Craig Ferguson Biography

Craig Ferguson (born 17 May 1962) is a Scottish-born American television host, stand-up comedian, writer, actor, director, author, producer and voice artist. He is the host of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, an Emmy Award-nominated, Peabody Award-winning late-night talk show that airs on CBS. In addition to hosting his own show and performing stand-up comedy, Ferguson has written two books: Between the Bridge and the River, a novel, and American on Purpose, a memoir. He became a citizen of the United States in 2008. For several years he performed as a stand-up comedian under the stage name Bing Hitler.

Before his career as a late-night television host, Ferguson was best known in the United States for his role as the office boss, Nigel Wick, on The Drew Carey Show (1996"2003). He also wrote and starred in three films, directing one of them.

Early life

Ferguson was born in Stobhill Hospital, in the Springburn district of Glasgow, Scotland, to Robert and Janet Ferguson, on 17 May 1962, and raised in nearby Cumbernauld, growing up "chubby and bullied". He was raised Scottish Presbyterian. When he was six months old, he and his family moved from their Springburn apartment to a council house in Cumbernauld. They lived there as Glasgow was re-housing many people following damage to the city from World War II. Ferguson attended Muirfield Primary School and Cumbernauld High School. At age sixteen, Ferguson dropped out of Cumbernauld High School and began an apprenticeship to be an electronics technician at a local factory of American company Burroughs Corporation.

His first visit to the United States was as a teenager to visit an uncle who lived on Long Island, near New York City. When he moved to New York City in 1983, he worked in construction in Harlem. Ferguson later became a bouncer at a nightclub, Save the Robots.

Career

British career

Ferguson's experience in entertainment began as a drummer in a rock band called Exposure. He then joined a punk band called The Bastards from Hell. The band, later renamed "Dreamboys", and fronted by vocalist Peter Capaldi, performed regularly in Glasgow from 1980 to 1982. Ferguson credits Capaldi for inspiring him to try comedy.

After a nerve-wracking first appearance, he decided to create a character that was a "parody of all the über-patriotic native folk singers who seemed to infect every public performance in Scotland." The character, "Bing Hitler" (actually coined by Capaldi as Ferguson started under the name "Nico Fulton" but admittedly later stole the name for his "own nefarious ends"), premiered in Glasgow, and subsequently became a hit at the 1986 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. A recording of his stage act as Bing Hitler was made at Glasgow's Tron Theatre and released in the 1980s; a Bing Hitler monologue ("A Lecture for Burns Night") appears on the compilation cassette Honey at the Core.

After enjoying success at the Edinburgh Festival, Ferguson appeared on television in Red Dwarf, STV's Hogmanay Show, and the 1993 One Foot in the Grave Christmas special One Foot in the Algarve. In 1990 a pilot was broadcast The Craig Ferguson Show, a one-off comedy pilot for Granada Television, which co-starred Paul Whitehouse and Helen Atkinson-Wood. This was followed by Ferguson's own 1992 show 2000 Not Out. In 1993, Ferguson presented a series on Scottish archaeology for Scottish Television entitled Dirt Detective. He travelled throughout the country examining archaeological history, including Skara Brae and Paisley Abbey.

Ferguson has also found success in musical theatre. Beginning in 1991, he appeared on stage as Brad Majors in the London production of The Rocky Horror Show, alongside Anthony Head, who was playing Dr. Frank-N-Furter at the time. In 1994, Ferguson played Father MacLean in the highly controversial production of Bad Boy Johnny and the Prophets of Doom at the Union Chapel in London. The same year, he appeared again at the Edinburgh Fringe, as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple, opposite Gerard Kelly as Felix and Kate Anthony as Gwendolin Pidgeon, who is now much better known as Aunty Pam in Coronation Street; the play, which was relocated to 1990s Glasgow, later toured Scotland.

