Stephen Colbert had a history with J.D. Salinger before the legendary/ornery/reclusive author died. In 2008, Colbert — a big Salinger fan — tried to get Salinger to make an appearance on his show, which, of course, failed. He remarked at the time, “Salinger is what is known in the talk show business as a ‘good get.'” In 2010, when Salinger died, Colbert paid tribute to him on the Report, and in 2011 Colbert was given access to some of Salinger’s papers at the New York Public Library and was reported to have had an odd emotional reaction to them, at one point talking to the letters as if he were talking to Salinger himself.
So it probably should come as no surprise that last night Colbert dedicated an entire show to Salinger — whose unpublished works will soon see the light of day — like he did for F. Scott Fitzgerald earlier this year, in the form of his “cOlbert’s Book Club.” Shane Salerno, the director of a documentary on Salinger, and author Tobias Wolff joined Colbert in the interesting and quite funny effort.
Here’s part one…
Part two…
Part three…
Part four…
