Craig Ferguson

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Craig Ferguson (born May 17, 1962) is a Scottish-American comedian, television host, actor, and writer. He is the current host of CBS's The Late Late Show, a role which earned him an Emmy nomination in 2006. He became an American citizen on February 1, 2008.

Early career

Ferguson was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His experience in entertainment began as a drummer in a little-known punk band called "The Bastards from Hell. The band, later known as "Dreamboys," performed regularly in Glasgow from 1980 to 1982.

Ferguson got his start as a comedian in the United Kingdom, appearing on the alternative comedy circuit under the stage-name "Bing Hitler. A recording of his stage act as Bing Hitler was made at Glasgow's Tron Theatre and released in the 1980s. In addition, a Bing Hitler monologue ("A Lecture for Burns Night") appears on the compilation cassette Honey at the Core.

Ferguson toured the UK during the late '80s under his own name as a support act to Harry Enfield.

In 1993, Ferguson presented his own series on Scottish archaeology for Scottish Television entitled Dirt Detective. He travelled throughout the country examining archaeological history, including Skara Brae and Paisley Abbey.

After enjoying success at the Edinburgh Festival and breaking into television with appearances on Red Dwarf, STV's Hogmanay Show and his own show 2000 Not Out, the 1993 One Foot in the Grave Christmas special One Foot in the Algarve. After his show The Ferguson Theory bombed, Ferguson moved to Los Angeles in 1994. His first U.S. role was as baker Logan McDonough on the short-lived 1995 ABC comedy Maybe This Time, which starred Betty White and Marie Osmond and was the first screen credit for Dane Cook. Also in 1994 Craig played 'Father Maclean' in the highly controversial production of Bad Boy Johnny and the Prophets of Doom at The Union Chapel in London. After a spate of death threats from the London arm of Opus Dei the production was closed down after just ten performances.

His breakthrough in the U.S. came when he was cast as Nigel Wick, Drew Carey's boss on The Drew Carey Show, from 1996 to 2003. Of his over-the-top English accent on the series, Ferguson noted that plenty of English actors had used bad Scottish accents in the past, so it was time for a Scottish actor to use a bad English accent.

During this time he also wrote and starred in three films: The Big Tease, Saving Grace, and I'll Be There, which he also directed and won the Audience Award for Best Film at the Aspen, Dallas and Valencia film festivals. He was named Best New Director at the Napa Valley Film Festival. His other acting credits in films include Niagra Motel, Lenny the Wonder Dog, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Chain of Fools, and Born Romantic.

The Late Late Show

In December 2004, it was announced that Ferguson would be the successor to Craig Kilborn on CBS's The Late Late Show. His first show as the regular host aired on January 3, 2005. The Late Late Show averaged 2.0 million viewers in its 2007 season, compared with 2.5 million for Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

Initially, Ferguson opened the shows with a scripted monologue, as done on most late night talk shows. Later, Ferguson (who introduces himself to his audiences as "TV's Craig Ferguson") began improvising his monologues. The monologues often include self-deprecating jokes about his past experience with alcoholism, his two divorces, and his late-night time slot. He begins each program with a cheery "It's a great day for America, everybody..." Ferguson often refers to his studio audiences as "frisky little badgers," "naughty monkeys," "cheeky monkeys," etc. (accompanied by various sounds [a whip cracking, a sheep bleating, a scream, etc.] from a sound effects machine). He sometimes converses with himself on stage and says he's talking with his imaginary sidekick, Davis. He likes to end his monologue segment by striking the TV camera with his outstretched hand, causing it to shake slightly. He has kissed the camera lens and then advised his TiVo'ing audience not to backtrack and pause on his kiss because he doesn't know how he looks when he kisses. The monologue is usually followed by various comedy routines done from his desk, such as checking his voice mail, writing a letter, and reading viewer e-mail. Sometimes Ferguson does a skit in which he whooshes a bendy plastic tube in circles over his head, making a continuous whistling sound, summoning a man (and once also a woman) from another planet. The alien is standing in the audience wearing a robe and having a startled look on his face, also holding a tube circling it over his own head, making it whistle in a slightly different key. The two "tube talk" in various humorous sketches, while the viewing audience reads what they're saying in subtitles. Ferguson's guests often remark positively on his unusual-looking tussled hairstyle.

His catch phrases are "remind you of anyone?" and "I KNOW!" Typically these are used in a context such as "Sean Connery is just a handsome, old, gassy Scotsman...Handsome, old, gassy...remind you of anyone? ... I KNOW!" He will generally move close to the camera lens to fill the entire TV screen and turn his head slightly to one side when using his catch phrases as well. He has a physical comedy style all his own, dancing and moving in hilarious ways. Ferguson also likes to refer to himself as "European" in order to justify any odd behavior or after making a sexual comment on a person or topic. He also likes to toy with the so-called "fourth wall" (i.e. breaking the illusion that his program is broadcast live at 12:30 A.M.) by referencing events such as election results or the outcomes of sporting events which have not been resolved at the time of the show's taping (mid-afternoon). Since his program does two tapings on Thursday (both that night and Friday night's, leaving Ferguson free to do stand-up on weekends) he will often refer to Friday night "feeling like Thursday." The studio audience will obviously understand this, while the home viewer might not.

