'', Maher hosted a similar late-night talk show called ''Politically Incorrect'' originally on Comedy Central and later on ABC.

Maher is known for his political satire and sociopolitical commentary, which targets a wide swath of topics: religion, politics, bureaucracies of many kinds, political correctness, the mass media, greed among people and persons in positions of high political and social power, the lack of intellectual curiosity of the electorate, among many topics. He supports the legalization of marijuana and same-sex marriage, and serves on the board of PETA. He is also a critic of religion and is an advisory board member of Project Reason, a foundation to promote scientific knowledge and secular values within society. Maher currently ranks number 38 on Comedy Central's 100 greatest stand-ups of all time. Bill Maher got a Hollywood Walk of Fame star on September 14, 2010. His is the 2,417th star dedicated on the famous sidewalk.

Early life and education

Maher was born in New York City, the son of Julie (née Berman), a nurse, and William Maher, Sr., a network news editor and radio announcer. He was raised in his Irish American father's Catholic religion, remaining unaware that his mother was Jewish until his early teenage years. Maher's family stopped attending church services when Maher was thirteen, due to his father's disagreement with the Catholic Church's position on birth control.

Maher was raised in River Vale, New Jersey, and graduated from Pascack Hills High School in Montvale in 1974. He received a B.A. in English and history from Cornell University in 1978.

Early career

Since beginning his career as a stand-up comedian and actor, he occasionally acts and tours. He was host of the New York City comedy club Catch a Rising Star in 1979. Thanks to Steve Allen, he began appearing on Johnny Carson's and David Letterman's shows in 1982. He made limited television appearances, including two separate appearances on ''Murder, She Wrote''. He has also appeared in several films, usually in a comic role. His feature film debut was in ''D.C. Cab'' (1983), and he also appeared in ''Ratboy'' (1986), ''Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death'' (1988), and ''Pizza Man'' (1991), among others.

Television career

''Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher''

Maher assumed the host role ''Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher'', a late-night political talk show that ran on Comedy Central from 1993–1997 and on ABC from 1997–2002. The show regularly began with a topical monologue by Maher preceding the introduction of four guests, usually a diverse group of individuals from show business, popular culture, political pundits, political consultants, authors, and occasionally news figures. The group would discuss topical issues selected by Maher, who also participated in the discussions. Jerry Seinfeld, a regular guest on the show, stated that ''Politically Incorrect'' reminded him of talk shows from the 1950s and 60s "when guests interacted with each other as much as with the host."

''Politically Incorrect'' won an array of awards, including an Emmy Award for Outstanding Technical Direction, two CableACE awards for Best Talk Show Series, and a Genesis Award for Best Television Talk Show. Maher earned numerous award nominations for his producing, writing and hosting of ''Politically Incorrect'', including ten Emmy nominations, two TV Guide nominations, and two Writers Guild nominations. ABC decided against renewing Maher's contract for ''Politically Incorrect'' in 2002, after he made a controversial on-air remark shortly after the September 11 attacks. He agreed with his guest, conservative pundit Dinesh D'Souza, that the 9/11 terrorists did not act in a cowardly manner (in rebuttal to President Bush's statement calling 9/11 hijackers cowards). Maher said, "We have been the cowards. Lobbing cruise missiles from two thousand miles away. That's cowardly. Staying in the airplane when it hits the building. Say what you want about it. Not cowardly. You're right." Maher later clarified that his comment was not anti-military in any way whatsoever, referencing his well-documented longstanding support for the American military.

In the context of the attacks, some corporate advertisers found the comment too insensitive and controversial. Several companies, including FedEx and Sears Roebuck, pulled their advertisements from the show, costing the show more than it returned.

The show was cancelled on June 16, 2002, and the Sinclair Broadcast Group had dropped the show from its ABC-affiliated stations months prior. On June 22, 2002, just six days after the cancellation of ''Politically Incorrect'', Maher received the Los Angeles Press Club president's award (for "championing free speech"). Maher was on the board of judges one year for the PEN/Newman's Own First Amendment Award.

Maher's remarks after 9/11 were not the first time he had sparked controversy on ''Politically Incorrect''. In the same year, Maher was widely criticized for comparing dogs to retarded children. He apologized for his comments.

''Real Time with Bill Maher''

In 2003, Maher became the host, co-producer and co-writer of ''Real Time with Bill Maher'', a weekly hour-long political comedy talk show on the cable television network HBO. During an interview, Maher told Terry Gross (on NPR's ''Fresh Air'') that he much prefers having serious and well-informed guests on his program, as opposed to the random celebrities that fleshed out his roundtable discussions on ''Politically Incorrect''.

