Craig Ferguson

Craig Ferguson Profile

Comedic genius Craig Ferguson has won millions of fans with his unorthodox approach to late night television. As host of CBS’s The Late Late Show for ten years, Ferguson often pushed the limits of broadcasting in a diverse program that featured ad-libbed jokes, a robot skeleton sidekick, heartfelt monologues, and honest interviews on heavy issues. The program pulled off such a startling blend of substance and entertainment that the Peabody Award committee declared “the silliest hour of television could also be the smartest.”

The Scottish-born Ferguson went from being a punk rocker to a construction worker to a bouncer to one of the most respected entertainers in the U.S. After a decade of ups and downs in Great Britain, he became a familiar face in U.S. primetime, portraying Drew Carey’s boss, Nigel Wick, for the The Drew Carey Show’s seven-year-run.

As host of The Late Late Show, he rejected the typical night talk show formula of cue cards and easy one-liner jokes, instead turning his program into a humor-filled conversation between him and the audience as well as a platform to address serious issues like Apartheid, poverty, and his own battle with depression and alcoholism. In fact Ferguson’s authenticity and contagious warmth coupled with that fact that he hadn’t taken a drink since 1991 inspired viewers across the country to quit drinking.

In 2014, Ferguson left the late night world to pursue his love of stand-up comedy. Aside from his tours, he hosts the daytime show The Celebrity Name Game and is a board member and active fundraiser of The Lollipop Theater Network, an organization that brings first-run films to long-term patients in children’s hospitals.

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  Craig Ferguson entered the world of late night comedy following a diverse and eclectic career that encompasses film, television and the stage. Since taking the helm of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on January 3, 2005, the show has set all-time viewer records and achieved the highest ratings since the show’s inception in 1995. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Ferguson got his start in the entertainment industry as a drummer for some of the worst punk bands in the U.K., a profession he held for several years. Following his musical stint, he began bartending in a local pub in Glasgow where he was introduced to Michael Boyd, the artistic director of The Tron Theatre in Glasgow, who persuaded Ferguson to give acting a go. After several low paying acting gigs, Ferguson discovered he had a knack for comedy and was soon the star of his own BBC television show, The Ferguson Theory. Ferguson was involved in the English comedy circuit for a short while then he brought his act to America in 1995 to star with Betty White and Marie Osmond in the short-lived ABC comedy Maybe This Time. After the show ended, ABC decided to add the talented Scotsman to The Drew Carey Show, playing Drew Carey’s boss, Nigel Wick, from 1996-2003. Ferguson wrote the feature films The Big Tease and Saving Grace. In 2003, he made his directorial debut with I’ll Be There, which he also wrote and starred in. I’ll Be There went on to receive the Audience Award for Best Film at the Aspen, Dallas and Valencia film festivals. Craig was also named “best new director” at the Napa Valley Film Festival. Ferguson’s other film credits include, Niagra Motel, Lenny the Wonder Dog, Prendimi l’anima, Life Without Dick, Chain of Fools and Born Romantic. In April 2006, Ferguson debuted his first novel entitled Between The Bridge and The River, which became a critically acclaimed bestseller. Since coming into his own on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and winning his first Emmy nomination in 2006, Craig achieved a personal milestone in February 2008 when he was sworn in as a US Citizen. Soon after, Craig hosted the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, performing before political journalists, celebrities, and Washington power players. In Fall of 2009 Harper Collins published another book by Craig Ferguson, American On Purpose, a memoir of living the American dream as he journeys from a small town in Scotland to the entertainment capital of the world. American on Purpose reads as if Ferguson had snorted Angela’s Ashes,” says David Hirshey, Senior Vice President and Executive Editor. “It will make you laugh, cry, and sing ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ with a Scottish burr.” Ferguson also serves on the board of the Lollipop Theater Network. The mission of the Lollipop Theater Network is to bring movies that are currently in theatrical release to hospitalized children facing chronic and life threatening illness nationwide.