i was never aware of the enormous tragedy in stephen colbert's childhood....

[dysfunctional press]

Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 was an Eastern Air Lines Douglas DC-9-31, carrying 78 passengers and 4 crew, operating as a scheduled flight from Charleston, South Carolina to Chicago, Illinois, with an intermediate stop in Charlotte, North Carolina. On the morning of September 11, 1974, while conducting an instrument approach in dense ground fog into Douglas Municipal Airport (now called Charlotte/Douglas International Airport), Charlotte, North Carolina, the aircraft crashed just short of the runway, killing 71 of the occupants. Thirteen people survived the initial impact, including the co-pilot and one flight attendant who walked away with no serious injuries; however, three more ultimately died from severe burn injuries.<1> One of the initial survivors died of injuries 29 days after the accident. Among those who died were the father and two older brothers of American comedian Stephen Colbert...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Air_Lines_Flight_212

[Subdivisions]

1. OMG...I also did not know that. Sheds a whole new light on

Steven. Imagine the pain he had to overcome. And every anniversary of 9/11 he must remember not only the pain of that day but also that other 9/11 in his life. Peace be with you, Steven.

[Dennis Donovan]

2. This is the first I've heard of it...

Jesus, on September 11, even! I can only imagine what Stephen was thinking on 9/11/01...:(

[Maccagirl]

3. Stephen is the youngest of 11 children

and his father and two oldest brothers were returning from trip to Massachusetts (I believe) to register the boys in college. His mother had to raise 9 children alone.

[ogneopasno]

4. I can't find it on their Web site, but Vanity Fair had an excellent article about him and his

childhood. It really shed an interesting light on him, and how he still carries a lot of pain from his childhood. He is also a strong if subdued Catholic, IIRC. I have so much compassion for him.

[malaise]

5. This is well known

He has spoken about it.

[ColbertWatcher]

12. Yes, all the Heroes know.

He has even mentioned his father on "The Report"

He was a hospital administrator in Charleston, South Carolina and helped to negotiate the end of a strike involving hospital workers and his employer that started in April, 19691.

Dr. J.W. Colbert had many black friends, such as the black friends who helped out during the hospital strike:

* Reverend Ralph Abernathy
* Coretta Scott King
* Andrew Young

--http://www.wikiality.com/Dr._James_W._Colbert">Wikiality, the Truthiness Encyclopedia

[qanda]

6. Wow! I had never heard of this before

So sad.

[Tinksrival]

7. His smile always makes me smile.

Hat tip to fellow DUer who snapped this pic outside the NY studio.

[norepubsin08]

8. Wow I never knew that

I am impressed with the fact that he was able to pick up and move on!

[JitterbugPerfume]

9. he is a real treasure

and obviously an intelligent and kind person

[Berry Cool]

10. I didn't know about it.

It seems as if horrible, great tragedy has the capacity to destroy souls or to make them very special if they find a way to work through their pain. In his case, it definitely seems to be the latter.

[sohndrsmith]

11. I can't believe you posted this today... thank you. I was watching him

last night, and as always, I noticed his ear, and (as always) was genuinely curious as to what may have happened. Was he born with it that way? Was it an injury? It doesn't matter whatsoever, but I've just always wondered. I was born with 2 slightly unusual ears (or so I thought), rather than one, and it really bothered me as a self-conscious teen...

What a horrible trauma to have gone through. I have been in a near fatal accident (internal injuries that almost did me in) with not any noticeable physical injury, and I've caught on fire... both of which were severely traumatic. I can't imagine going through something that is 10 times worse than both - combined. Burns are sooooooooo painful.

Thanks for posting. I didn't know how to ask about Colbert's ear without sounding ghoulish or crude, so I never have...

[AspenRose]

15. He's deaf in that ear

Born that way.

[sarcasmo]

13. Thanks for posting this.

[maseman]

14. He talked at length about it awhile back

on the Charlie Rose show. He said one reason he turned to making people laugh is because of the tragedy.