Craig to Host Boston Pops In Arizona Craig Ferguson will host a special performance of the Boston Pops in Mesa, Arizona on Saturday, November 16th. The PBS television station in Phoenix announced today that Craig will tell the story of the orchestra’s 125-year history at a special concert to benefit public broadcasting in Arizona. Craig has hosted performances of the Boston Pops in the past, fronting three concerts at Boston’s Fourth of July celebrations in recent years and hosting a 125th anniversary tribute broadcast which aired on many PBS stations in 2010. Tickets are already available. Details and a link for tickets can be found on our Live Comedy Tour page. Note: About two weeks after the public TV station in Arizona made the above announcement, they suddenly took down the listing from their website without explanation. We checked with Craig’s team… they told us that it was a mistake and that the station misunderstood some promotional material. Craig had hosted a recorded program with the Boston Pops in 2010 to celebrate the group’s 125th anniversary, which was made available to PBS stations around the country. The station’s web person got it mixed up with a different event being planned for the fall. We immediately posted the update in our March 18th post: and removed the listing from our live events page at that time. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Kudos from The Netherlands
Craig enjoyed a tweet from a fan in the Netherlands… and you see what he did there?
“@Aginchi: Watching @CraigyFerg this guy is a genius. Love from The Netherlands!†Finally! Dutch kudos. BTW Dutch Kudos… #doyourownjoke
King’s Things
Late Late Show guest Larry King recently spoke with ESPN Radio‘s Colin Cowherd about Lance Armstrong, Manti Te’o and more.
Cornish Corner
The webiste IndieWire.com previews the upcoming film The Girl, starring LLS guest Abbie Cornish.
Cornflakes
Craig shares a story about cornflakes.
Video courtesy: karik00
Tonight’s Guests Tuesday on the Late Late Show, Craig welcomes back TV/Radio Host Larry King and actress Abbie Cornish. On Wednesday, Craig’s guests are actress Christina Hendricks and author Jackie Collins.
Late Night Latest
Reports are beginning to circulate that the late-night landscape could be changing next year. The Hollywood Reporter was first to report word from sources who suggest when Jay Leno‘s current contract expires in 2014, that Jimmy Fallon will move into the 11:30pm time slot on NBC, to compete head to head with Jimmy Kimmel on ABC. David Letterman and Craig Ferguson also have contracts that expire in 2014, which could give Letterman a green light to retire, bringing changes to CBS. Observers believe if Leno is to depart, an announcement could come as soon as this fall, to allow the network plenty of time to promote his final year. Of course, at this point, it all remains speculation, but we’ll continue to follow the story for you.
Scottish Violins
The UK’s MonstersAndCritics.com took note of violinist Nicola Benedetti’s recent appearance on the Late Late Show,
Winnick Wins
Late Late Show guest Katheryn Winnick appears in the History Channel miniseries Vikings, which the Boston Globe reviewed well last week.
Morgan in Miami
LLS guest Jeffrey Dean Morgan recently talked with The Hollywood Reporter about the return of his series Magic City.
Interesting Show
Even in the days before the pretend cat, Craig would often ask what we learned on the show:
Video courtesy: u27v
Tonight’s Guests
Monday on the Late Late Show, Craig interviews actress Katheryn Winnick and actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan. On Tuesday, Craig chats with TV/Radio Host Larry King and actress Abbie Cornish.
Debbie Reynolds
Guest Update
The list of guests for future tapings has been updated to include Debbie Reynolds and Ryan Seacrest. You can see the most complete listings on our Guests page.
Josh Develops Stand Up Josh Robert Thompson, the voice of Geoff Peterson, skilled voice actor, frequent radio show guest, podcaster and stand up comedian, recently tweeted a photo of himself in full makeup as his popular character Apostle BG:
Whose Line to Return
The improvisational comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway is returning to television in the summer. As reported in the Hollywood trade newspaper Variety, the CW network has ordered 10 episodes of the show, with Aisha Tyler hosting, along with familiar players Wayne Brady, Ryan Styles and Colin Mochrie.