U.S. career

After cancellation of 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 on The Drew Carey Show as the title character's boss, Mr. Wick, a role that he played 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." In his comedy special "A Wee Bit O' Revolution", he specifically identified James Doohan's portrayal of Montgomery Scott on Star Trek as the foundation of his "revenge". (At the end of one episode, though, Ferguson broke the fourth wall and began talking to the audience at home in his regular Scottish accent.) His character was memorable for his unique methods of laying employees off, almost always "firing Johnson", the most common last name of the to-be-fired workers. Even after leaving the show in 2003, he remained a recurring character on the series for the last two seasons, and was part of the 2-part series finale in 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 named Best New Director at the Napa Valley Film Festival. These were among other scripts that, "... in the great tradition of the movie business, about half a dozen that I got paid a fortune for but never got made." His other acting credits in films include Niagara Motel, Lenny the Wonder Dog, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Chain of Fools, Born Romantic, The Ugly Truth, How to Train Your Dragon, Kick-Ass and Winnie the Pooh.

Ferguson has been touring the United States and Canada with a stand-up comedy show, and performed at Carnegie Hall on 23 October 2010. 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 video special, "I'm Here to Help," was released on Netflix in 2013.

Ferguson was awarded the Peter Ustinov Comedy Award by the Banff World Media Festival on 11 June 2013.

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 3 January 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.

By the end of 2009, Craig Ferguson topped Jimmy Fallon in the ratings with Ferguson getting a 1.8 rating/6 share and Fallon receiving a 1.6 rating/6 share.

Ferguson's success on the show has led at least one "television insider" to say he is the heir apparent to take over David Letterman's role as host of The Late Show.

Television and appearances

Craig Ferguson has made guest appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Rachael Ray, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, The Howard Stern Show, The Daily Show, The View, Loveline, Real Time with Bill Maher, The Soup, The Talk, The Price Is Right, and The Dennis Miller Show. He also co-hosted Live with Regis & Kelly with Kelly Ripa.

On 4 January 2009, Ferguson was a celebrity player on Million Dollar Password.

In 2009, Ferguson made a cameo live-action appearance in the episode "We Love You, Conrad" on Family Guy. Ferguson hosted the 32nd annual People's Choice Awards on 10 January 2006. TV Guide magazine printed a "Cheers" (Cheers and Jeers section) for appearing on his own show that same evening. From 2007 to 2010, Ferguson hosted the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular on 4 July, broadcast nationally by CBS. Ferguson was the featured entertainer at the 26 April 2008 White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, DC.

Ferguson co-presented the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama with Brooke Shields in 2008. He has done voice work in cartoons, including being the voice of Barry's evil alter-ego in the "With Friends Like Steve's" episode of American Dad; in Freakazoid! as Roddy MacStew, Freakazoid's mentor; and on Buzz Lightyear of Star Command as the robot vampire NOS-4-A2. Most recently, he was the voice of Susan the boil on Futurama, which was a parody of Scottish singer Susan Boyle. He makes stand-up appearances in Las Vegas and New York City. He headlined in the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal and in October 2008 Ferguson taped his stand up show in Boston for a Comedy Central special entitled A Wee Bit o' Revolution, which aired on 22 March 2009.

British television comedy drama Doc Martin was based on a character from Ferguson's film Saving Grace " with Ferguson getting writing credits for 12 episodes. On 6 November 2009 Ferguson appeared as himself in a SpongeBob SquarePants special titled SpongeBob's Truth or Square. He hosted Discovery Channel's 23rd season of Shark Week in 2010. Ferguson briefly appeared in Toby Keith's "Red Solo Cup" music video released on 10 October 2011.

In June 2013, Ferguson returned to sitcoms when he guest starred on the season finale of Hot in Cleveland as a priest/tabloid journalist who turns out to be the father of Joy's (Jane Leeves) son.

Literature

Ferguson's novel Between the Bridge and the River was published on 10 April 2006. He appeared at the Los Angeles Festival of Books, as well as other author literary events. "This book could scare them", he 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." His novel Between the Bridge and the River is dedicated to his elder son, Milo and to his grandfather, Adam. He revealed in an interview that he is writing a sequel to the book, to be titled "The Sphynx of the Mississippi". He also stated in a 2006 interview with David Letterman that he intends the book to be the first in a trilogy.

