♪ ♪ ♪ >> Stephen: HEY, EVERYBODY! WELCOME BACK.
MY NEXT GUEST IS AN ANCHOR ON NBC'S "TODAY" SHOW AND A HOST OF
"DATELINE NBC."
HE HAS JUST WRITTEN A NEW BOOK: "POPS: LEARNING TO BE A SON AND
A FATHER."
PLEASE WELCOME TO "THE LATE SHOW," CRAIG MELVIN!
♪ ♪ ♪
♪ ♪ ♪ >> LOOK AT ALL THESE PEOPLE!
>> Stephen: I KNOW, ISN'T IT NICE.
WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS BACKSTAGE.
I HAVE BEEN WATCHING YOU FOR YEARS.
I QUOTED YOU ON THE SHOW WHEN I INTERVIEWED BILL CLINTON, BASED
ON YOUR INTERVIEW WITH HIM.
I SAID I THINK I KNOW THAT GUY.
I THINK I MET THAT GUY ON A PLANE FLIGHT FROM COLUMBIA,s
SOUTH CAROLINA, BETWEEN 200,000 AND MEOW-MEOW.
YOU TOLD ME THAT'S TRUE.
HOW DID WE MEET?
>> HERE'S THE TRUTH, STEPHEN COLBERT, I WOULD NOT BE IN THIS
SEAT ARGUABLY IF IT HAD NOT BEEN FOR A CHANCE ENCOUNTER WITH
STEPHEN COLBERT.
I WILL NEVER FORGET THIS-- IN 2008, STEPHEN COLBERT-- SOME OF
YOU ARE TOO YOUNG TO REMEMBER THIS, HE RAN FOR PRESIDENT.
>> Stephen: I DID, I DID.
YEAH, NOT A GOOD IDEA.
>> HE'S RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT BACK WHEN THE IDEA OF SOMEONE
BEING ON TELEVISION AND HAVING A BIG PERSONALITY, WHEN THAT
SEEMED TO MAYBE NOT BE -- >> Stephen: WHEN THAT WAS
FUNNY!
>> RIGHT, RIGHT.
>> Stephen: I WAS RUNNING IN SOUTH CAROLINA, MY HOME STATE,
WHERE YOU WORKED.
>> YOU WERE IN THE SOUTH CAROLINA PRELIMINARY.
AND HE HAD JUST WRITTEN THE BOOK AS WELL.
THE BOOK, MODESTLY TITLED, I AM AMERICA."
SO I'M ON THIS PLANE AT COLUMBIA METROPOLITAN AIRPORT, AND I'M ON
MY WAY TO A JOB INTERVIEW IN NEW YORK CITY.
I WAS DOING THE LOCAL NEWS AT WIS-TV IN COLUMBIA.
>> Stephen: COLUMBIA'S NEWS LEADER.
>> YES!
LOOK AT YOU.
FELLOW SOUTH CAROLINAIAN, HE KNOWS.
SO I'M ON THE PLANE.
I COULD NOT BE MORE NERVOUS ABOUT MY JOB INTERVIEW IN THE
BIG CITY.
AND I'M SITTING WINDOW SEAT AND THEY'RE ABOUT TO CLOSE WANT DOOR
BECAUSE THE-- YOU KNOW, IT'S, LIKE, 10 MINUTES BEFORE TAKEOFF.
AND THIS GUY GETS ON WITH, LIKE, THREE OR FOUR OTHER PEOPLE,
FLURRY OF ACTIVITY.
AND HE SITS IN THE CHAIR RIGHT NEXT TO ME.
I LOOK OVER AND I'M LIKE, "OH, MY GOD, IT'S THE GUY FROM JON
STEWART'S SHOW."
( LAUGHTER )
WANT TO BE THAT GUY.
BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, YOU NO ONE WANTS TO BE THAT GUY.
AND YOU SAID SOMETHING TO ME.
YOU COULD NOT HAVE BEEN KINDER.
YOU SAID, "HEY, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?"
AND AT THAT POINT, I JUST NEEDED SOMEONE TO TALK TO.
( LAUGHTER ).
>> Stephen: YOU'RE ALL HOPPED UP.
>> OH, MY GOD!
>> Stephen: I REMEMBER YOU WERE GOING TO INTERVIEW AT NBC.
>> NBC NEWS.
I PROCEED TO TALK ABOUT THE JOB AND HOW NERVOUS I AM.
AND THIS GUY, TOTAL STRANGER, PROCEEDS TO TALK ABOUT HIS
BESTSELLING BOOK THAT'S ON THE "NEW YORK TIMES" LIST.
( LAUGHTER )
TELL ME YOUR STORY.
AND YOU TALKED ABOUT-- I'LL NEVER FORGET IT AS LONG AS I
LIVE.
YOU TALKED ABOUT HOW TRAGEDY, EARLY IN YOUR LIFE, SHAPED WHO
YOU WOULD BECOME, AND HOW YOU FOUND COMEDY.
AND YOU TALKED ABOUT HOW WHEN YOU GOT THE CALL TO GO TO "THE
DAILY SHOW," HOW UP UNTIL THAT POINT YOU WERE WRITING FOR SOME
SITCOMS, AND YOU WEREN'T KILLING IT.
