Getty Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert, the host of The Late Show on CBS, has been broadcasting from his New Jersey home amid the coronavirus outbreak.
He began filming at his house in late March as states implemented stay-at-home orders and social distancing measures became the norm. Where do the comedian and his family call home?
Here’s what you need to know.
Stephen Colbert & His Family Moved to Montclair, New Jersey, In 2000 & Have Lived In Their Current Home Since 2008
Stephen Colbert and his wife Evelyn moved the family to Montclair, New Jersey, in 2000, according to NorthJersey.com. Their connection to the suburb may have played a role in keeping The Late Show in New York City when Colbert took over as the host. In 2014, CBS executives considered moving the program to Los Angeles. The New York Times reported at the time, “Several executives connected to the negotiations pointed out that Mr. Colbert had established a settled family life in Montclair, N.J., and had never looked to move to Hollywood.”
Colbert’s first house in Montclair, according to a search of online real estate records, was located along Bellegrove Drive. He and his wife bought the house in July 2000 for $$515,000. The property was built in 1929 and included slightly less than 3,000 square feet of living space. The Colberts received a substantial return on their investment when they sold the house in 2008 for $950,000.
The Colberts have been much more private about their current home. According to a search of online records, the family’s vehicles are registered to an address that belongs to a real estate agency.
But it’s clear the Colberts upgraded when they purchased their current house. The real estate website StreetEasy published a photo from above Colbert’s house that displays a sprawling back deck and a large yard. The photo is embedded at the top of this section.
Stephen & Evelyn Colbert Are Heavily Involved With the Montclair Film Festival
Getty Stephen Colbert and wife Evelyn
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is filmed at the Ed Sullivan Theater in midtown Manhattan (in normal times). Montclair, New Jersey, is a popular suburb for people who work in New York City because it is located just 12 miles west of midtown. The Township of Montclair, which is made up of just over six square miles, also has six train stations serving the community, according to the township website. Montclair has a population of about $38,000 people and the average household net worth is close to $1 million.
Stephen and his wife are active participants in the community. Evelyn Colbert is the president of the board of trustees for Montclair Film, which presents programs year-round and puts on an annual festival. Her husband is on the advisory board.
The Colberts have been described as the “guardian angels” of the Montclair Film Festival by NorthJersey.com. The publication explained in a 2017 feature that the couple garners additional publicity for the festival and have helped to lend credibility to the entire organization. “I’m lucky enough to be able to meet certain people at certain times in my life, that I can turn around and say, ‘Hey can I give you my business card? Can I tell you about the Montclair Film Festival?’ Evelyn Colbert said. “People I might not know if my husband wasn’t hosting a late-night television show.”
Stephen Colbert Filmed From His Back Patio & Bathtub Before Moving the Late Show Into a Study
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was forced to shut down production at the Ed Sullivan Theater due to the coronavirus in mid-March. But Stephen Colbert quickly got the show back up and running at his house in Montclair. Colbert experimented with a few different locations for the first few programs.
He has filmed himself outside on the back porch, in his bathtub and next to the fire pit on the patio. Colbert has since created a permanent studio inside a study somewhere inside the home.
Colbert has shared in his late-night monologues that his family members have been helping him put on the shows. He has had sons Peter and John say “hello” to the audience from off-camera. (He also has a daughter named Madeline). But the only family member who has actively interrupted tapings is the dog, Benny.
On April 1, Colbert involved Benny in a bit about training dogs to be helpful during the coronavirus pandemic. Colbert shared a story of a woman who had trained her dog to deliver groceries to a neighbor who could not leave the house. Colbert joked that he had written a prescription on a piece of ham and instructed Benny to deliver the ham to a neighbor who could take it to the pharmacy. Benny happily took the ham and Colbert said, “He really wants to help people!’
READ NEXT: Get to Know Andrea Bocelli’s Wife, Veronica Berti