“Hi!  How’ve you been?  Before we start the broadcast tonight I just want to address my recent absence from the national conversation. As the hub around which the Republic turns, I can understand why the machinery of this great nation ground to a halt last week when you were denied THIS.  I’m sure you felt the same way I do when I’m in a room with no mirrors,” he said.

He went on to jokingly address the “wild rumors” surrounding his absence, which ranged from plastic surgery to rehab.

“Others said because I said I offended the Catholic church when I compared the Pope’s hat to a giant yet stylish prophylactic.”

“Rumors quelled, moving on,” he said before hesitating.

“Oh, one more thing. Evidentally, having 11 children makes you tough as nails.  Confidential for a lovely lady.”

After days of speculation and reports from unofficial sources, this was the first time he acknowledged that the family emergency alluded to in his weekend Tweet was indeed related to the health of his 91 year old mother, Lorna.

Despite the pressure to address the situation, it comes as a bit of a surprise that Colbert chose to speak this directly about the absence. Aside from being a difficult event to address via his alter ego, the real Colbert attempts to keep his family life private as much as possible. Regardless, he’s often asked by the media to discuss his family – particularly the 1974 Eastern Airlines crash that killed his father and two of his brothers.

First reluctantly revealed by Colbert to the New York Times magazine in 2005, the family tragedy is repeatedly broached by interviewers, nearing the point of being reduced to a piece of trivia. (Notably, Barbara Walters interrupted a moment of frivolity on The View in 2010 to jarringly bring it up.)

With very little in the way of official news through Comedy Central, viewers have been sending their regards via Twitter.

Some fans have taken more organized approaches to their well-wishing, such as starting a donation pool to fund a flower delivery or a charity donation — all with positive intentions, but varied in appropriateness.

Third Beat hereby offers the following suggestion to fans wanting to reach out:

Most performers will attest to the power of a performance high in alleviating pain, whether it’s physical or emotional.

In May of 2011, Colbert told a studio audience after the cameras stopped rolling that he’d been suffering from back spasms and vertigo, and said “having all of your joy, and your energy, made it all okay. When you were laughing, I didn’t feel the pain at all…. So thank you for your joy.”

While public concern is understandable (and clearly very appreciated by Colbert), returning to work this week giving audiences a show probably benefits him more than any fan-driven campaign could.

So the best thing his fans can do for him?  You’re already doing it.

Pinterest is a social media site that allows users to share visual inspiration by “pinning” items on their personal pinboards. Now, you can easily pin Third Beat’s content on Pinterest!

It’s easy: at the bottom of each post, you’ll see an icon that says “Pin It”. Click that, and you’ll see a pop-up of all the images contained in that post. Click an image, and voila – comedy goodness right on your Board, sandwiched between shots of your latest Sephora haul and the perfect Margarita recipe.*

For example: if you enjoy Garfunkel & Oates, you would head over to this post full of photos from Amp’d at Just For Laughs, click “Pin it”, select your favorite shot, and it’ll be shared with all your Pinterest followers.

You can also follow Third Beat’s Pins at http://pinterest.com/thirdbeat

*Alright, so Pinterest isn’t just a girl thing anymore, but still…

Tuesday, February 21
Jay Leno: Rob Riggle
Craig Ferguson: Bill Maher
Jimmy Fallon: David Wain, David Alan Grier

Wednesday, February 22
Jay Leno: Tim Allen
Carson Daly: J.B. Smoove
Tavis Smiley: Steve Martin

Thursday, February 23
The Talk: Tom Arnold

Friday, February 24
Carson Daly: David Wain (repeat)

EDIT, 2/19 – Comedy Central has confirmed that Monday’s taping of the Colbert Report will go ahead as scheduled. Still no official confirmation of the reasons behind Colbert’s absence from the show.

EDIT, 2/18 – At this point, it appears that Colbert is planning to go ahead with Monday’s taping. The automated ticket system was re-releasing cancelled tickets throughout the day Saturday, and there has been no update to the guest listings. As for the cause of the absence, it’s likely safe to translate Colbert’s tweet to be confirmation of reports that his mother is seriously ill.

EDIT, 2/16 – Earlier today the The Wall Street Journal cited “family emergency” as the cause behind Stephen Colbert’s absence from the air, while The Huffington Post quotes unnamed sources in its reports that it’s due to the ill health of his mother, Lorna Colbert. The latter has been the most common hypothesis among viewers as well, due in part to Lorna’s advanced age (91). Comedy Central is saying that next week’s Colbert Report tapings are expected to be a go, but since even the show’s own staff apparently hasn’t been informed of the reasons behind his absence, it’s unlikely the publicity department has much to base that on.

Original post:

The Colbert Report has suspended production for at least two nights, for as of yet unknown reasons.

According to users on Twitter, tonight’s taping was cancelled late last night. The show’s audience department sent out a notification email, reading in part “Due to unforseen circumstances, we have canceled our taping for the date of your ticket reservation, February 15, 2012.”

Comedy Central press photo.

A last-minute cancellation is highly unusual for Comedy Central’s fake news shows. The Daily Show has suspended production last-minute due to personal reasons twice during Jon Stewart’s reign: once when his second child was born, and once when a staff member passed away suddenly. If this week’s reasons are of a similar nature, it would be a first for the Colbert Report.

We’ll update this post when we learn the “why”. It should be safe to rule out Stephen being sick, since he’s previously taped shows with a freshly broken wrist, a cut on the bridge of his nose from a boating mishap, and a nasty case of the flu (as seen below).

Nothing apocalyptic has resulted as of yet, unless you count Jim Gaffigan’s announcement today that he’ll be following in C.K.’s footsteps and releasing his next special in a similar fashion “sometime in April”.

Citing the “brilliant” C.K. as the inspiration, Gaffigan’s Mr. Universe will also sell for $5 through his own website, www.jimgaffigan.com.

C.K.’s experimental sales model brought in over a million dollars, a portion of which he decided to donate to multiple charities. Gaffigan will do the same, and has picked a singular charity out of the gate to receive $1 from every purchase: The Bob Woodruff Foundation, which assists injured U.S. veterans and their families.

The Bob Woodruff Foundation already has strong ties with comedy. One of their major fundraising efforts is Stand-Up For Heroes, an annual benefit in New York City featuring big-name comics (including Gaffigan) and other celebrities.