Stephen Colbert Consults His Late Father When Writing Difficult Monologues

When Stephen Colbert has to address tragedy from behind the desk at The Late Show, he doesn’t just turn to his writing staff. He turns to a portrait of his father.

“I talk to his Holy Cross portrait,” the Catholic late-night host explains in a new episode of The Spiritual Life podcast, hosted by Father James Martin.The photo shows James William Colbert Jr., a devout Catholic and Jesuit-educated doctor who died in a 1974 plane crash along with two of Colbert’s brothers. Stephen was ten years old at the time.

Decades later, in moments of sorrow or crisis, Colbert says he isolates himself to write monologues that aim not for laughs, but for perspective. He listens to music, sits quietly, and asks his father: “What do I do here?”

Colbert explained that  he doesn’t expect a literal answer, but reflects on his father’s values—particularly his moral clarity and commitment to justice. “When I get to the pearly gates, I’d rather be thought a fool than not have helped the poor,” he recalled his father saying.

Colbert also keeps a Jerusalem cross made of olive wood—a gift from Father Martin—on his desk as a daily spiritual anchor. While Colbert doesn’t consider his process prayer, he said it demands conscience, intention, and a refusal to joke about others’ pain.

Asked if those quiet conversations with his father yield results, Colbert didn’t hesitate: “Yeah. Not a voice in my head… but I do.”Colbert’s episode of The Spiritual Life is available for streaming on podcast platforms and YouTube.