New Cover
Craig’s mother-in-law, Linda Cunningham is a romance novelist. The cover of her newest book, Small-Town Girl, was just released and was highlighted on the Kaidan’s Seduction blog.
Think It Through
At the end of the show, Craig decides it’s time to get undressed.
Video courtesy: le starkky
This Week’s Guests
Alison Brie
It’s another week of all-new episodes of the Late Late Show, beginning Monday with actress Katheryn Winnick and actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan. On Tuesday, Craig chats with TV/Radio Host Larry King and actress Abbie Cornish. On Wednesday, Craig’s guests are actress Christina Hendricks and author Jackie Collins. Actor Zach Braff and actress Alison Brie are in the studio on Thursday. And on Friday, Craig welcomes actor Chi McBride and actress Laurie Holden.
Tyson Get Noticed
When former boxer Mike Tyson sat down to talk with Craig Ferguson on the Late Late Show, several media outlets took notice, including Yahoo Sports, which praised Tyson’s open and honest discussion about his past.
Postal Fashion
Craig was one of the first to poke fun at a plan by the U.S. Post Office to market its uniforms as fashion wear. Craig was included in USA Today’s story about the reaction to the idea. Thanks to the RSA’s @RuthEirhart for the heads up!
Fallon on Second Channel
The newly-rebranded Esquire network (formerly G4) has reached an agreement to air episodes of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on a one-week delay, beginning in April. The network is owned by Comcast/NBC Universal, as explained by The Hollywood Reporter.
Monty Python Reaches 50
It’s almost hard to imagine that the revolutionary British comedy troupe Monty Python began 50 years ago. One of the Pythons who has appeared on the Late Late Show, Eric Idle, has written a tribute to his colleague John Cleese, as he tweeted this week:
Doctor Who Update
The @nerdist Chris Hardwick retweed an article in the UK’s Daily Mail about one of the actors to play Doctor Who during the long run of the series, which explains that actor Jon Pertwee served as an undercover agent in World War II. Also this week, the RSA’s @heathensgem alerted us that Ray Cusick, the man who designed the Daleks in Doctor Who, passed away, as reported by the BBC.
Trace Returns
Late Late Show guest Trace Adkins is taking another swing at Celebrity Apprentice this spring, reports TasteOfCountry.com.
Naya’s Gleeful Role
When LLS guest Naya Rivera joined the cast of Glee, she was interviewed by AfterEllen.com about her role.
Now That’s a Clip
Craig reacts to the “best clip ever.”
Video courtesy: temo2k
Tonight’s Guests
Friday on the Late Late Show, Craig welcomes musician Trace Adkins and actress Naya Rivera.
UPDATED: Stand Up Special Coming to Netflix March 15
If you follow Craig Ferguson on Twitter, you saw his tweet officially announcing the release of his new stand up comedy special I’m Here To Help on Netflix March 15th. We reported a couple of days ago that DigitalSpy.com said the special would appear on March 1st, but they had incorrect information. The 15th is the official release date. If you don’t already have Netflix, note that they do offer a free trial, so you can try out the service.
Stand Up Stories All this week, we’ve been featuring stories from Craig’s fans who took a road trip to see him perform on stage in Wisconsin and Michigan last weekend. The RSA’s @pmtetk006 sent along this account of the show in Michigan, which does contain spoilers, so only click on the arrow below if you don’t mind details of the show:
[stextbox id=”custom” caption=”Craig in Michigan”]It’s only 5 p.m. and the show hasn’t begun yet.
First of all, he’s got a dreary Michigan day. If he indeed flew into Grand Rapids, he had a little over an hour drive through a lot of farm country (if they drove up 131 to 46). At least he had a fresh coat of snow to look at out the window!
One bright note, those of you who have read my travel posts before know that I love oddly-named businesses or signs. I saw a business with a sign out front that said “I Have Worms.” Gee, maybe you should have a doctor look at that! Actually, it was for a bait shop. Still, it made me chuckle.
The amount of snow they expected to hit didn’t occur yesterday. We got three to four inches the night before, and that was it. The sun came out a couple of times today and then disappeared. We’ve had light, fluffy snow flurries off and on all day.
