“Are people going to watch one guy talk for 22 minutes? As it turns out, if it’s Stephen Colbert, of course they are.”
Former Colbert Report writer Eric Drysdale shared this insight and other gems with former veteran Daily Show scribe J.R. Havlan for his podcast “Writers’ Bloc.” After teasing each other mercilessly for several minutes at the top, Eric discusses his early childhood fascination with comedy, inspired in part by listening to his Dad’s old 45s.
Eric is a familiar face to the Colbert Nation, having famously played Bobby the Stage Manager for several years. Previously, he was a writer on The Daily Show – you can check him out appearing in a few bits here and there early on. He is distinguished in having left the Daily Show to join Stephen on the then novel Colbert Report, and with the exception of a brief leave from April 2008 – October 2009, has been on the Colbert Report from start to finish. His departure was marked by Stephen eating Bobby the Stage Manager, even polishing off his ghost ribs for good measure.
The latter 15 minutes of the podcast address Eric’s experiences writing for the Report. At the end, there is a little Late Show speculation. Eric, emphasizing that Stephen will do “fine,” says “it’s funny, because when he started the show, everyone said ‘how is he going to do this character?’ And now they’re saying, ‘what do you mean – he’s not going to do the character!?!’”
From the podcast, there seemed to be a possibility that he may join Stephen at The Late Show as well. It’s a little early to figure all of that out, so we’ll have to stay tuned on that front.
Give this a listen if you want to hear about the journey of a Colbert Report writer in greater depth- particularly someone who started (and stayed on) with Stephen since the very beginning of the Report.
Eric Drysdale Featured on Writers' Bloc Podcast
Former Colbert Report writer Eric Drysdale shared this insight and other gems with former veteran Daily Show scribe J.R. Havlan for his podcast “Writers’ Bloc.” After teasing each other mercilessly for several minutes at the top, Eric discusses his early childhood fascination with comedy, inspired in part by listening to his Dad’s old 45s.
Eric is a familiar face to the Colbert Nation, having famously played Bobby the Stage Manager for several years. Previously, he was a writer on The Daily Show – you can check him out appearing in a few bits here and there early on. He is distinguished in having left the Daily Show to join Stephen on the then novel Colbert Report, and with the exception of a brief leave from April 2008 – October 2009, has been on the Colbert Report from start to finish. His departure was marked by Stephen eating Bobby the Stage Manager, even polishing off his ghost ribs for good measure.
The latter 15 minutes of the podcast address Eric’s experiences writing for the Report. At the end, there is a little Late Show speculation. Eric, emphasizing that Stephen will do “fine,” says “it’s funny, because when he started the show, everyone said ‘how is he going to do this character?’ And now they’re saying, ‘what do you mean – he’s not going to do the character!?!’”
From the podcast, there seemed to be a possibility that he may join Stephen at The Late Show as well. It’s a little early to figure all of that out, so we’ll have to stay tuned on that front.
Give this a listen if you want to hear about the journey of a Colbert Report writer in greater depth- particularly someone who started (and stayed on) with Stephen since the very beginning of the Report.