Springtime for the Late Late Show
Craig Ferguson seems to be enjoying being back at work after some time in Scotland last month.  Last week in the studio, he had fun chatting with guests while wearing his old striped school necktie and having fun cussing with dust masks.  This week, he’ll host a slate of guests including some familiar faces like Billy Gardell, Adam Goldberg and Sean Hayes, plus some first-time guests like chef Robbie Montgomery and Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins.  The following week’s schedule leading up to Craig’s west coast live tour is still being finalized.  You can see the most up-to-date listings on our Guests page.

Gardell in Detroit
Along with his day job as one of the leads in the CBS series Mike and Molly, Billy Gardell continues to work in his spare time as a stand up comedian, which he’s been doing since he was 19 years old.  He’ll be in the Detroit area on Thursday, Hollywood, Florida later in April and in Green Bay, Wisconsin in July.

TV Guide likes Ian Gomez

Last week, TV Guide gave five reasons why they like Cougertown’s Ian Gomez, who will be on the Late Late Show Monday night.



Craig’s British Television Past
Craig appeared on British television before coming to America.  One night on the show, he claimed to have found a clip of one of his “old” shows on YouTube.  The result was a sketch in the classic, naughty British style of the 1970s.

Video courtesy: RoQu3tO

This Week’s Guests

It’s another week of all-new episodes of the Late Late Show, beginning Monday with actor Billy Gardell and Actor Ian Gomez.  Tuesday, Craig’s guests are actor Guy Pearce and actress Jessica St. Clair.  Wednesday, watch for actor Adam Goldberg and chef Robbie Montgomery.  Director Judd Apatow and singer Katherine Jenkins are in the studio on Thursday.  And on Friday, Craig welcomes actor Sean Hayes and actress Lena Dunham.

Eleven Days
Craig Ferguson takes to the road again in eleven days for a western version of his Live Comedy Tour. He’ll start off in the desert near Tucson on April 19th and finish at the Snoqualmie Casino near Seattle on April 28th before returning back home to Los Angeles. Get those tickets soon!

Your Stories Are Welcome
Will you be attending one or more of Craig’s live shows this month? We want to hear from you! Still photographs (where allowed) and your short stories, blogs or tweets help us tell the story of Craig’s adventures on the road.  Let us know about your experiences, not just about the shows themselves but about your trip to get there and the fun you had along the way. We’re delighted to share it with the rest of the robot skeleton army.  Just use our Contact Us page to send us your information and tweet us if you have questions.

Marshmallow Peeps
They have become a candy staple of Easter for many people around the country:  Marshmallow Peeps.  David Letterman did a Top 10 List in the past week, featuring the fluffy chicks.  And St. Paul, Minnesota’s Pioneer Press newspaper has an annual diorama contest for readers, where peeps must be used as the scene’s characters.

Holidays and Birthdays

Passover began Friday evening at sunset “in your region” and continues through Saturday, April 14th. Birthdays for Saturday, April 7th include actor James Garner, actor Jackie Chan, actor Russell Crowe and singer Billie Holiday. Sunday, April 8th is Easter Sunday in the Christian calendar and birthdays include actress/filmmaker Mary Pickford, figure skater/actress Sonia Henie, actress Patricia Arquette and actress Robin “As you wish” Wright.

Originally a French song (Mon Homme), the music for My Man was written by Maurice Yvain and premiered in France performed by cabaret singer Mistinguet. The English lyrics were written by Channing Pollack for the Ziegfeld Follies of 1921 and singer Fanny Brice. Here, the incomparable Billie Holiday makes us feel every word:

Program Note: The Late Late Show will be delayed by 15 minutes on Friday night due to CBS coverage of The Masters golf tournament. A 15-minute wrap-up of the day’s events will be broadcast right after your late local news, followed by Late Night with David Letterman and the Late Late Show.

Television City History
As the week winds to a close, we thought we’d take one more look at some CBS Television City history. As we’ve been reporting this week, the facility originally opened in 1952 and has undergone several rounds of remodeling. In addition to the Late Late Show, the shows currently being produced there include The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, Real Time with Bill Maher, American Idol, Dancing With The Stars and of course, The Price Is Right.