As with his previous show, ''Politically Incorrect'', Maher begins ''Real Time'' with a comic opening monologue based upon current events and other topical issues. He proceeds to a one-on-one interview with a guest, either in-studio or via satellite. Following the interview, Maher sits with three panelists, usually consisting of pundits, authors, activists and journalists, for a discussion of the week's events. In the segment "New Rules" at the end of each show, Maher delivers a humorous editorial on popular culture and American politics.

In late May 2005, Alabama Congressman Spencer Bachus sent a letter to Time Warner's board of directors requesting ''Real Time'' be cancelled after remarks Maher made after noting the military had missed its recruiting goals by 42 percent. Bachus said he felt the comments were demeaning to the military and treasonous. Maher stated his highest regard and support for the troops and asked why the congressman criticized him instead of doing something about the recruitment problem.

''Real Time'' has earned widespread praise. It has been nominated for more than ten Primetime Emmy Awards and six Writer's Guild awards. In 2007, Maher and his co-producers were awarded the Television Producer of the Year Award in Variety Television.

In early 2006, ''Real Time'' was released as an audio CD, along with another CD entitled ''Bill Maher's New Rules'' which features clips, segments and teasers from Real Time. Starting with Episode 67 (2-23-06), ''Real Time'' became available in the USA on iTunes as a free weekly audio podcast.

Maher holds the record for the most Emmy nominations without a win, having been nominated on 22 occasions and not winning once. Eleven of the nominations were for ''Politically Incorrect'', while nine were for ''Real Time.'' The other two were nominations for two of his HBO comedy specials: ''Bill Maher: I'm Swiss'' and ''Bill Maher: The Decider.''

HBO announced in July 2011 the show was renewed for a tenth season.

Christine O'Donnell

On September 17, 2010, Maher aired a clip of Delaware Republican Senatorial candidate Christine O'Donnell from the October 29, 1999 episode of his old show ''Politically Incorrect'' on his current show ''Real Time with Bill Maher'', where she discussed that she had "dabbled in witchcraft." This was one of the most notable of numerous controversial statements by O'Donnell that made her the most covered candidate in the 2010 mid-term election cycle.

Political commentator

Maher is a frequent commentator on various cable news networks, namely CNN, MSNBC, and HLN. Maher regularly appears on CNN's ''The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer'' and is also a frequent guest on MSNBC's ''Hardball with Chris Matthews'', ''The Rachel Maddow Show'' and ''Countdown with Keith Olbermann''. Maher has also appeared as a guest on HLN's ''The Joy Behar Show''.

Maher hosted the January 13, 2006 edition of ''Larry King Live'', on which he is a frequent guest. Maher appeared as a special guest on the June 29, 2010 edition of the show, on which CNN anchor Larry King announced his retirement. Maher co-emceed the final show of ''Larry King Live'' on December 16, 2010 with Ryan Seacrest.

Since May 2005, he has been a contributing blogger at ''The Huffington Post''.

Views and beliefs

Politics

Maher eschews political labels, referring to himself as "practical". In the past, he has described himself as a libertarian and has also referred to himself "as a progressive, as a sane person".

Maher favors a partial privatization of Social Security, ending corporate welfare and federal funding of non-profits, and legalization of gambling, prostitution, and marijuana. Maher is a member of NORML's Advisory Board, an organization which supports regulated legalization of marijuana. He describes himself as an environmentalist, and he has spoken in favor of the Kyoto treaty on global warming on his show ''Real Time''. Moreover, he often criticizes industry figures involved in environmental pollution.

Maher is a board member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. He has expressed his distaste for the pharmaceutical and health care industries in general, on the grounds that they make their money out of curing people who are made sick by consuming unhealthy food that corporations urge upon the public. He maintains that mass consumption of high-fructose corn syrup is a contributor to the rise in frequency of obesity in the United States.

Before the 2004 U.S. presidential election, Maher became candid in his stated opposition to the re-election of George W. Bush and in his support for John Kerry.

Known for protesting against the demonization of the word "liberal", during the campaign Maher criticized Kerry for being ashamed of the word. On his show, the comedian has noted the paradox of people claiming they distrusted "elite" politicians while at the same time wanting elite doctors to treat them and elite lawyers to represent them in court. Maher supports the death penalty, the legality of abortion and euthanasia. Since the 9/11 attacks, he has endorsed the use of racial profiling at airports.

He was originally against the Iraq War, and has summarized his opinion by saying that the United States and the world have had to pay too high a price for the war. He is skeptical of Iraq surviving without civil war.

In the 2008 U.S. presidential election, Maher announced his support for Barack Obama. Although Maher welcomed Obama's electoral victory, he has subjected him to criticism once in office for not acting boldly on health care reform and other progressive issues.

