Stephen and Evie Colbert at Montclair Film's Visionary Tribute Event at Joe's Pub on June 10, 2026. Santiago Felipe/Getty Images Less than a month ago, Stephen Colbert took his final bow as host of CBS’ Late Show. Last Wednesday night, it was his wife, Evie Colbert, who was in the spotlight, as she received the inaugural Evelyn McGee Colbert Visionary Award from Montclair Film, the New Jersey-based nonprofit behind the Montclair Film Festival, on which Evie Colbert until recently served as board president. In addition to receiving the now annual award, which will be dubbed the Evie, Evie and Stephen Colbert established the Evelyn McGee Colbert Visionary Fund to provide Montclair Film with resources to highlight visionary industry leaders and create community through storytelling.
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Evie Colbert recently shifted to the role of president emeritus of the Montclair Film board, stepping down after nearly a decade of daily involvement.
Though she’ll continue to remain closely involved with the organization (she’s “not going anywhere,” as she insisted), this shift offered an opportunity to recognize how far Montclair Film has come over its 15-year existence and pay tribute to all of the ways Evie Colbert contributed to that growth.
And that’s just what the Colberts, the leadership of Montclair Film and some famous faces did at Joe’s Pub in Manhattan amid performances by Joe McGinty & The Loser’s Lounge.
As new board president Mary Anne Vaughn said in presenting Evie Colbert with her award, “16 years ago, Montclair Film began as a spark of an idea. Founder Bob Feinberg invited Evie for coffee, and together they imagined a modest film festival. From that simple meeting, Montclair Film has grown into something extraordinary today. Montclair Film is far more than a film festival. Our nonprofit is a vibrant year-round organization featuring robust educational programming, two flourishing cinemas and of course the thriving 10-day film festival that started it all. Through the support of everyone in this room tonight, we have built a cultural cornerstone for our community and for the film industry.”
And as Evie Colbert herself put it, “We’re not just a tiny nonprofit anymore, with a four-day festival and a bunch of board members who go to parties and put up step-and-repeats,” recalling how she and others involved with the festival used to assemble red-carpet backdrops in the early days of the festival.
“We’re a $6.5 million organization,” she added. “We have, I think, 23 full-time staff members. Our educational programs reach over 5,000 students every year, and we operate two independent art house movie theaters.”
During her speech, Evie Colbert reflected on how both she and her husband were experiencing career changes and revealed how many of the same principles that Stephen Colbert had kept in mind during his time in late night had informed her work with Montclair Film.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about transitions lately,” she said. “The Colbert family’s been going through quite a few of them. Last week, we moved Stephen out of his office at The Late Show, and he showed me a tiny scrap of paper that I’d never seen. It was taped to the edge of his desk. It just has five words written on it: loyalty, respect, trust, honesty and love. He kept it there for over 21 years to remind him of the kind of show he wanted to lead. Well, for the past 15 years, it’s been my incredible honor to work with all of you to build something that we love, and we do it with trust and honesty and respect, and you’ve all done that with me.”
Evie Colbert also offered a personal thank you to her husband as she expressed her heartfelt gratitude to many of the individual people who were instrumental in creating and growing Montclair Film. Evie Colbert recalled how when she first got involved with Montclair Film, Stephen Colbert said, “This sounds like a really fun idea. Why don’t you do it and let me help you?”
She added, “And 20,000 interviews later, you have helped us,” poking fun at how many Hollywood stars he’d conducted sit-down chats with at Montclair events over the years.
Now the Colberts are continuing to help Montclair Film in the future through their Visionary Fund.
“I love living in this world that we have built. It’s a world that celebrates how storytelling deepens our connections and acknowledges our shared humanity. It’s hard sometimes to find that environment these days, and that’s why Stephen and I decided to establish this visionary fund. We wanted to create a reserve fund that will provide annual support to bring filmmakers and industry leaders to Montclair. So they can share their work and stories and experiences with our community,” Evie Colbert said, thanking those who had contributed to the fund. “With your help, we have ensured that Montclair Film will continue to grow to become even more of a leading destination for cinema artists.”
Taking the stage after Evie Colbert, Stephen Colbert said he was “so proud” to be her husband.
“I’m so happy that she received this recognition here tonight,” he added. “For the last 15 years, I’ve said, ‘I don’t understand why you do it. No one’s chanting your name and your name isn’t on the front of the building!’ I know she’s incredibly touched by what everyone has said here tonight, and I know how uncomfortable she is with this level of spotlight. She has dedicated her life to nonprofits and the arts and serving other people, and it’s in her family’s blood. Building the community that we grew up in was so important to Patty and Peter McGee, and I know more than anyone else in the universe, your mother and father are looking down and they’re so proud of you.”
A number of the Colberts’ famous friends also sent in video messages expressing their support for Evie and her work with Montclair Film — or at least that’s what they were supposed to say.
Steve Carell wished her a happy birthday and began singing before wife Nancy corrected him that “she’s stepping down as the creative director of Montclair Film.” “Congratulations to you,” Carell resumed, to the tune of the “Happy Birthday” song.
Conan O’Brien joked that he flew to Morocco for his tribute spending “hundreds of thousands of dollars” just for his hat. John Oliver poked fun at his personal film history, joking that he was a “certifiable movie star,” citing his roles in The Love Guru and the Smurfs films, which he joked “currently has 14 percent on Rotten Tomatoes out of, I presume, a maximum of 15 percent. I’m pretty sure that’s how numbers work.” And central Jersey native Jon Stewart joked he wasn’t “jealous in any way” of the Montclair Film Festival.
But arguably the sharpest barb came from Jimmy Fallon, who quipped, in reference to how CBS has replaced The Late Show with Byron Allen’s Comics Unleashed, “I don’t know how we’re going to get Byron Allen out to Montclair, New Jersey.”
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