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St. Viator grad's comedy leads to Conan, Colbert

While growing up in Palatine, Brian Stack never thought comedy came from regular people.

"Show business was something done by aliens," he said. "I mean, nobody I knew could do comedy. It never occurred to me that I could do comedy myself."

Stack quickly discovered he'd been wrong. He could do comedy. And, he's been doing it for a quarter of a century.

Stack works as a writer on CBS' new "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."

Before that, Stack was a writer and performer for 18 years for late-night comedian and talk-show host Conan O'Brien.

Remember Frankenstein's monster trolling the hallways on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien"?

That was Stack.

Or how about Artie Kendall the creepy Ghost Crooner, a murdered lounge singer who specializes in bigoted and sexist lyrics?

Stack, again.

Hannigan the Traveling Salesman? The Interrupter? The stereotypical Scot Kilty McBagpipes?

Yep. All Stack.

"I've always been a pretty shy person, a quiet guy riddled with a lot of self-doubt," Stack confessed. "When I play characters, do voices or put on silly hats, I can disappear. To pretend to be somebody else for five minutes is fun."

But not standup.

"I've never done standup in my life," he said. "I would never go out there on a stage as myself. That's unthinkable!"

Born in Park Ridge 51 years ago, Stack moved around with his military father for a few years, then settled in Palatine.

He graduated from St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights and earned a telecommunications degree from Indiana University, where he became introduced to improv.

After getting a master's degree in communication at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Stack performed improv at the local Ark Theater, then worked four years at a Chicago ad agency.

In 1992, Chicago's Second City artistic director and producer Kelly Leonard hired Stack as a performer, a job he held for five years.

"It was crazy back then in the late '80s and early '90s," Stack said. "Amazing people are still coming out of Second City, but back then, the people you saw! Steve Carell, Amy Sedaris, Stephen Colbert."

Stack saw Chris Farley's first touring company show at Second City, a personally significant event because Farley had worked with Stack back in Madison. Plus, Colbert performed in that tour.

His Colbert connection allowed Stack to easily transition from Conan O'Brien's show, now on TBS, over to CBS.

Stack grew up with an appreciation of humor. His parents, Lawrence and Nancy (a retired fifth-grade teacher at Lakeview Elementary School in Hoffman Estates), loved comedy.

They weaned their son on such classic TV programs as "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "The Bob Newhart Show" and "The Carol Burnett Show."

One late night, comedy lightning struck Stack.

"'SCTV' came on at midnight after 'SNL.' And I said, 'What is this?' It looked so low-budget and I immediately connected with it. It felt precious to me, like I'd discovered a treasure chest that other people didn't know about, you know? That show meant a lot to me."

So did another program, one Stack called that "weird show on PBS" - "Monty Python's Flying Circus."

"I was instantly hooked," Stack said. "It was like 'SCTV,' right up my alley. From an early age, I appreciated the mix of complete insane silliness with some really smart comedy. Nothing ever hit me like a sledgehammer the way Monty Python did when they shook my whole understanding of what was possible."

John Cleese performs a skit written in part by former Palatine resident Brian Stack on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."

Strangely enough, Stack, an Emmy Award winner and frequent nominee, shies away from political humor, the defining brand of comedy practiced by his new boss, Stephen Colbert. Among Stack's recent contributions to the show was a skit involving funny hats and guest John Cleese.

"It's never been my natural inclination to go political," Stack admitted. "I've always been grateful for the people who are good at that because they're so necessary."

Stack is also grateful to comedy for personal reasons.

He met his wife, Miriam Tolan, when they worked at Second City together. They now have two daughters, Colette, 13, and Nora, 17.

"That's another reason to thank Kelly Leonard," he said.

Any tips for aspiring young comedy writers?

"Some of the best ideas come when you're just having fun," Stack observed. "If you're with the right people, screwing around can be very productive."

- Dann Gire

• Jamie Sotonoff and Dann Gire are looking for suburbanites in showbiz. If you know someone who'd make a good story, contact them at jsotonoff@dailyherald.com and dgire@dailyherald.com.

Starting early for ‘Late Show’

So, exactly how does a writer put together “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” every weekday on CBS?

“Usually, we get in around 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. every morning,” former Palatine resident and show writer Brian Stack said. “We have a pitch meeting every morning. We go over ideas and see what seems to be something that would make a good story. We figure out what we’re going to do for the show that day. We break into teams to work on those ideas.”

Rehearsals start in the afternoon and the show shoots at 5 p.m.

Even though Stack performed characters when he worked for Conan O’Brien, he has yet to do anything on-camera for Colbert.

”I do love performing,” Stack said. “Maybe later down the road I can do that. We’ll see.”

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