Craig Ferguson (born May 17, 1962) is a Scottish-American television host, stand-up comedian, writer, and actor. He is the current host of CBS's The Late Late Show, a role which earned him an Emmy nomination in 2006.
Ferguson played the office boss Nigel Wick on The Drew Carey Show from 1996 to 2003 and is the author of the 2006 novel Between the Bridge and the River.
Ferguson got his start as a comedian in the United Kingdom, appearing on the alternative comedy circuit under the stage-name "Bing Hitler" as a traveling harpist. 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.
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, Ferguson broke 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.
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 the production was closed down after just ten performances.
After his show The Ferguson Theory, 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.
His breakthrough in the U.S. came when he was cast as the title character's boss, Mr. Wick, on The Drew Carey Show; he played that role from 1996 to 2003. He played the role with an over-the-top posh English accent "to make up for generations of English actors doing crap Scottish accents".
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 for which he 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 Niagara Motel, Lenny the Wonder Dog, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Chain of Fools, and Born Romantic.
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. By May 2008, Ben Alba, an American television historian and an authority on U.S. talk shows, said Ferguson "has already made his mark, taking the TV monologue to new levels with an underlying story. But he is only just starting ...He is making up his own rules: It's the immigrant experience."
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. In April 2008, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson beat Late Night with Conan O'Brien for weekly ratings (1.88 million to 1.77 million) for the first time since the two shows went head-to-head with their respective hosts.
His success on the show has led at least one "television insider" to say he's the heir apparent to take over David Letterman's role as host of The Late Show. One of Ferguson's writers on the show, Philip McGrade, said that Americans had warmed to his confessional style; commenting on Ferguson's greater success in the U.S., McGrade said that Americans were more receptive to working-class comics than were British audiences.
Ferguson officially unveiled his mustache on the night of July 14th, 2008 in celebration of Las Vegas week on the show, saying, "I wanted to look like a second-rate magician. Hurrah!"
Ferguson unveiled his freshly shaven face on July 17th, 2008, he said he shaved his mustache off due to all the insults(jokingly of course). He also made a pledge to never talk about his old mustache ever again.
