“We claim no respectability. There's no status I would not surrender for a joke.”

— Stephen Colbert, Rolling Stone interview (31 October 2006)

About Stephen Colbert

Born 1964

American comedian and television host.

“Don't be afraid to be a fool. Remember, you cannot be both young and wise.”

“Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it.”

“Cynics always say no. But saying yes begins things. Saying yes is how things grow. Saying yes leads to knowledge.”

“The older I grow, the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom.”

“If a man could half his wishes he would double his troubles.”

“Wit is cultured insolence.”

“Your race, in its poverty, has unquestionably one really effective weapon—laughter.”

“A sense of humour is a sense of proportion.”

“My way of joking is to tell the truth. It's the funniest joke in the world.”