The Late Late Show often includes a humorous skit, where Ferguson lampoons such celebrities as Michael Caine in Space, Sean Connery - This Day in History, Larry King, Mick Jagger, Dr. Phil, Simon Cowell (Dr. Simon Cowell, M.D., crossing his arms over his chest to make his muscles look bigger like Simon Cowell often does), J.K. Rowling, and Prince Charles. Other sketches involve various original characters portrayed by Ferguson, including celebrity gossip host "Barney Slash," former British sports star "Dirk Weems," and second-tier superhero Aquaman.

Memorable episodes

On May 3, 2005, The Late Late Show guest Bill Maher (whose Real Time with Bill Maher is also produced at CBS Television City), in a riff on the Michael Jackson trial, made a controversial remark about child molestation, causing Ferguson to cut off the interview early.

In October 2005, Ferguson greatly played up his small role as "Fisherman #1" in the CBS made-for-TV movie Vampire Bats. Ferguson, and his single line of dialog, became a running joke on the show. CBS even ran advertisements for his appearance in the upcoming movie, also greatly emphasizing Ferguson's largely unimportant role. He even went as far as to have "Fisherman #2," Mitch Braswell, as a guest on the show (who mentioned how Ferguson had taken the "#1" role from him).

On January 30, 2006, Ferguson dedicated an entire episode as a "eulogy" to his father, who had died the week before. He discussed his childhood memories and talked about his loss with his two guests, both of whom were friends: Drew Pinsky, a doctor; and actress Amy Yasbeck, whose husband, actor John Ritter, had died suddenly. The monologue of this episode, during which Ferguson remembers his father and shares some anecdotes about their relationship, is considered by some to have contributed greatly to his 2006 Emmy nomination.

In February 2007, Ferguson refused to attack Britney Spears for her odd behavior (e.g., shaving her head). An alcoholic, who had recently celebrated 15 years of sobriety, Ferguson did not see the humor in her situation. He spent 12 minutes on-air describing his own substance abuse problems, and how he was able to recover from them. This stance actually gained him some recognition, and he was interviewed about it on the CBS Evening News.

On January 2, 2008, Craig returned to the airwaves during the Writers Guild Strike. A member of the Writers Guild of America himself, Ferguson honored the picket lines until his production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated (owned by David Letterman) made a side-deal with the guild. In his two months away, Craig learned how to ski. Unlike Letterman and Conan O'Brien, Ferguson did not grow a beard during his time off.

Sometime after the aforementioned episode, Ferguson jokingly lampooned the Writer's Strike and its effects with the opening sketch in which he says he created a gimmick to entertain college students on Friday nights. He wiggles his hand at the camera and deems the evening "Spider Thingy Bong Night." Throughout the show, the rock theme for Spider Thingy Bong Night can be heard with a graphic of Ferguson's head on a spider (clutching a bong).

Bob Barker

Ferguson's show is taped in the same building as The Price Is Right, formerly hosted by Bob Barker. For several weeks in 2006, Craig expressed an obsession with vampires and joked that Barker was a vampire who would "kick his ass" one day.

On July 14, 2006, Barker, announcer Rich Fields, and some of Barker's Beauties appeared on The Late Late Show. During the show, Barker claimed he'd heard that Craig said very nice things about him, and went on to make fun of the value of Craig's desk, pricing it at $9. Ferguson later claims to have had sex on the desk. Barker then prices the desk at $3 before breaking it with a karate chop. The Price Is Right beauties then proceeded to "finish it off" with claw hammers. Barker later made a guest appearance on The Late Late Show and presented Ferguson with a portrait of himself, complete with vampire fangs for the new set. Barker appeared on Ferguson's show to talk about his retirement this year after 35 years as host of The Price Is Right.

Ferguson continues to make vampire references to Bob Barker, especially near Halloween. An October 2007 comedy bit used photos of various celebrities to illustrate typical Halloween creatures (skeletons, zombies, etc.) as seen in Hollywood. Barker's photo was displayed when Ferguson mentioned vampires. He also made a sly reference to this when interviewing Drew Carey, Barker's replacement on The Price Is Right.

Other projects

Ferguson is the writer/co-writer and actor of movies including The Big Tease, Saving Grace, and I’ll Be There, which he also directed. He played the person who is half man, half woman in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

Ferguson hosted the 32nd annual People's Choice Awards on January 10, 2006. TV Guide magazine printed a "Cheers" (Cheers and Jeers section) for appearing on his own show that same evening.

Ferguson's novel Between the Bridge and the River (ISBN 0-8118-5375-6) was published on 10 April 2006. Ferguson appeared at the Los Angeles Festival of Books, as well as other author literary events. "This book could scare them", Ferguson said. "The sex, the violence, the dream sequences and the iconoclasm. I think a lot of people are uncomfortable with that. I understand that. It was very uncomfortable to write some of it." Publishers Weekly called it "a tour de force of cynical humor and poignant reverie, a caustic yet ebullient picaresque that approaches the sacred by way of the profane."

