Stephen Colbert became visibly emotional when Blues Clues original host Steve Burns made a surprise appearance on his talk show on Thursday.
Colbert, 57, was doing a riff on a sweet video Burns had shared for his longtime fans to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the children’s program.
Then he was interrupted by Burns, 47, who walked out and shocked Stephen. The two chatted and Burns ended up giving Colbert a hug.
Touching: Stephen Colbert became visibly emotional when Blues Clues original host Steve Burns made a surprise appearance on his talk show
‘Folks, that soft sound you’ve been hearing everywhere this week is the internet weeping because Steve, the original host of the children’s show Blue’s Clues, dropped a video message to millennials,’ Stephen said in the beginning of the segment.
‘Now, I was a grown up in the late ’90s. Although I was aware of the show because of my kids, those kids are all grown up and moved away now.
‘So obviously I have no emotional investment in Steve,’ he continued to the laughter of the audience.
‘But alright, what did he say?’ Colbert asked. He then played the video, which he stopped occasionally to insert his own jokes.
He’s back! On Tuesday, Burns, 47, shared a message for fans of the animated children’s show on its 25th anniversary in a clip that went viral
The video then began with Steve, wearing his signature green striped polo along with a baseball hat, saying, ‘Hi, you got a second? Okay, you remember how when we were younger we used to run around and hang out with Blue and find clues and talk to Mr. Salt and freak out about the mail and do all the fun stuff?’
‘I remember that,’ Stephen joked.
As the clip continued, Burns said, ‘And then one day, I was like “Oh hey, guess what? Big news … I’m leaving. This is my brother Joe, he’s your new best friend.” And then I got on a bus and I left – and we didn’t see each other for like a really long time. Can we just talk about that?’
Stephen deadpanned, ‘Yeah, let’s talk about that. Where’d you go?’
Explaining: Steve admitted that it was ‘kind of abrupt’ that he left the show to go to college, which he said was ‘really challenging, by the way’
Steve admitted that it was ‘kind of abrupt’ that he left the show to go to college, which he said was ‘really challenging, by the way.’
‘But great because I got to use my mind and take a step at a time, and now I literally am doing many of the things that I wanted to do,’ Steve said.
‘Wow, I guess I never thought about your needs back then. I’m sorry, I didn’t know, go on,’ Colbert quipped.
The former Blue’s Clues host then told his fans it was ‘amazing’ how they have grown up since watching him on TV, in a particularly emotionally rousing part of the video.
Sweet: The former Blue’s Clues host then told his fans it was ‘amazing’ how they have grown up since watching him on TV, in a particularly emotionally rousing part of the video
‘And then look at you, and look at all you have done and all you have accomplished in all that time. And it’s just, it’s just so amazing, right?’ he said.
Stephen interjected, ‘I have grown a lot. I’m on network now.’
The clip resumed as Steve said, ‘I mean, we started out with clues and now it’s what? Student loans, and jobs, and families, and some of that has been kind of hard, you know? I know you know.’
‘I know,’ Colbert said with nod.
In the video, Steven continued, ‘I guess I just wanted to say that after all these years, I never forgot you. Ever.’
‘I never forgot you either,’ Stephen jested.
Burns concluded, ‘And I’m super glad we’re still friends.’
Emotional: Though the talk show host adopted a sardonic tone as he reacted to the video, by the end, he appeared genuinely touched
Surprise! The camera then cut to Steve, who was standing at the side of the stage
Though the talk show host adopted a sardonic tone as he reacted to the video, by the end, he appeared genuinely touched.
‘You’re welcome, you’re welcome,’ Stephen said as he shuffled papers on his desk and wiped his face.
‘Like I said, like I said, um, nice message and everything, but that show was for my kids,’ Colbert said. ‘And I am a man, and, by definition, I feel nothing.’
Fun moment: The studio audience began cheering as Colbert looked at Burns with a shocked expression
The camera then cut to Steve, who was standing at the side of the stage. ‘Are you sure about that, Stephen?’ he said, tilting his head with a smile.
The studio audience began cheering as Colbert looked at Burns with a shocked expression.
‘Steve from Blue’s Clues who I’m not emotionally invested in? What are you doing here?’ Colbert asked.
Acting tough: ‘Steve from ‘Blue’s Clues’ who I’m not emotionally invested in? What are you doing here?’ Colbert asked
New friends: Steve replied, ‘I just came by. I wanted to see if you were okay. You seemed kind of upset, and I just wanted to know if maybe you wanted a hug? I mean that’s what friends do, right?’