Television City has been the scene for some great programs over the years, on CBS and on other networks. Among the shows that recorded at least part, if not all, of their run on site are: Burns and Allen, The Twilight Zone, Password with Allen Ludden and Betty White, The Carol Burnett Show, Wheel of Fortune, Family Feud, The Gong Show, Match Game, Good Times, The Merv Griffin Show, Tic Tac Dough, I’ve Got A Secret, The Jeffersons, The Judy Garland Show, Playboy After Dark, All in the Family, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, Three’s Company, Welcome Back Kotter, Tony Orlando and Dawn, The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, The Roseanne Show, Deal or No Deal, and even occasional Los Angeles episodes of Late Night with David Letterman and The Ed Sullivan Show.

Television City was designed at first to be a production facility primarily for live television programs. Reliable video tape was not used regularly until the mid-50’s. CBS has another, larger television and film production center in Los Angeles, called CBS Studio Center.

A Television City Tour
For your enjoyment, here is a tour of Television City that was recorded in 1987:

Video courtesy: videoarchives1000

If you’d like even more, YouTube user imadkhuri has posted several clips from 2002 that look at the history of many of the comedies, dramas, variety shows, talk shows, soap operas and specials recorded at Television City in its first 50 years.

Fooling the Censors Again
The Huffington Post chuckled along as Jeffery Dean Morgan and Craig experimented with swearing behind the protection of dust masks.

Tonight’s Guests
Friday on the Late Late Show, Craig’s guests are actress Laura Linney and Mythbuster Grant Imahara, who joins in the celebration of Geoff Peterson’s 2nd birthday this week.  Katherine Nelson, PR guru at the Discovery Channel, tweeted:

.@grantimahara, @joshrthompson & fanart Geoff P! Sex-ay! Watch Grant on @craigyferg tonight http://yfrog.com/nu9m5nvj

Program Note: The Late Late Show will be delayed by 15 minutes on Thursday and Friday nights due to CBS coverage of The Masters golf tournament. A 15-minute wrap-up of the day’s events will be broadcast right after your late local news, followed by Late Night with David Letterman and the Late Late Show.

Two Weeks Away
Craig Ferguson goes back on the road in two weeks, beginning Thursday, April 19th in in Tucson, Arizona.  Tickets remain available for all of Craig’s April live shows, with the exception of Snoqualmie, Washington, which is sold out. We’re told that there are a limited number of tickets left for Craig’s shows in Napa, CA and Medford, OR, so book early to avoid disappointment! For a complete listing of all of Craig’s live stand up comedy shows, check out our Live Comedy Tour page.

Jeffery Who?
The Huffington Post enjoyed Jeffrey Tambor‘s conversation with Craig about being mistaken for other celebrities.

Myths on the Road
On the website TVWorthWatching.com, a writer had a chance to see the Mythbuster‘s “Behind the Myths” road show in Toronto, which is one of many stops on their tour of North America.

Another Look At Studio 56

Last time, to give you an idea of what Studio 56 at CBS Television City looks like in action, we showed you a clip from the Dennis Miller Show from the mid 90s. Here, thanks to the RSA’s sharp-eyed RS, is a much more recent clip.  The one is from the LA-based Australian talk show Rove LA, with host Rove McManus.

In the clip, McManus is giving his guests a chance to play a version of The Price Is Right. You can get a good sense of how the audience area looks in relation to the stage. And they even jump on a golf cart and drive down the long corridor between Studio 56 and Studio 58, where you can see the Late Late Show signs on the walls. “But wait,” we hear you ask. “How could they drive a golf cart from Studio 56 on the second floor to The Price Is Right‘s Studio 33 on the first floor? The answer is, “The magic of television.” You’ll notice that there is a convenient edit in the middle of the clip (actually a couple of them), to transport the cart from one floor to the other to save time.

Video courtesy: TheWOJ2

Tonight’s Guests
Thursday on the Late Late Show, Craig talks with actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan and we’ll see a performance by comedian Bryan Miller.  The previously scheduled Jennifer Coolidge will return on a  future date.  Friday, Craig’s guests are actress Laura Linney and Mythbuster Grant Imahara, who will be on the show to celebrate the 2nd anniversary of his creation Geoff Peterson, who made his debut appearance on April 5th, 2010.  The Mythbusters tweeted:

Happy 2nd “birthday” @geofftherobot. Your maker @grantimahara will be on @craigyferg tomorrow to celebrate with you! http://pic.twitter.com/gQU0VT8u

Guest Update

Along with the additions of Byran Miller and Grant Imahara to this week’s schedule, some guests have been added for the week of April 16-20, including Kathy Griffin, Kevin Kline, Alice Eve, Michael Sheen and Michael Ian Black.  You can see the full list on our Guests page.  Based on the number of guests being pre-taped, it appears that the re-run fairy will make a visit during the week of April 23-27 while Craig is on the road for his Live Comedy Tour. We’ll keep you posted as the schedule is updated.

