Craig Ferguson (born May 17, 1962) is a Scottish comedian and actor who has done work both in front of and behind the camera. He is the host of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.
Born in Glasgow, Scotland and raised in Cumbernauld, Ferguson became a highly regarded comic in the UK, appearing in the alternative comedy circuit under the clearly offensive stage-name Bing Hitler. After enjoying success at the Edinburgh Festival, Ferguson moved to Los Angeles in 1994.
He is best known in the U.S. for his role on The Drew Carey Show, where he played Nigel Wick, Drew Carey's boss. 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.
In December 2004, it was announced that Ferguson would be the successor to Craig Kilborn on CBS's The Late Late Show. Ferguson's first show aired on January 4, 2005, with reasonably successful results since then. Originally, Ferguson stuck to the tried-and-true formula of a scripted monologue and jokes when opening the show; however, as the show progressed, Ferguson (who starts each show by introducing himself as "TV's Craig Ferguson") began scrapping the pre-prepared jokes for an almost completely impromptu opening segment. This change was noticed by critics and lauded as innovative and daring.
Ferguson hosted the 32nd annual People's Choice Awards which aired on CBS on January 10, 2006.
His sister Lynn is a successful comedian/presenter/actress who has done programmes about Millport and presented The Fringe Show with Rich Hall.
His brother Scott worked for STV and married actress Terri Lalley (Restless Natives/Take the High Road).
Ferguson found himself at the center of a controversy in 2005, over some derogatory jokes he made about Toronto when speaking of the August 2, 2005 crash of Air France Flight 358 (a disaster in which, somehow, no one died):
A plane crashing in Toronto? I don't want to die in Toronto! I'd better jump off anyway! Would you rather go into the plane, or in Toronto? Stay in the plane!
Since then, Ferguson has lost popularity in that city, despite an apology the next day. After realizing that the ratings in Toronto went down significantly, and remained so months later, he promised that his writers would not give him jokes disparaging particular individual cities.
Another controversy (although less serious) arose when he frequently complained that there is no restroom in the Starbucks Coffee resturant in Melrose Avenue near the studio where they tape the show, to which he commented during one of his monologues, "How can you sell a diuretic beverage and not have a bathroom?" He took this complaint to the CEO of Starbucks (Jim Donald) and offered to let him appear on the show, but Donald rejected Ferguson's offer for unknown reasons.
The studio even endured a controversy when Ferguson decided to quit wearing a tie on his show. Eventually, critics took notice, and since then Ferguson has continued in his more casual attire.