Ferguson signed a deal with HarperCollins to publish his memoirs. The book, entitled American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot, focuses on "how and why [he] became an American" and covers his years as a punk rocker, dancer, bouncer and construction worker as well as the rise of his career in Hollywood as an actor and comic. It went on sale 22 September 2009 in the United States. On 1 December 2010 the audiobook version was nominated for a Best Spoken Word Album Grammy.

In July 2009, Jackie Collins was a guest on The Late Late Show to promote her new book Married Lovers. Collins said that a character in her book, Don Verona, was based on Ferguson because she was such a fan of him and his show.

Personal life

Ferguson is a fan of Scottish football team Partick Thistle F.C. as well as the British television show Doctor Who. He has three tattoos: his latest, the Join, or Die political cartoon on his right forearm; a Ferguson family crest with the Latin motto Dulcius ex asperis ("Sweeter out of [or from] difficulty") on his upper right arm in honour of his father; and a Celtic Cross with the Ingram clan motto Magnanimus esto (Be great of mind) on his upper left arm in honour of his mother. He has often stated that his Join, or Die tattoo is to signal his patriotism.

As mentioned on The Late Late Show on 3 August 2009, Ferguson holds an FAA private pilot licence issued 31 July 2009. Ferguson announced on 8 April 2011 broadcast that he is pursuing an instrument rating.

Family

In an episode of The Late Late Show that aired 8 December 2008, a somber Ferguson talked about his mother, Janet (3 August 1933 " 1 December 2008). He ended the program by playing her favourite song, "Rivers of Babylon" by Boney M.

Ferguson has two sisters (one older and one younger) and one older brother. His elder sister's name is Janice and his brother's name is Scott. His younger sister, Lynn Ferguson Tweddle, is also a successful comedienne, presenter, and actress, perhaps most widely known as the voice of Mac in the 2000 stop-motion animation film Chicken Run. She was a writer on The Late Late Show until July 2011.

Ferguson has married three times and divorced twice as a result of what he describes as "relationship issues". His first marriage was to Anne Hogarth from 1983 to 1986, during which time they lived in New York. From his second marriage (to Sascha Corwin, founder and proprietor of Los Angeles' SpySchool), he has one son, Milo Hamish Ferguson, born in 2001. He and Corwin share custody of Milo, and live near each other in Los Angeles. On 21 December 2008, Ferguson married art dealer Megan Wallace-Cunningham in a private ceremony on her family's farm in Chester, Vermont. Ferguson announced 14 July 2010 on Twitter that they were expecting a child. He wrote: "Holy crackers! Mrs F is pregnant. How did that happen? ... oh yeah I know how. Another Ferguson arrives in 2011. The world trembles." The child, a boy named Liam James, was born 31 January 2011.

Alcoholism

A recovering alcoholic, Ferguson has been sober since 18 February 1992. Ferguson said he had considered committing suicide on Christmas Day 1991, but when offered a glass of sherry by a friend for celebrating the holiday, he was distracted from jumping off Tower Bridge in London as he had planned.

Out of respect, because of his own personal issues, Ferguson declared he wouldn't mock Britney Spears' much-publicized alcohol problems in 2007.

American citizenship

Ferguson is a naturalized citizen of the United States.

During 2007, Ferguson, who at the time held only British citizenship, used The Late Late Show as a forum for seeking honorary citizenship from every state in the U.S. He has received honorary citizenship from Nebraska, Arkansas, Virginia, Montana, North Dakota, New Jersey, Tennessee, South Carolina, South Dakota, Nevada, Alaska, Texas, Wyoming, Pennsylvania and Indiana, and was "commissioned" as an admiral in the tongue-in-cheek Nebraska Navy. Governors Jon Corzine (New Jersey), John Hoeven (North Dakota), Mark Sanford (South Carolina), Mike Rounds (South Dakota), Rick Perry (Texas), Sarah Palin (Alaska) and Jim Gibbons (Nevada) sent letters to him that made him an honorary citizen of their respective states. He received similar honours from various towns and cities, including Ozark, Arkansas; Hazard, Kentucky; and Greensburg, Pennsylvania.

