Scottish-American television host, comedian, and actor Craig Ferguson entered the world of late night comedy following a diverse and eclectic career encompassing film, television and the stage.
After starting his career in Britain with music, comedy and theatre, Ferguson moved to Los Angeles in 1994, where he found success in the role of Nigel Wick on the ABC sitcom “The Drew Carey Show” (1996–2004).
During production of “The Drew Carey Show,” Ferguson devoted his off-time as a cast member to writing, working in his trailer on set in between shooting his scenes.
He 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 also named Best New Director at the Napa Valley Film Festival.
In addition to writing and starring in these three films, he has appeared in other motion pictures, including several voice-over roles for animations.
These acting credits in film include “Niagara Motel,” “Lenny the Wonder Dog,” “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events,” “Chain of Fools,” “Born Romantic,” “The Ugly Truth,” “Kick-Ass” and, as a voice-over actor, “How to Train Your Dragon,” “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” “Brave,” and “Winnie the Pooh.”
Ferguson has been touring the United States and Canada with a comedy show since the late 2000s, including a performance at Carnegie Hall in Oct. 2010 and Radio City Music Hall in Oct. 2012.
He has performed two stand-up television specials on Comedy Central, both released on DVD: “A Wee Bit o’ Revolution” in 2009, and “Does This Need to Be Said?” in 2011.
His third comedy special, “I’m Here to Help,” was released on Netflix in 2013, garnering positive reviews on 4 out of 5 stars on Netflix and peaking at number 6 on Billboard top comedy albums.
It also received a 2014 Grammy Award nomination for Best Comedy Album.
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 Jan. 3, 2005.
The show was unique in that it had no human sidekicks, such as Ed McMahon on “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” or Conan O’Brien’s Andy Richter.
Ferguson’s monologues were conducted within a few feet of the camera versus the long distance that Johnny Carson kept from the camera and audience.
“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 for the first time since the two shows went head-to-head with their respective hosts, and by the end of 2009, Ferguson topped Jimmy Fallon in the ratings.
But by 2014, Ferguson’s ratings had faltered, trailing those of “Late Night with Seth Meyers.”
On 28 April 2014, Ferguson announced he would be leaving “The Late Late Show,” with his final episode airing on Dec. 19 of that year.
His tenure at the show set all-time viewer records, earning him a Primetime Emmy nomination and the 2009 Peabody Award for Excellence in Broadcasting for his interview with Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
As the host of “Celebrity Name Game” since its debut in Sept. 2014, Ferguson was awarded the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Game Show Host two years in a row.
This year, he was nominated for a third Daytime Emmy Award.
As of February 2017, Ferguson launched his new SiriusXM program, “The Craig Ferguson Show,” which is broadcast live on Comedy Greats every evening.
Ferguson has also written two books: the novel “Between the Bridge and the River” and his memoir, “American on Purpose.”
Now this multi-talented writer and performer will deliver his unique brand of stand-up at The Paramount on Tuesday, July 25 at 8 p.m.
The Paramount is located at 370 New York Ave. in Huntington.
For tickets and to find out more information about the show, go to www.paramountny.com.