Cute: He then got up from his desk and two men embraced
‘I just came by. I wanted to see if you were okay. You seemed kind of upset, and I just wanted to know if maybe you wanted a hug? I mean that’s what friends do, right?’ Steve said as he approached Stephen’s desk and opened his arms.
While shrugging his shoulders, Colbert replied, ‘I mean if you need one, or whatever.’ He then got up from his desk and two men embraced.
After they pulled away, Steve blew kisses to the audience as they clapped. Stephen then bent down to retrieve the show’s trademark blue paw print that symbolizes the clues for each episode.
‘Oh wait! Steve! It’s a clue,’ Colbert exclaimed with a wide smile.
‘Wow, great job, Stephen, let’s go tell Blue!’ Steve cried out as the two excitedly ran off stage.
Funny: Stephen then bent down to retrieve the show’s trademark blue paw print that symbolizes the clues for each episode. ‘Wow, great job, Stephen, let’s go tell Blue!’ Steve cried out as the two excitedly ran off stage
In the 2002 episode that marked his departure, Burns hopped on a computer-animated bus and ‘went to college’ wearing a baseball cap and carrying his suitcase – leaving Blue’s Clues in the hands of his ‘brother,’ played by Donovan Patton.
Steve’s exodus devastated his young viewers and sparked rumors about the reason behind his abrupt exit from the show.
The new two-minute clip, which was posted by Nickelodeon channel for young viewers Nick Jr., has since gone massively viral with more than 36 million views just on Twitter.
Racking up the views: The new two-minute clip, which was posted by Nickelodeon channel for young viewers Nick Jr., has since gone massively viral with more than 36 million views just on Twitter
Back then: Steve is seen leaving the show in his final episode while his replacement, Joe, watches in the background
Exit: Steve hopped on a computer-animated bus and ‘went to college’ wearing a baseball cap and carrying his suitcase – leaving Blue’s Clues in the hands of his ‘brother’
Retro: The former Nickelodeon talent was a fixture of many millennials’ childhoods, tasked to help cartoon dog Blue solve mysteries on the children’s series
Blue’s Clues premiered on Nick Jr. on September 8, 1996 and has been called ‘one of the most successful, critically acclaimed, and ground-breaking preschool television series of all time’ in a brief documentary on the show.
Steve’s departure from Blue’s Clues was surrounded by some dark rumors, with hoaxes claiming he had died from a heroin overdose or was killed in a car accident prevalent for years. Other rumors claimed Steve was actually a porn star.
After hearing some of the first rumors, Steve’s mom called him crying to make sure he was okay, he told DailyMail.com in 2017.
‘It’s awkward. It’s not pleasant. It’s bizarre and surreal. I think that perhaps Blue’s Clues and that rumor kind of started in the age when the internet was really kind of becoming a place where people sought news,’ Steve said.
‘So I think it was a little extra sneaky because of that. But other than that, I couldn’t tell you where it started or why it started or why it persists. I really couldn’t.’
New guys! He gathered with the new hosts at the end of the clip
Post-Blues: After leaving the show, Burns embarked on a music career, working with Flaming Lips producer David Fridmann and drummer Steve Drozd on an alternative rock album called Songs for Dustmites in the early 2000s
The rumors have even been tackled by urban myth-busting websites that suggest another of Steve’s television appearances is what launched the rumors.
In 1995, Steve appeared on an episode of Law and Order where his character, Kevin Jeffries, died in police custody after police thought he was on drugs. They later discovered he was autistic.
For a young child who might have seen the episode and been unable to distinguish Steve from Blue’s Clues and his Law and Order character, his ‘death’ might cause confusion and be an easy place to start a rumor.
Steve said he had simply decided to leave Blue’s Clues to go back to his career as a voice over artist, and didn’t want to continue working on-screen – adding that he was ‘burned out’ from doing the show for seven years.
He later embarked on a music career working with Flaming Lips producer David Fridmann and drummer Steve Drozd on an alternative rock album called Songs for Dustmites in the early 2000s.
‘Everyone wants there to be a dramatic answer and there’s not. I wish I had a cool answer for this, but I just – I did it for like seven years and it just seemed like time to go. It just seemed like the right time,’ Steve told DailyMail.com.