Religion

Maher is highly critical of religion, and views it as not worth the bother. He has referred to himself as an apatheist, instead of an agnostic or atheist, on ''Scarborough Country'' on April 24, 2007, and again in July of 2011. He has reiterated this stance in subsequent interviews, rejecting both the certitude of the existence, as well as the certitude of nonexistence of deities, concluding, "I'm saying that doubt is the only appropriate response for human beings." He is an advisory board member of author Sam Harris's The Reason Project, a foundation that promotes scientific knowledge and secular values within society.

Maher and director Larry Charles teamed up to make the feature film ''Religulous'' (2008), described by trade publication ''Variety'' as a documentary "that spoofs religious extremism across the world." It was released on October 3, 2008.

Maher has been an outspoken critic of religion in general, including Islam. On October 29, 2010, during a Real Time segment, Maher commented on a news story saying that the name Mohammed had become the most popular baby name in the United Kingdom. He asked, "Am I a racist to feel alarmed by that? Because I am. And it’s not because of the race, it’s because of the religion. I don’t have to apologize, do I, for not wanting the Western world to be taken over by Islam in 300 years? Sharia law is being institutionalized in England? Well, then I am right, I should be alarmed." He later defended his comments on CNN, saying, "And when I say Westerner, I mean someone who believes in the values that Western people believe in that a lot of the Muslim world does not. Like separation of church and state. Like equality of the sexes. Like respect for minorities, free elections, free speech, freedom to gather. These things are not just different from cultures that don’t have them. … It’s better. … I would like to keep those values here."

Maher received the Richard Dawkins Award for 2009 from Atheist Alliance International "for his efforts to further the values science and reason in the world."

Health care

Maher has stated that the AMA is a powerful lobbying group and one of the primary reasons why the United States had failed to enact health care reform.

On August 24, 2009, Maher was a guest on ''The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien'' and on the topic of getting universal health care legislation passed, Maher stated that Obama should forget about trying to get 60 votes for it, "he only needs 51." "Forget getting the sixty votes or sixty percent — sixty percent of people don't believe in evolution in this country — he just needs to drag them to it, like I said, they're stupid; get health care done, with or without them."

Maher has expressed the view that most illness is generally the result of poor diet and that medicine is often not the best way of addressing illness. In an episode of the show about the 2008 presidential candidates' health plans, Maher stated that poor nutrition is the primary cause of illness, and that "the answer isn't another pill."

In a discussion with Michael Moore about the film ''Sicko'', Maher asks, "The human body is pretty amazing; it doesn't get sick, usually, for no reason. I mean, there's some genetic stuff that can get to you, but, basically, people are sick in this country because they're poisoned. The environment is a poisoning factor, but also, we gotta say, they poison themselves. They eat shit. People eat shit, and that's, to my way of thinking, about 90 percent of why people are sick, is because they eat shit. Would you agree?"

On October 9, 2009, on his HBO show, Maher debated the effectiveness of flu vaccinations with Bill Frist and stated, "Why would you let them be the ones to stick a disease into your arm? I would never get a swine flu vaccine or any vaccine. I don’t trust the government, especially with my health." Maher also expressed skepticism about the seriousness of the swine flu and whether completely healthy people could die from it. His comments have generated criticism, and his remarks have been called unscientific and even harmful.

Maher responded to the criticism, noting, "What I've read about what they think I'm saying is not what I've said. I'm not a germ theory denier. I believe vaccinations can work. Polio is a good example. Do I think in certain situations that inoculating Third World children against malaria or diphtheria, or whatever, is right? Of course. In a situation like that, the benefits outweigh costs. But to me living in Los Angeles? To get a flu shot? No." (see Vaccine controversy)

Criticism of 9/11 conspiracy theories

Maher has been a critic of 9/11 conspiracy theories. On October 19, 2007, Maher confronted several 9/11 truthers and had them ejected from his show audience after they interrupted the live show numerous times by calling out from the audience. The incident drew significant media attention and praise from Fox News talk show host and frequent critic John Gibson.

Personal life

Maher has never married. In 2003, he began dating former Playboy Cyber Girl Coco Johnsen. In November 2004, at the end of their 17-month relationship, she sued him for USD $9 million for "pain and suffering" for alleged "insulting, humiliating and degrading racial comments." Her suit stated that Maher promised to marry her and father her children, support her financially, and purchase a Beverly Hills home. Her suit also alleged that she quit her job as a flight attendant and occasional model to be with him. Maher's lawyers in their response filed on November 23, 2004, in Los Angeles Superior Court said Maher is a "confirmed bachelor, and a very public one at that" who "never promised to marry [Johnsen] or to have children with her."

Maher's filing stated that "When the dating ended, [Johnson] (sic) launched a campaign to embarrass, humiliate, and extort ridiculous sums of money from Bill Maher." Johnsen accused another former boyfriend of rape and kidnapping in 1997, and the charges were later dismissed for lack of evidence. Her lawsuit against Maher was dismissed on May 2, 2005.

