The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is cleaning house—and you can be part of its estate sale.
With only about five months to go before his show’s cancellation takes effect, Stephen Colbert is auctioning off memorabilia from the show he has hosted for over a decade—with all proceeds going to charity.
The host announced the sale with the help of his guest Paul Rudd in a home shopping-inspired segment on Monday’s Late Show. The auction, hosted on eBay, will benefit World Central Kitchen, the not-for-profit organization founded by Colbert’s friend and frequent guest, chef José Andrés.
“As I look around at the historic Ed Sullivan Theater… I can’t help but think to myself, ‘I bet I could sell a lot of this stuff,’” Colbert joked before kicking off the segment. “Rather than let the wonderful props and artifacts we have collected end up in the junk heap of the Smithsonian, we’re going to sell them off on air and donate the proceeds to charity.”
With that, Colbert kicked off what he dubbed “Late Show Home Shopping: Canceled Clearance Sale: Bye Bye Buy!”
The largest item being offered is Colbert’s desk from one of the strangest chapters in late-night history. Like each of the other network late-night hosts, Colbert hosted audience-free episodes of his program in a makeshift studio after graduating out of fully quarantined remote shows. Rechristened A Late Show, the program’s set replicated Colbert’s actual wood-paneled office at the Ed Sullivan Theater.
All told, Colbert sat behind the 120-pound desk (which will ship unassembled) for 152 episodes, interviewing both virtual and in-person guests. Within an hour after Colbert announced the auction on air, the desk was fetching over $12,000 and counting.
Colbert is also auctioning off the aviator sunglasses he has worn for his impression of President Joe Biden. (“It’s an exciting item,” Colbert pointed out, “because as you might remember, the glasses were my whole impression.”) The aviators are paired with a copy of People magazine naming Rudd as its “Sexiest Man Alive,” signed by Rudd.
Colbert’s John Hancock can also be acquired via a signed replica of the script from his first-ever Late Show on September 8, 2015. To sweeten the pot, he’s thrown in a movie poster for Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania signed by Paul Rudd, and a poster for its porn parody counterpart designed for The Late Show.
Also up for grabs are nine different neckties that Colbert has worn on the show, each one signed by the host. Within an hour, bids for each of the ties had surpassed $300, with one approaching $1,000.
The crown jewel of the auction block, though, might be an item that doesn’t usually carry a monetary value: two tickets to the final taping of The Late Show. While tickets to TV tapings are usually free, Colbert’s finale—set for sometime in May—is sure to be a standing-room-only affair.
“Who will be the guests? What will the jokes be?” Colbert teased. “Which detail about working with this amazing staff and crew will make me start openly weeping on national television? It’s gonna be fun.”
“It’s perfect if you love The Late Show,” added Rudd. “Or if you hate it and you just want to watch Stephen cry and lose his job.”
The two VIP tickets up for auction will also come with the two commemorative tickets Colbert used as a prop on air to announce the auction. Bids are already approaching $15,000.
The Late Show’s going-out-of-business auction is running on eBay now through Christmas Day.
GO STEPHEN!
I think Steven needs to remain on the air. I love his show and it’s the ONLY late show I watch. So when he’s off air, I’ll not be watching any show anymore, but reading a book instead.
Stephen Colbert is a great comic as well as a clear headed observer and commentator of the events that people really care about. Shame on CBS for submitting to political pressure and ignoring the public!
This isa more appropriate time to say VERGOGNA!