For any viewers (or critics) who may have been feeling that the recent wave of heartfelt tributes to Stephen Colbert ahead of his May 21 finale has gotten a bit… sentimental, Thursday night’s episode of The Late Show offered a corrective.
Enter Triumph the Insult Comic Dog.
The foul-mouthed puppet made a surprise “phone call” to the show during Robert Smigel’s guest appearance Thursday, delivering a rapid-fire roast of Colbert that briefly punctured the increasingly emotional farewell tour surrounding the host’s impending exit.
Smigel, of course, has deep ties to Colbert. The comedy writer and producer famously hired him for his first television writing job on The Dana Carvey Show. Smigel went on to create Triumph during his run at Late Night with Conan O’Brien, where the cigar-chomping insult comic dog became one of late-night TV’s most enduring characters.
Colbert opened the interview by admitting he’d hoped Smigel might bring the character along.
“Obviously I was really hoping instead of you it would be Triumph,” Colbert joked.
Smigel replied that the dog couldn’t make it in person—but had agreed to call.
Moments later, Colbert picked up an old-fashioned phone placed on his desk and heard the unmistakable gravelly voice on the other end (with Smigel conveniently off camera as the dog spoke).
“Hello, are you there, Stephen?” Triumph began. “Are you talking to the hand up my ass or are you still trying to set up that ‘Meanwhile’ bit?”
Smigel-as-Triumph quickly moved into familiar territory, mocking everything from Colbert’s pronunciation of his own name to the show’s loyal studio audience.
“It’s Colbert, not Cole-bert. The ‘T’ is silent,” he said. “Just like the audience when you talk about The Lord of the Rings.”
The puppet also took aim at the show’s nightly chants of Colbert’s name.
“Are they laughing, or just chanting ‘Stephen’ for the 26th time?”
Even bandleader Louis Cato caught some friendly fire.
“Please thank your bandleader, Steve Urkel, for me,” Triumph quipped, before adding, “I kid.”
The bit eventually turned—briefly—toward Colbert’s looming departure from CBS, with Triumph mock-defending the host.
“CBS—they have to keep you, Stephen! Seriously, they need you!” Triumph said.
“For what?” Colbert asked.
“To promote their crap,” Triumph replied. “Who else is going to put that Elsbeth on their show? You think Kimmel is going to put Elsbeth on?”
Triumph wrapped up the call with perhaps his sharpest jab of the night.
“You are the James Dean of late night,” he told Colbert.
“I am the James Dean of late night?” Colbert asked.
“No one born after 1985 has ever heard of you.”
Colbert quickly moved to end the call—with Triumph reluctantly agreeing with one last jab: “so long as it was truly a financial decision.”
After hanging up, Colbert turned back to Smigel.
“I’m glad you didn’t bring him,” he said.
“I’m so glad I didn’t bring him,” Smigel replied.
Watch Smigel’s complete visit with Colbert at the top of this post.