The casino: I drove over to get the lay of the land, so to speak. I’ve been to a couple of casinos, but smaller ones. Comparatively, this sucker is a beast! I walked around, and there are so many slots, I don’t know what I’m going to do; very little gambling for me! All of the machines emit a tone — I don’t know what note or key — so that they all blend together into one chord. That had to be intentional. I have no idea where the card rooms are.
The ballroom: The seats are set up like a theater, but the seats are just chairs. The room looks like it’s set up for a big motivational speech, with a small podium stage and colored lights behind. I’ve got decent seats, about a third of the way back, mid-range price, so no meet and greet with Craig after. I’ve been told by someone that knows, that only those in VIP seats in the first two rows get to do that. As far as the show, I suspect that the material is what was taped earlier in Washington. That recorded show will probably be broadcast in the next month or so.
The venue and crowd: First of all, it was nicer inside than it looked through the window; kinda plain, but totally effective. I got there about 7:15 for an 8 o’clock show. I love to people watch!
When I first saw Craig, it was in Milwaukee and he was still single. The audience was made up of predominately women, most of them with lots of cleavage (not judging). Today’s show was more men than women, just slightly. It was either baby boomers or twenty- to thirty-somethings. There was one elderly woman, somewhere between 80 and 90. Knowing Craig’s act (generally), I thought the poor woman would have a heart attack after hearing Craig’s swearing.
There was some discussion near me about whether Secretariat was going to be there, and I told them no, and Geoff wouldn’t be there either, but that Josh, the human provider of Geoff’s banter, would. One of the ladies was a bit uncomfortable with Secretariat. The other liked him and the former stated that she was really creeped out by Sid, the bunny. Most people were jeans and sweatshirts; basic casino wear. The most strangely-dressed were four young men in black suits, white shirts and ties. One did have a nod to non-comformity with bright red shoes. As I was speaking to the women, I heard some clicking from three seats away. The guy had his nail clippers out and was trimming his nails. The whole time people were filing in, we were treated to the greatest hits of Led Zepplin. I wondered if it was Craig’s idea.
The show: WARNING! SPOILERS!
Josh, the voice of Geoff, was out first. He and Craig both introduced themselves from behind the curtain.
Josh introduced himself as “…the voice of Geoff Peterson…” and the crowd responded quite enthusiastically. I’m not going to give everything away, but Josh did what he does best: Voices. And he was funny! I enjoyed him more than Craig’s previous opener (no digs at Randy, I just preferred Josh). I laughed and the crowd laughed. His story about Morgan Freeman contacting him was hilarious. It seems Josh had something on the Internet where he read, as Morgan Freeman, portions of “Fifty Shades of Grey”. Some people thought it WAS Mr. Freeman, hence the phone call. You’ll have to see the show to get the details.
When Craig took the stage, he complained about the cold. “It’s *beeping* cold here! Don’t tell me it isn’t! ‘If you think this is cold, you should have been here in 1947!’ *Beep* that! It’s cold NOW!” (I guess he didn’t get my post about bringing his long johns!) Today’s high reached 32 degrees.
He was wearing jeans, a dark shirt with the tails out and a suit coat over top. As he is famous for doing, he stalked the stage. There were big screens on either side of the stage, and the cameraman did his best to keep up with Craig. Mostly, he did a good job. His act ranged from the weather, to not knowing the name of the casino, to stories about Hollyweird, including an egg story. For those of you that have heard it, I’ll bet she makes a helluva omlet! If you haven’t, you will soon. For those that say he’s not telling stories like he used to, you really need to catch him live. There are lots of stories. His mom and dad came up, his baby son, children’s TV shows, and more.
I hung around for a while afterward, to see if he did a meet and greet, but no such luck! Everyone just left. I didn’t see him leave the venue, so I don’t know if they drove out right away, or if they spent the night. All I know is, Craig’s ready for California sunshine and their “frigid temperatures” of 70. It was a great show and great time![/stextbox]
Will you be seeing Craig in person sometime soon, either at a stand up comedy performance or a taping of the Late Late Show in Los Angeles? We always like to hear your stories and share them with the rest of the Robot Skeleton Army. It doesn’t have to be long or elaborate… just tell us about your adventure. Thanks to all who have sent in their stories and we look forward to many more!
