On the final night of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” the host recalled a stunt he pulled just before the show aired, saying, “Technically, our first show in July 2015 was for an audience of 12 people out of a public access station in Monroe, Michigan. That’s how show business is these days, so you’ll probably see me there next.”
Few people would have actually seen the gag, but that’s where Stephen Colbert made his next appearance. Twenty-four hours later, he was back on Michigan’s airwaves, hosting an hour’s worth of public access television without any significant advance warning. It turned out to be at least a quarter more star-studded than what he’d done the night before, and was arguably much more upbeat in its ultra-minimalist style.
During this low-budget hour, Colbert was joined by several notable Michigan residents: music director Jack White, who provided great music courtesy of a boom box and reel-to-reel machine, and guest Jeff Daniels. Eminem and Steve Buscemi also made cameos. Colbert then made a FaceTime call to Byron Allen, the successor to CBS’ late-night slot.
“Since I was last here in Monroe, Michigan, I served as the main host of CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert for 11 years, which ended last night,” he said at the beginning of Friday’s local broadcast at 11:35 p.m. “I am grateful that I was able to appear on Monroe Community Media before it was acquired by Paramount, as 23 hours without television was excruciating.”
Word of the stunt only began to spread on Saturday morning, when the Latenighter site reported on the ruse and posted an hour-long video of it on YouTube.
While White and Daniels were in the Michigan studio with Colbert, Buscemi happened to appear in a commercial promoting a Monroe restaurant named Buscemi’s Pizza.
Meanwhile, Eminem makes a very brief cameo near the end, when Colbert takes everyone on hand to a dumpster outside and tells them he’s going to burn the remains of the disused “Only in Monroe” set, but he needs permission from the fire department. “Marshall, is it okay if I light this on fire?” he asked. “Steven, Marshall, I’m here,” said Eminem, aka Marshall Mathers, who appeared in the video. “Marshall, is it okay if I light this on fire? Stephen Marshall, this is it. I’m sure we’ll burn that mother down, brother.”
Colbert did indeed guest host “Only in Monroe” for an hour in 2015, just before he started hosting on CBS. He brought back two women who were regular hosts on that show, Michelle Bauman and former Miss America Kay Lani Ray Lafko Wilson (she said she gave up part of the name over the course of 11 years, but did not specify which one).
Colbert spoke with the two women about how Bauman coped with her devastating battle with thyroid cancer, which is now in remission. But to keep things a little lighter, they took turns blowing helium and discussing it. (Colbert serenaded White with most of “Fell in Love With a Girl” while under the influence of the same helium.)
Colbert called Allen on FaceTime late at night and suggested he invite two women from Michigan to New York to guest host “Comics Unleashed.”
“Hey, I’m calling you right now at 11:35 p.m. here in Monroe,” Colbert told Allen, whose face was barely visible over the phone. “So we’re right across the street from you. I hate that, but I’m coming for you, brother. You can’t give up. I’m coming for you. Michigan public access is coming for you. No free rides. Hmm, Byron Allen. You have to win this. I had to go up against Jimmy. You have to go up against Michelle Bauman and Kay Lani Ray Lafko Wilson and our music director.”
Colbert then offered what sounded like a heartfelt thank you to Allen. “Anyway, Byron, put on a great show,” he said. “You’re the best, buddy. Thanks for picking me up… nice guy, Byron Allen. That’s what he meant, by the way,” he added, turning to the women. “You could host the program.”
White’s first task during this time was to assist Colbert, appearing expressionless and showing little interest. “You’ve got a lot of tools over there. Did you forget your wax cylinder at home?” Colbert quipped. “Yes,” White replied unamused. But later in the show, over a musical sequence like “96 Tears,” the rocker came to join Colbert for an in-depth discussion of the long-running rivalry between local Monroe chili dog shops, and the two bit into each end of one dog, “Lady and the Tramp” style.
Jack White and Stephen Colbert share chili dogs on Michigan Public Television
YouTube
White also participated in a discussion Colbert was having with two women about alleged Bigfoot sightings in the area. “You know, Stephen, for Bigfoot to exist… in order for it to continue to breed, there has to be at least 150 Bigfoot… Any fewer than that, and scientists think Bigfoot will become extinct.” Colbert seemed impressed by White’s knowledge of the yeti, and seemed even more impressed when White added to the folklore discussion that “there are Wampus kittens in some parts of Michigan, too.”
Colbert and Daniels, who lives near Chelsea, Michigan, discussed how Colbert was technically the first guest on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” although he wasn’t the first on the air. Daniels was asked to do a test interview with a budding host, and the recording went well enough that they used it for the first few nights of the broadcast, they both recalled.
Jeff Daniels and Stephen Colbert appear on Michigan Public Access Television
YouTube
Buscemi’s “commercial” amounted to a lengthy disclaimer: “I’m here to let you know that I have no affiliation with Buscemi’s Pizza and Subs in Monroe, Michigan. I am not the owner. I do not know the owner and this is not a commercial so they definitely This is a public service announcement alerting people to the fact that I don’t know anything about Buscemi’s Pizza. I’ve never been there. They claim to have the best pizza and flavorful subs in town, but I don’t know if that’s true. All I know is that there is a store with the same name as me. But if you’re in Monroe, Michigan and want pizza from a place that has nothing to do with my name, I don’t care. that. ”
Colbert was apolitical in his last night joke on CBS, and continued it with decidedly local humor in Monroe, along with the parochial line, “Holy Ghost Lutheran Church and School won the title of best fish fry in Monroe County this year. As always, the award for worst fish fry went to Dirty Dan’s Goldfish Electric Chair.”
There was little backlash against CBS, either, but he said, “Viewers outside of the greater Monroe area can watch Monroe Community Media thanks to something called streaming, but I promised myself I wouldn’t learn about that while I was at CBS, and apparently CBS has decided not to learn about that either.”
Finally, Colbert said that the creator of Public Access also contacted him and said, “We’re not using this set anymore, so it would actually be helpful if you could destroy it. That’s true. This is really great news, because right now people just want to destroy things for no particular reason.” White joined the hosts with a set smash and eventually a controlled burn.
It’s unclear when Colbert, White, Daniels and others traveled to Michigan for the taping, but it likely wasn’t actually Friday, as the host said he had plans to visit family after his final night at the Ed Sullivan Theater.
During the first part of Colbert’s public run, his comedy was met with an eerie silence, but after he told the staff, “It looks like you’re holding back the laughs. Like, that sound you just made was like, ‘I don’t want to make a laugh while he’s telling a joke.'” Things could be heard loosening up considerably in the studio. You can just laugh. ‘It’s really okay. ” And from there, there were occasional bursts of laughter as the let loose host moved into one of the best forms of comedy: muskrat humor.
