( CNN ) -- The real Stephen Colbert is probably someone `` Stephen Colbert , '' the character , would find easy to mock . The real Colbert is reportedly just a regular guy who lives in a New Jersey suburb with his wife and three kids , has taught Sunday school and says earnest things like `` I really admire newsmen '' when explaining that he does n't confuse his Colbert character with an actual journalist . Fans have readily embraced the blustering buffoonery of the conservative character Colbert , who arrives on the `` Colbert Report '' set to calls of `` Stephen ! Stephen ! '' It remains to be seen if they will have equal affection for the man Colbert who will replace David Letterman as host of `` The Late Show '' in 2015 . Even Colbert the character is aware of how tough that just might be . `` I got ta tell you , I do not envy whoever they try to put in that chair , '' he said with a wink on his Thursday night show as the audience cheered . `` Those are some huge shoes to fill . '' If anyone is used to challenges , it 's Stephen Colbert . Raised in Charleston , South Carolina , the youngest of 11 children , he was just 10 years old when his father and two of his brothers were killed in a plane crash in 1974 . Eastern Airlines Flight 212 crashed in a cornfield near Charlotte , North Carolina , and 72 people were killed . Colbert told Oprah Winfrey it took him years to grieve their deaths . `` I did n't really really feel the loss until I was in college , '' he said `` Then , oh , I was in bad shape. `` He told the New York Times Magazine in 2012 that he credits his mother with helping him survive the tragedy . `` She taught me to be grateful for my life regardless of what that entailed , and that 's directly related to the image of Christ on the cross and the example of sacrifice that he gave us , '' said Colbert , a devout Catholic . `` What she taught me is that the deliverance God offers you from pain is not no pain -- it 's that the pain is actually a gift . What 's the option ? God does n't really give you another choice . '' Colbert says it was his mother who encouraged him to enter Northwestern 's theater program , which led him into improv and a gig with Chicago 's famous Second City troupe . It was there he struck up friendships with Steve Carell and Amy Sedaris . Colbert eventually landed in New York City where he briefly worked with ABC 's `` Good Morning America '' as they needed someone who `` looked straight , but could act funny , '' he told CNN 's `` Larry King Live '' in 2007 . `` They really just wanted me to quip , '' he said . `` I did one piece for them . '' `` GMA '' shot down several other story ideas he pitched , Colbert said , but his credentials from them came in handy when `` The Daily Show '' came calling in 1997 looking for correspondents . Colbert had written a little for `` Saturday Night Live '' and his combination of comedy chops and the brief experience working with `` GMA '' made him `` genetically engineered '' to work with the show , he said he was told . Thus , the character of `` Stephen Colbert '' was introduced to the world . One person who could do without his alter ego is his wife , Evelyn `` Evie '' McGee-Colbert , whom he married in 1993 . She told Oprah Winfrey that other Colbert is not welcomed in their home . `` I do n't really like the other guy , '' she said . `` He does n't come in this house . '' Her husband is smart , funny and incredibly romantic , McGee-Colbert said . He is also intensely private , though he works hard to connect with his audiences and fans , he told Rolling Stone Magazine . `` I was 22 or 23 when I made a decision not to be actively Hamlet-like and miserable in my daily life , and the decision helped a lot , '' he said . `` Living vitally is not easier than living morbidly -- it 's just better . People are all we 've got . '' Colbert will have to rely on such fans to make his new venture a success . Merissa Marr of the Wall Street Journal wonders at his crossover appeal once Colbert the character has been vanquished . `` Whether Mr. Colbert can maintain his following as a different persona , no longer cloaked in parody , is n't guaranteed , '' she writes , noting that `` CBS is arguably the most middle of the road of the broadcast networks . '' Colbert 's old boss has no worries . On `` The Daily Show , '' Jon Stewart said , `` The exciting news is that I no longer need a cable subscription for the privilege of watching Stephen Colbert . '' `` I think Stephen Colbert is up for the challenge , '' Stewart said . `` So while we wish Dave the absolute best for a well-earned retirement , there 's no greater joy for seeing a genuinely good man , who works as hard as he can every day and deserves all the success in the world , actually get that success . For Stephen we 're just thrilled . ''
Colbert would not be in character on ` ` The Daily Show '' He credits his mother with helping him survive the loss of his father and two brothers . His mother is not a fan of the Colbert character .