Maher enjoys his bachelor status and states that he does not want to get married. On his website, he is quoted as saying, "I'm the last of my guy friends to have never gotten married, and their wives — they don't want them playing with me. I'm like the escaped slave — I bring news of freedom."

In 2005, he began dating Karrine Steffans, best-selling author and former hip hop model. When commentators suggested there was a pattern to his dating because both his girlfriend and former girlfriend were black, Maher said, "People say I'm into black women. Robert De Niro is into black women. I'm just into women who are real, and they happen to be black."

Maher has been associated with the Playboy Mansion and, when asked what he liked about it, responded, "The food is out of this world! I get the Playboy thing a lot. People assume I go out with bimbos. I couldn't go out with bimbos if I tried! I scare them off! The women that like me are smart. So I go to the Playboy Mansion four or five times a year, but people think I go all the time."

Maher lives in Beverly Hills, California.

Credits

Bibliography

''True Story : A Novel'', 1994 (ISBN 0-7432-4251-3)

''Does Anybody Have a Problem With That? Politically Incorrect's Greatest Hits'', 1996 (ISBN 0-679-45627-9)

''Does Anybody Have a Problem with That? The Best of Politically Incorrect'', 1997 (ISBN 0-345-41281-8)

''When You Ride Alone You Ride With Bin Laden: What the Government Should Be Telling Us to Help Fight the War on Terrorism'', 2003 (ISBN 1-893224-90-2)

''Keep the Statue of Liberty Closed: The New Rules'', 2004 (ISBN 1-932407-47-2)

''New Rules: Polite Musings from a Timid Observer'', 2005 (ISBN 1-59486-295-8)

Filmography

Film
! Year	! Title	! Role
1983	''D.C. Cab''	Bob
	''Rags to Riches''	Freddie
''Club Med''	Rick
''Ratboy''	Party Guest
1987	''House II: The Second Story''	John
1988	''Out of Time''	Maxwell Taylor
1989	''Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death''	Jim
1991	''Pizza Man''	Elmo Bunn
1996	''Don't Quit Your Day Job!''	Comic's Table
1997	''Bimbo Movie Bash''	Unknown
1998	''EDtv''	Himself
2001	''Tomcats''	Carlos
2005		Himself
		Himself
''Religulous''	Himself
2009	''New Rules: Best of''	Himself
2010	''Sex, Drugs & Religion (2010)''	Himself
HBO Specials
! Year	! Title	! Role
1989	''One Night Stand''	Himself
1992	''One Night Stand''	Himself
1995	''Stuff that Struck Me Funny''	Himself
1997	''The Golden Goose Special''	Himself
2000		Himself
2003	''Victory Begins at Home''	Himself
2005	''I'm Swiss''	Himself
2007		Himself
2010		Himself
Television
! Year	! Title	! Role
1985		Marty Lang
		Unknown
	Haskel
1989–90	''Murder, She Wrote''	(2 episodes)
1990	''The Midnight Hour''	Host
1991	''Charlie Hoover''	Elliot
1992	''Say What?''	Host
	''Married... with Children''	Adam Gold
''Roseanne''	Photographer
1997	''Dharma & Greg''	Himself
1993–2002	''Politically Incorrect''	Host
2002	''Just for Laughs''	Himself
2003–present	''Real Time with Bill Maher''	Host
2008	''True Blood''	Himself
2010		Himself
2010	''Family Guy''	Himself

References

External links

in 2004 in 2007

HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher" site

2006 Maher Interview with ''The A.V. Club''

2009 Maher Interview with writers at the ''Religulous'' DVD release

Category:1956 births Category:Writers from New York Category:Actors from New Jersey Category:Writers from New Jersey Category:American agnostics Category:American cannabis activists Category:American film actors Category:American libertarians Category:American satirists Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American television actors Category:American television talk show hosts Category:Cornell University alumni Category:American comedians of Irish descent Category:American writers of Irish descent Category:Living people Category:People from Bergen County, New Jersey Category:People from Beverly Hills, California Category:People from New York City Category:Religious skeptics Category:Former Roman Catholics Category:Actors from New York City Category:Drug policy reform activists Category:Animal rights advocates

ar:بيل مار bg:Бил Мар ca:Bill Maher cs:Bill Maher cy:Bill Maher da:Bill Maher de:Bill Maher et:Bill Maher es:Bill Maher fa:بیل مار fr:Bill Maher id:Bill Maher it:Bill Maher he:ביל מאהר nl:Bill Maher ja:ビル・マー no:Bill Maher pl:Bill Maher pt:Bill Maher ro:Bill Maher ru:Мар, Билл simple:Bill Maher fi:Bill Maher sv:Bill Maher ta:பில் மேகர் uk:Білл Мар zh:標·馬艾