Stephen Colbert suffers ruptured appendix; "Late Show" episodes canceled as he recovers

Late night host Stephen Colbert is recovering from surgery for a ruptured appendix, he said on Monday. "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," which airs on CBS, was canceled this week as Colbert recovers.

"I'm sure you're thinking, 'Turkey overdose, Steve? Gravy boat capsize?' Actually, I'm recovering from surgery for a ruptured appendix," Colbert said in social media posts. "I'm grateful to my doctors for their care and to Evie and the kids for putting up with me. Going forward, all emails to my appendix will be handled by my pancreas."

A ruptured appendix, also known as a burst appendix, spreads infection throughout the abdomen, a condition called peritonitis. The condition can be life threatening. It requires immediate surgery to remove the appendix and clean the abdominal cavity.

There was no new show scheduled for Monday night, but Colbert had been set to feature Jennifer Garner, director Baz Luhrmann and guitarist John Scofield on Tuesday; Patrick Stewart and Jon Batiste on Wednesday, and Barbra Streisand and Kelsey Grammer on Thursday. 

Colbert has hosted "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" on CBS since 2015. From 2005 to 2014 he was the host of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report."

CBS and CBS News and Stations are both part of Paramount Global.

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Aliza Chasan

Aliza Chasan is a digital producer at 60 Minutes and CBSNews.com. She has previously written for outlets including PIX11 News, The New York Daily News, Inside Edition and DNAinfo. Aliza covers trending news, often focusing on crime and politics.

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