Craig’s New Stage
When Craig Ferguson and the Late Late Show move to a new studio space soon, they won’t have to go far.  As an excited Craig himself explained on Tuesday’s show, they’ll be moving from tiny Studio 58 to the stage “next door” at CBS Television City, which is Studio 56.

Here is a look at the space, which is nearly three times larger than the show’s current home:

It seats 260 people, compared to the 110 who squash into Studio 58, so when warm-up comedian Chunky B tells the audience, “Give me thunder!” he’ll be able to get a little more thunder out of them.  For comparison, there are about 275 seats in NBC’s Studio 6B at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York, where Jimmy Fallon hosts Late Night, 340 seats at the NBC Studios in Burbank for Jay Leno‘s Tonight Show and 461 seats at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York, home of David Letterman‘s Late Show.

With the much larger floor space, the Late Late Show team will have greater flexibility for staging, perhaps giving Craig a place for his monologue that won’t require moving the desk against the wall, or space for musical guests to perform without having to clear nearly everything out of the way every time.  Along with more dressing rooms, there will be more room for Geoff Peterson, more space for producer Michael Naidus, and with the longer distances… dare we dream it… better lighting!

Studio 56 and Studio 58 History
Studio 56 and 58 were added during a renovation of CBS Television City in the early 1990s, using what had been rehearsal halls in the original building design.  The first use we can find for a television show being recorded in Studio 56 was in December of 1993, where part of a special program on World War II was taped although there may be earlier uses.  Its first assignments as a regular home base were in 1994 when two new shows began taping there:  The Dennis Miller Show and Bill Maher’s Politically Incorrect.  When Tom Synder became the first host of the Late Late Show in 1995, they used the smaller Studio 58, because Tom did one-on-one interviews with no audience.  The audience was added in 1998 when Craig Kilborn took over as host and changed the show’s format to more closely mirror other late night talk shows.  More recently, Studio 56 has been used for The Tyra Banks Show, The Wanda Sykes Show and Australian talk show Rove L.A. with host Rove McManus.

We have not been given a clear indication of when the move will take place but because of all of the electronic equipment involved, our guess is that it will take a few weeks.  They may schedule the move for when Craig and Company take their usual late-summer break and debut the new look in the fall as the new television season gets under way.  We’ll keep you posted.

Studio 56 Moment
To get an idea of the stage in Studio 56, here is a clip of the Dennis Miller Show where Dennis interviews comic book writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld in 1994. You can get a sense of the larger space and how the audience sounds. Also at the end of the clip, you can see a couple of shots of the audience:

Video courtesy: CrashLanden

Paley Center Update
As we reported last time, Craig will be appearing in person at the Paley Center for Media in Los Angeles on May 10th to talk about his work and show clips from the upcoming shows in Scotland, which are due to air May 14-18. Paley Center members got first crack at tickets but now they are officially on sale to the general public. Some skellies who have bought tickets say that if you plan to attend, be sure to get the $10-15 seats which are in the room where Craig will speak. The $7 seats are in another room with a closed-circuit feed.

Scottish Insults
The Huffington Post was amused by Craig calling Ted Danson a “giant girl’s blouse” on Tuesday’s show.

Tonight’s Guests

Wednesday on the Late Late Show, Craig’s guest is actor Jeffrey Tambor along with a last-minute addition, Denver=-base band The Lumineers.  Thursday, watch for actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan and actress Jennifer Coolidge.

Two More Years
Robot skeletons across the hollowed out volcano have been dancing for joy, as word spreads that Craig Ferguson will be hosting the Late Late Show for at least another two years.  CBS has extended contracts for both Craig and David Letterman to continue their shows through the summer of 2014.  Among the media outlets reporting the news are The New York Times in a blog by late night television expert Bill Carter, E! Online, Entertainment Weekly, The Washington Post, New York Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and more. Reports also indicate that in the new deal, CBS will co-produce the Late Late Show along with Letterman’s company Worldwide Pants, giving the network more control of the show and its future.