AND WHEN THE PHONE CALL CAME, YOU WERE RELIEVED.
YOU'D DONE SECOND CITY, YOU'D DONE ALL THIS STUFF.
UP UNTIL THAT POINT YOU TALKED ABOUT RENTING FURNITURE WITH
YOUR WIFE IN SOME APARTMENT AND HOW YOU HAD STRUGGLED MIGHTILY
ALL THESE YEARS.
AND THEN YOU BECAME STEPHEN COLBERT.
AND I REMEMBER IN THAT MOMENT THINKING, IF THIS GUY CAN DO
IT...
( LAUGHTER ) ( APPLAUSE )
IF THIS GUY CAN MAKE IT...
( APPLAUSE )
>> THANK YOU!
>> Stephen: YOU'RE WELCOME.
>> SERIOUSLY.
>> Stephen: YOU'RE WELCOME.
>> IT WAS THE PEP TALK THAT THE KID FROM COLUMBIA, SOUTH
CAROLINA, DESPERATELY NEEDED.
>> Stephen: WELL, SPEAKING OF, YOU KNOW, BEING SHAPED BY THE
OWN EVENTS OF YOUR LIFE, YOU'VE WRITTEN A NEW BOOK CALLED "POPS:
LEARNING TO BE A SON AND A FATHER."
WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO WRITE A BOOK ABOUT YOUR DAD?
>> SO NOT TO GIVE AWAY TOO MUCH, THE FIRST LINE IN THE BOOK IS--
YOU KNOW, MY DAD WAS BORN IN A FEDERAL PRISON IN WEST VIRGINIA,
1950.
AND IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT I REALLY KNEW ABOUT.
IT'S NOT SOMETHING WE REALLY TALKED ABOUT UNTIL I SAT DOWN TO
WRITE THIS BOOK, AND THE WAYS THAT THAT SHAPES AND MOLDS
SOMEONE, AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE, YOU DON'T FULLY APPRECIATE UNTIL
LATER IN LIFE.
SO MY DAD STRUGGLED MIGHTILY MOST OF MY LIFE-- UP UNTIL, IN
FACT, THREE YEARS AGO-- WITH VARIOUS ADDICTIONS-- GAMBLING,
BOOZE.
AND HE WAS NOT THE KIND OF FATHER THAT I WANTED AND NEEDED
IN THE 80s AND 90s GROWING UP.
>> Stephen: WAS HE PRESENT FOR YOU?
WAS HE THERE?
>> HE WAS PHYSICALLY PRESENT BUT NOTUE KNOW, NOT EMOTIONALLY
PRESENT, NOT SPIRITUALLY PRESENT.
HE WORKED AT THE POST OFFICE.
HE WAS A MAIL CLERK FOR ALMOST 30 YEARS.
DURING THE DAY HE WAS SLEEPING.
AT NIGHT HE WAS WORKING.
IF HE WASN'T WORKING HE WAS DRINKING OR PASSED OUT.
SO IT-- IT AFFECTED ME.
AND I DIDN'T FULLY APPRECIATE IT-- I DIDN'T FULLY APPRECIATE
THE WAYS IT AFFECTED ME UNTIL I GOT OLD AND I STARTED SEEING A
THERAPIST AND TALKING ABOUT IT.
AND SO THREE YEARS AGO, MY DAD GOT IN A LITTLE FENDER BENDER
BECAUSE HE'D BEEN DRINKING.
AND WE STAGED AN INTERVENTION.
WE HAD DONE IT BEFORE.
WE STAGED INTERVENTIONS BEFORE AND IT HADN'T STUCK.
THIS TIME IT STUCK.
WE USED A PROFESSIONAL.
AND HE WAS 67 YEARS OLD, STEPHEN.
HE HAD BEEN DRINKING FOR MORE THAN 40 YEARS.
HE KICKED THE GAMBLING ADDICTION.
HE DID THAT ABOUT 15, 20 YEARS.
BUT HE WAS DRINKING TO THE POINT WHERE HE WAS GOING TO HURT
HIMSELF OR HURT SOMEONE ELSE.
AND THEN AT 67 YEARS OLD, THE VILLAGE THAT LOVED HIM, LOVES
HIM, WE SAT HIM DOWN AND WE HIRED A PROFESSIONAL.
WE BROUGHT HER IN, AND WE READ OUR LETTERS OF LOVE, AND HE'LL
CHECKED HIMSELF IN TO A REHAB FACILITY IN-PATIENT, AND 12
WEEKS LATER HE COMES OUT, AND HE'S THE GUY ON-- ON THE COVER
THERE.
THAT PICTURE IS FROM MY-- MY SEVEN-YEAR-OLD SON'S BIRTHDAY
PARTY.
HE IS MAKING UP FOR LOST TIME IN A BIG WAY.
( APPLAUSE )
QUICK BREAK.
BUT PLEASE DON'T GO ANYWHERE.
WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK WITH MORE CRAIG MELVIN.
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ).
♪ ♪ ♪