In the very spirit of Carnac the Magnificent, Stephen Colbert has adopted his own Johnny Carson “esque” segment called “The Big Furry Hat.” For those of you who don’t remember Carnac the Magnificent on Johnny Carson, he was of Carson’s most well-known characters. Carnac was a “mystic from the East” who could psychically “divine” unknown answers to unseen questions.
The character was introduced in 1964. As Carnac, Carson wore a large feathered turban and a cape. The character would emerge from behind the show’s curtain accompanied by Indian music, and make his way towards the desk, where he would invariably stumble on the step in front of the desk and lose his balance. He would then make almost “psychic” predictions with an envelope in his hand. The questions in the envelope were a comedic connection to whatever “answer” he first spoke.
Colbert’s Big Furry Hat skit is more of an observational skit. Colbert talks about random customs, events, anything in society that he deems to be a little weird, off-putting, or some kind of practice that needs to change. For example one of his most memorable “laws” was when he said, “From this day forward, people who refer to their pets as their babies, must breastfeed their pets.”
Below you’ll find a video of some of his very best “Big Furry Hat” moments.
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