It's the Truth: Colbert to Lead Homecoming Parade at NU

By Olivia Leigh in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 19, 2006 6:52PM

While we have always remained partial to the show that made him famous, fake news trailblazer Stephen Colbert still manages to make us laugh with his signature brand of witty rhetoric and on-going quest for truthiness.

Turns out Mr. Colbert didn’t just wake up one day spewing forth spot-on sarcasm; instead, he honed his craft here in Chicago, making off with a degree in theatre from Northwestern, and also studying at Second City with Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello. The three would eventually work together on Sedaris' popular Strangers with Candy.

This weekend, Colbert will be returning to his old stomping grounds to serve as the grand marshal of the Homecoming Parade at his alma mater.

For Colbert, who graduated from the School of Communication in 1986, leading the pep rally on wheels will be a bit of a character turn from his collegiate self. “I can't imagine that we ever went to the Homecoming Parade, or Homecoming, or a single football game. He was not a fraternity boy,” Ayun Halliday, Colbert’s college sweetheart, told the Sun-Times.

What kind of boy was he? Apparently a geek, more inclined to play Dungeons & Dragons than show his school spirit.

Colbert plans to speak with former classmates at NU’s homecoming this weekend, but if you’d like to see him yourself, venture up to the parade tomorrow evening. It begins at 8 p.m. Friday at the intersection of Sheridan Road and Chicago Avenue in Evanston, heading north on Sheridan Road to Lincoln Street.

Image from ComedyCentral.com