In a recent interview for GQ magazine, Stephen Colbert opened up about the death of his father and brothers in the plane crash of 1974.
The comedian lost his father and two brothers, 18 and 15 at the time, while Colbert was just 10 years old.
The face of the Late Show gradually had to accept the tragedy. He used it as an inspiration for creating a comedic profile.
"That might be why you don't see me as someone angry and working out my demons onstage," Colbert explained during the interview. "It's that I love the thing that I most wish had not happened."
Colbert refers to the tragedy as a "bomb" and an "explosion" he had to face, accept, and "learn to love."
At 35-years-old, the star realized that this is something he's even grateful for. Losing his father and brothers gave him strength, courage, and the ability to build what he has so far.
"It stopped me dead. I went, 'Oh, I'm grateful. Oh, I feel terrible.' I felt so guilty to be grateful. But I knew it was true," he noted.
Colbert's family included his parents and a total of eleven children. His two brothers who died, Paul and Peter, were closest to him in age. All of his other siblings moved out of the house by the time the crash occurred.
Colbert stayed with his mom. The plane crash was an Eastern Airlines 212 flight that went down at a cornfield in North Carolina.
Check out the full interview in the September issue of GQ.
Photo courtesy of Scott Kirkland/INFphoto.com