Work with Neil
Would you like to work with author Neil Gaiman on his new project? Thanks to a contest from Blackberry.com, you could win a chance to collaborate with the award-winning writer. Gaiman has created a dozen new stories and is looking for help in two ways: An illustrator for the printed version of the stories, and a filmmaker to create videos to go along with his spoken word versions of the stories.
Duchovny’s Drama
The New York Observer previews the new dramatic film Phantom, which stars Late Late Show guest David Duchovny.
Madekwe Moving Up
LLS guest Ashley Madekwe recently told HauteLiving.com about what defines her style.
Walking and Coughing
Craig displays sympathy for a would-be medical condition.
Video courtesy: le starkky
Tonight’s Guests
Thursday on the Late Late Show, Craig’s guests are actor David Duchovny and actress Ashley Madewke. On Friday, Craig chats with musician Trace Adkins and actress Naya Rivera.
Chi McBride
Guest Update
More names have been added to the list of guests for future tapings, including Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chi McBride, Laurie Holden, Windell Middlebrooks, Monica Potter, Sarah Chalke and Julia Louis Dreyfus. You can see the most current listings on our Guests page.
New Late-Night Show
Comedian Pete Holmes will host a new late-night talk and variety show on TBS this fall, which will immediately follow Conan O’Brien‘s show. O’Brien will executive produce the show. Deadline.com reports the show will debut in the fall. Holmes hosts the popular You Made It Weird podcast.
Stand Up Stories
The RSA’s @pikkdogs saw Craig Ferguson and Josh Robert Thompson performing live at the Soaring Eagle Casino in Michigan last weekend and sent us this story:
[stextbox id=”custom”]The show was at a casino in Mt. Pleasant, Mi, which is in the central Lower Peninsula. I currently live south of Detroit, so I had a little over a 2 1/2 hour drive to see the show but it was worth it.
The show wasn’t 100% full, but it still sold out most of the hall.
Josh Robert Thompson came out first and did about a twenty-minute set, which consisted of mostly impressions. Of course he hit all of his best and most popular voices like Morgan Freeman and Wilford Brimley. He did a cool Al Pacino thing, and even sang happy birthday to someone as Arnold. The crowd mostly loved it, as did I, but you could tell that some of the crowd was caught off-guard by the sexual content.
Craig came out next and did about 80 minutes or so. He also did a great job, and the crowd seemed to love just about every joke. Most of the stuff was similar to monologue stuff, but the content of course was new and very cool. I especially loved his story about a massage he got.
I do have one funny story: Craig sometimes says on his show that his eyes are always attracted to people that didn’t enjoy the joke he just did, or wasn’t very excited. Anyway, there was one joke he did where he was standing near my seat and I didn’t really like that particular joke and everyone laughed except me, and I could tell that he started staring at me for like a full second. That was pretty cool.
Well, I had fun on my trip. If you haven’t gotten out to a show before, you should try to change that. I know I had a good time.[/stextbox]
Lennon Returning to TV
Late Late Show guest Thomas Lennon is slated to appear in Sean Hayes‘ new sitcom. Deadline.com reports on the still-unnamed project.
Tyson on Stage
LLS guest Mike Tyson recently brought his one-man show to San Francisco, and was reviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Friends and Dating
Craig talks about friends and dating.
Video courtesy: FrankGerbertson
Tonight’s Guests
Wednesday on the Late Late Show, Craig talks with actor Thomas Lennon and former boxer Mike Tyson. Then on Thursday, Craig welcomes actor David Duchovny and actress Ashley Madekwe.
Tuesday on the Late Late Show, Craig welcomes back TV/Radio Host Larry King and actress Abbie Cornish. On Wednesday, Craig’s guests are actress Christina Hendricks and author Jackie Collins.