Ferguson played Ted Truman in indie film Trust Me. In the Red Dwarf episode Confidence and Paranoia, he played "Confidence," a character who personified the concept.

Ferguson hosted the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular on July 4, 2007. The telecast of the event was broadcast nationally by CBS.

In 1994 he played Father Maclean in the London production of Bad Boy Johnny and the Prophets of Doom by Daniel Abineri.''

He continues to make standup appearances in Las Vegas and New York City even while his show continues. He headlined in the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal, along with Howie Mandel and others.

Ferguson will be the featured entertainer at the April 26, 2008 White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, DC.

Personal life

Ferguson was born in Glasgow, Scotland, to Robert and Janet Ferguson, and raised in nearby Cumbernauld.

His first visit to the United States was as a teen; later, he lived in New York City, where he worked in construction in Harlem (when Samuel L. Jackson was a guest on his show, Craig joked that he "had to sprint through Harlem to the subway," to which Jackson responded that white people "are very welcome in Harlem!"), and according to Ferguson "used to be a bouncer at a cool club in New York called Save the Robots. That was the name of the club. I was the bouncer the first couple of weeks. I got fired. I was power crazed. I was acting like a gatekeeper from the Lord of the Rings.

Ferguson has two sisters (one older and one younger) and one older brother. His sister, Lynn Ferguson, is a successful comedian, presenter and actress, perhaps most widely known as the voice of Mac in Chicken Run. His brother, Scott, worked for STV, and is married to actress Teri Lally. His elder sister, Janice, is a successful businesswoman and fellowship member of IOSH. Ferguson's father died in 2006, and he devoted an entire episode of The Late Late Show to him.

Ferguson has married and divorced twice. From his second marriage he has one son, Milo, born in 2001. Between the Bridge and the River is dedicated to his son, along with his great-grandfather, Adam. He lives with long time girlfriend Megan Wallace-Cunningham, an art dealer.

A recovering alcoholic, Ferguson has been sober since 1992. He said he had considered committing suicide on Christmas Day, but when offered a drink for celebrating the holiday, he forgot to jump off the Tower Bridge in London as he had planned.

Citizenship

Ferguson became a U.S. citizen on February 1, 2008.

Ferguson frequently commented in various venues, including the Late Show with David Letterman and his own show, on his intention to become a citizen. Sometimes, after making a joke about President Bush, he would make a comment along the lines of "They will never let me be a citizen now."

In 2007, Ferguson tried to get an Honorary Citizenship from every state in America. He received honorary citizenship from; Arkansas, Montana, North Dakota, Tennessee, South Carolina, South Dakota, Nevada, Alaska, Texas, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, and honorary Indiana Hoosier, and various towns in the U.S.

Ferguson is an honorary citizen of Ozark, Arkansas, and the entire state of Arkansas, as mentioned several times on his show. He is now an Honorary Citizen of Greensburg, Pennsylvania as well. Respective governors John Hoeven, Mark Sanford, Mike Rounds, Rick Perry, Sarah Palin, and Jim Gibbons sent letters to him that made him an Honorary Citizen of each state.
An 11-year-old girl who watches the show e-mailed the governor of Pennsylvania asking for Ferguson to get citizenship in her state and succeeded.
Gov. Mike Rounds also appointed Craig as the official "state celebrity" of South Dakota.
As is noted by the segment intro graphic on the show, "Honorary citizenship is legally meaningless."
Ferguson was also named a "Duke of Hazard, KY" along with receiving a key to the city.
On September 17, 2007, Oscar the Grouch appeared on The Late Late Show and appointed Craig an Honorary Citizen of Sesame Street.
One locality in the U.S. that refused such an honor to Craig Ferguson is Portland, Oregon. A viewer had sent a request to Portland mayor Tom Potter. She received a response saying: Craig then used multiple profanities when referring to Mayor Tom Potter which had to be bleeped. Later in the show, when adjusting his map showing where he has been made an honorary citizen, he placed a photo of Michael Moore's head on top of Portland.

On the Tuesday, January 22, 2008, airing of The Late Late Show, Ferguson announced that he was scheduled to take his citizenship test in Los Angeles on Friday, January 25, 2008. The next Monday he announced that he received a perfect score, with footage of this shown as proof. Aware of the cameras, Ferguson gave tongue-in-cheek answers to some questions (in response to a request to name the writer of The Star-Spangled Banner, he replied "Francis Scott Key... and Puff Daddy".)

On Friday, February 1, 2008, Ferguson was officially sworn in as a citizen of the United States. Clips from his citizenship ceremony were aired the following week during Monday night's airing of The Late Late Show on February 4, 2008.

Guest appearances

Craig Ferguson has made guest appearances on the The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Show with David Letterman, Rachael Ray talk show, and the radio shows Loveline and the Dennis Miller Show.

References and footnotes

External links

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Last updated on Monday March 10, 2008 at 20:48:28 PDT (GMT -0700)
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