CBS also confirmed plans to move the Late Late Show into a larger studio space at CBS Television City.  Since the show began in 1995 with founding host Tom Snyder, the show has been recorded in the facility’s Studio 58, which is on the second floor, despite Craig’s joking references to the “basement.”  It was originally designed as a rehearsal space for the shows performed in the studios on the ground level.

There are eight studios at Television City and all have been used for many different shows over the years.  The current schedule includes these programs produced for CBS, Fox, NBC, ABC and HBO:

Studio 31 – The Bold and the Beautiful
Studio 33 – The Price is Right / Real Time with Bill Maher
Studio 36 – American Idol / X-Factor / America’s Got Talent
Studio 41 – The Young and the Restless
Studio 43 – The Young and the Restless
Studio 46 – Dancing with the Stars / Survivor finale episodes
Studio 56 – Rehearsals, news conferences, single-camera pilot episodes, other uses (including The Tyra Banks Show and The Wanda Sykes Show in recent years)
Studio 58 – The Late Late Show

Because all of the studios have current uses, it’s not clear which studio the Late Late Show might use, although Bill Carter’s article suggested the show would move “next door,” implying Studio 56.  Because the show records about 200 episodes each year, they need an essentially year-round, permanent home.  Most of the other shows tape multiple episodes at a time, a few times a year.  We’ll keep you posted as more details are announced about the move and when it will happen.

Craig at Paley Center
Craig will be appearing in person at the Paley Center for Media in Los Angeles on May 10th to talk about his journey from childhood in Scotland to American talk show host.  He’ll also be showing an early look at highlights from the shows he taped on his recent trip to Scotland, which are due to air May 14-18.  Tickets are listed as being for members of the Paley Center only, however there does appear to be a way to buy tickets as a member of the general public on their website.

Funny TV
In an article for Vanity Fair, writer James Wolcott makes the case that today’s television comedy is superior to comedy on film and includes Craig Ferguson as one of the reason’s why.

Turning 50 Soon

AARP, the organization that advocates for older Americans, usually makes note of celebrities when they reach their 50th birthday.  Among those on the list for May is Craig.  They included an illustration and a short note about our favorite late night host.  Thanks to the RSA’s @bgrhubarb for grabbing the text and @jadedamber for capturing the image.

Can You Handle the Truth?
Craig talks about the value of the truth, fairy cakes, haggis and Mr. Happy.

Video courtesy: Fergufool

Tonight’s Guests

Tuesday on the Late Late Show, Craig’s guests are actor Ted Danson and actress Hannah Simone.  On Wednesday, Craig welcomes back actor Jeffrey Tambor.

Update: Due to CBS coverage of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, Monday’s episode of the Late Late Show begins at 1:46am ET/12:46am CT/11:46pm MT (1 hour and 9 minutes late for Eastern and Central time zone stations and 9 minutes late for Mountain time zone stations).

Craig Interview’s Scotland’s First Minister

Warning:  Spoilers in article!  Among the guests for Craig Ferguson‘s upcoming week-long visit to Scotland will be the country’s First Minister, Alex Salmond. The UK’s Daily Record newspaper details the interview in the story, which includes a discussion about Scotland’s pending vote on independence.


New Brave Posters
Four new posters for the Disney/Pixar animated feature film Brave have been released.  Entertainment Weekly was the first of several outlets to give us a look at the artwork, including one poster that features the three fathers of heroine Merida‘s would-be suitors… Craig’s character of Lord MacIntosh is on the left.

Doctor Who Series 7
The trailer for series 7 of Doctor Who has been released:

Video courtesy: RoQu3tO

Tonight’s Guests
This week’s shows are all new!  Monday on the Late Late Show, Craig chats with TV host Julie Chen and basketball player Pau Gasol.  On Tuesday, Craig welcomes actor Ted Danson and actress Hannah Simone.

Please note: Monday’s episode of the Late Late Show will delayed in the Eastern and Central time zones due to CBS coverage of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. When coverage of the game and post-game festivities extend beyond 11pm ET/10pm CT, the evening’s remaining programming, including your local news, Late Night with David Letterman and the Late Late Show will “slide” later. We’ll keep you posted on Twitter. The show’s start time in the Mountain and Pacific time zones should be unaffected.