The Late Show with Stephen Colbert used its post AFC Championship lead-in Sunday night to preview the latest in celebrity endorsed athletic wear.
“If you love those celebrity Super Bowl ads, but don’t want to wait two weeks for them, you’re in luck—because tonight, The Late Show is proud to present the exclusive debut of this new star-studded commercial,” Stephen Colbert teased during his monologue.
Cut to an ad starring Emmy- and Tony Award-winning actor John Lithgow hawking a new product. “If I know one thing, it’s how to imbue characters with the kind of depth that suggests a rich inner life,” Lithgow declares. “But if I know another thing, it’s that you can’t drive hard to the hoop in a clown-a*s pair of basketball shoes.”
“You’ll be breaking ankles and making suckers cry more than Terms of Endearment,” the actor boasted, referencing one of his roles.
He goes on to show off “soles featuring the range of my work in both comedy and drama”—images of his roles in this year’s Best Picture nominee Conclave and 1987’s Harry and the Hendersons.
Lithgow has become a friend to Colbert’s Late Show over the years. In addition to guesting on the program ten times, the actor has also played Rudy Giuliani on the show on several occasions.
It’s not surprising that The Late Show would call in a celebrity cameo for last night’s episode. The rare Sunday-night edition of Colbert’s show was scheduled to capitalize on the audience that had tuned in earlier that night to watch the Buffalo Bills duke it out with the Kansas City Chiefs for a berth at the Super Bowl on February 9th. (The game will be broadcast on Fox this year).
In keeping with the football theme, last night’s Late Show featured an interview with Deion Sanders and musical guest Kane Brown.
Air Lithgows are available at “all remaining Grummelson’s Shoe Circus” locations. (That, unfortunately, is not a real place.)