Ferguson became an American citizen on 1 February 2008 and broadcast the taking of his citizenship test as well as his swearing in on The Late Late Show.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992	The Bogie Man
1998	Modern Vampires	Richard
1999	The Big Tease	Crawford Mackenzie	Writer
2000	Chain of Fools	Melander Stevens
2000	Born Romantic	Frankie
2000	Saving Grace	Matthew Stewart	Writer
2002	Life Without Dick	Jared O'Reilly
2002	Prendimi l'anima (The Soul Keeper)	Richard Fraser
2003	I'll Be There	Paul Kerr	Director, Writer
2004	Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events	Person of Indeterminate Gender
2004	Lenny the Wonder Dog	Dr. Wagner
2005	Vampire Bats	Fisherman
2006	Niagara Motel	Phillie
2007	Trust Me	Ted Truman
2008	Craig Ferguson: A Wee Bit O' Revolution	Himself	Stand-up Comedy
2009	The Ugly Truth	Himself
2010	The Hero of Color City
2010	How to Train Your Dragon	Gobber	Voice
2010	Kick-Ass	Himself
2011	Winnie the Pooh	Owl	Voice
2011	Totally Framed	Jeffrey Stewart
2011	Does This Need to Be Said?	Himself	Stand-up Comedy
2012	Brave	Lord Macintosh	Voice
2012	Big Top Scooby-Doo!	Whitney Doubleday	Voice
2012	My Fair Lady	David	Post-production
2013	I'm Here to Help	Himself	Stand-up Comedy
2014	How to Train Your Dragon 2	Gobber	Voice

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	Red Dwarf	Confidence	Episode: Confidence and Paranoia
1989	The Big Gig	Himself	Regular Comic
1989	High	Schoolteacher	Unaired CBS Pilot, with Zach Braff
1991	Have I Got News for You	Himself	Episode: 2x07
1993	One Foot in the Grave	Glaswegian beach bully	Christmas Special "One foot in the Algarve"
1994	The Dirt Detective: A History of Scotland	Travel documentary series	Host
1994	The Ferguson Theory	Himself	Host
1995"1996	Maybe This Time	Logan McDonough	18 episodes
1995"1997	Freakazoid!	Roddy MacStew	7 episodes
1996"2004	The Drew Carey Show	Nigel Wick	170 episodes
2000	Buzz Lightyear of Star Command	NOS 4 A2	Voice, 5 episodes
2005	Life as We Know It	Oliver Davies	1 episode
2005"present	The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson	Himself	Host
2006	American Dad!	Evil Barry	Voice, Episode: With Friends Like Steve's
2009	Family Guy	Himself	Episode: We Love You, Conrad
2009	SpongeBob's Truth or Square	Himself	TV movie
2010	Futurama	Susan Boil	Episode: Attack of the Killer App
2010	Shark Week	Himself	Host
2010	Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon	Gobber	Voice, TV short film
2011	Gift of the Night Fury	Gobber	Voice, Short Film
2011	Book of Dragons	Gobber	Voice, Short Film
2011	Archer	Announcer	Episode: Jeu Monégasque
2013	Hot in Cleveland	Simon	Episode: The Man That Got Away

Comedy specials

• A Wee Bit o' Revolution. Comedy Central. 2009.
• Does This Need to Be Said? EPIX, Comedy Central. 2011.
• I'm Here To Help. Netflix. 2013.

Discography

• Live at the Tron (as Bing Hitler). Jammy Records. 1986. Catalogue number JRLP 861.
• I'm Here To Help. New Wave Dynamics. 2013.

Bibliography