Craig Hits Vegas
All this week on the show, Craig Ferguson has been talking about going to Las Vegas with Geoff to hang out with the prop comedian Carrot Top.  We totally thought he was kidding, you guys.   But no… the proof is in the picture.  You can see Craig, eating at Luv It Frozen Custard, just off the strip, with Carrot Top, Geoff Petersen, Bradley dressed in his leprechaun outfit and even Secretariat.  You couldn’t make it up.  Craig tweeted: [quotetweet tweetid=56354907917254656] [quotetweet tweetid=56424973732028416]

Dayna Roselli, morning news anchor at the local CBS television station in Las Vegas tweeted a picture and hinted that whatever Craig & Company are filming in Vegas may pop up on the Late Late Show sometime next week: [quotetweet tweetid=56451877386207232]

Geoff’s builder, Grant Imahara posted a picture: [quotetweet tweetid=56410996801150976]

Geoff’s voice, Josh Robert Thompson is there as well… and sending tweets: [quotetweet tweetid=56452812946677760] [quotetweet tweetid=56425871715733504]

Even Geoff tweeted: [quotetweet tweetid=56459200938774528]

Craig also changed his Twitter avatar to a bathroom mirror-style picture with a fake mustache.  Perhaps he wanted to look a little more “outlaw” for his weekend road trip.  Since they’ve brought such a big crew to Las Vegas, we have to believe that whatever they’re preparing will be epic.  We’ll count on our Las Vegas robot skeletons to send us news of any Craig sightings over the weekend.

Late Late Later
Reminder: The Late Late Show will air 15 minutes late “in your region” Friday night due to golf coverage on CBS. David Letterman will start at 11:50pm ET and Craig will be at 12:52am ET.

Not Your Average Talk Show Host
In this clip, Craig laughs it off as being improv but he was actually doing the real thing:

Video courtesy: Fergufool

Tonight’s Guests
Friday on the Late Late Show, Craig talks with actress Zooey Deschanel and the @Nerdist Chris Hardwick.

Late Late Gets Later Thursday and Friday
Reminder:  The Late Late Show will be delayed 15 minutes on Thursday and Friday due to CBS coverage of The Masters golf tournament.  The Late Show with David Letterman will begin at 11:50pm ET and Craig will begin at 12:52am.

Craig Hosting at Montreal’s Just For Laughs
We’ve learned more about the event Craig is hosting on July 30th in Montreal:

[stextbox id=”custom”]

In 1987, as a young unknown Scottish comedian, Craig blew the Just For Laughs audience away, which helped launch his career as a star in North America. Now in 2011, he’s coming back to Montreal with a mission: think of Craig as the matchmaker of comedy as he presents a whole new crew of renowned comedians eleswhere readying to become household names on these shores.
Join the charming star of CBS’s The Late Late Show as he hosts some of the hottest international comedy acts of today before they make their mark on pop culture, land their own sitcoms and/or talkshows, and spend the rest of their lives running from TMZ cameras tomorrow!

Is there a better way to spend a Saturday night? CRAIG FERGUSON’S INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF COMEDY*. Two shows at Place Des Arts’ Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier at 7 and 10 p.m. BYOMS: Bring Your Own Maple Syrup.

Craig Ferguson’s International House of Comedy
Saturday, July 30th – 7 PM & 10 PM
Tickets on-sale Monday, April 11 at 10 AM
Tickets: $45.50; $55.50; $69.50 & $85.50
(taxes included + applicable charges)
At the Just For Laughs and Place des Arts box offices
or charge-by-phone at 514-845-2322 or 514-842-2112
Buy online at hahaha.com presented by Videotron or pda.qc.ca.[/stextbox]
Meanwhile, we have not heard what will happen with Craig’s previously scheduled show at a different theater in Montreal, which was also to happen on July 30th.  It may move to another date or be canceled… we will let you know as soon as we hear more.

Here is Craig making the announcement:

Video courtesy: JustForLaughsComedy

Reaction to Wednesday’s Show
TV.com was mystified by Marc Maron‘s response to Craig’s question about Groucho Marx.  TVSquad.com is nervous about Ellen Page’s newest role.

Tonight’s Guests
Thursday, Craig’s guests are actress Helen Hunt and actor Billy Gardell.  On Friday’s watch for actress Zooey Deschanel and the @Nerdist Chris Hardwick.

Guest Update:  The remaining schedule for April has been set, including Alfred Molina, Diane Lane and Karen Gillan.  Check out the latest on our Guests page.

Craig to Appear on Sesame Street
It’s a very big news day for the Robot Skeleton Army! There’s lots to talk about, so read on: Craig Ferguson will appear on the long-running public television children’s program Sesame Street, alongside the popular character Elmo.  There’s no word yet on when the segment will air but we will keep an eye on it for you.  In a tweet on Wednesday morning, Craig announced the news: [quotetweet tweetid=55648444827697152]

Craig Sings as Owl in Winnie The Pooh

Courtesy: Disney-Pixar

Craig sings a song called “The Backson Song” as Owl in Disney-Pixar’s new Winnie The Pooh film.  You can hear it for a limited time (until April 11th) by checking out Disney’s French website and clicking on the 4th track on the soundtrack.  IndieMoviesOnline has the clip we posted a few days ago of Pooh and Rabbit in a hole and the English language version of the gang trying to find a new tail for Eeyore.

Craig Double-Booked in Montreal
Craig has just been announced as one of gala hosts at Montreal’s Just For Laughs Comedy Festival.  He had already been scheduled to perform a stand up show July 30th at the St. Denis Theatre iu Montreal… but today’s Montreal Gazette reported that he’ll be emceeing two shows at 7 and 10pm on July 30th at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier at the Place des Arts, which is a different venue nine blocks away.  Tickets for the appearance at the St. Denis Theatre are not yet on sale but tickets go on sale Monday for the shows at the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, which we assume will include several other comedians performing as part of the festival.  So we’re a little confused… but we’ll try to sort it all out in the coming days.  We’ve posted the conflicting shows as separate events on our Live Comedy Tour page for the time being.

Tickets Go On Sale Saturday for Atlantic City
Meanwhile, The Morning Call reports that tickets for Craig’s July 8th live stand up show at the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City will go on sale this Saturday, April 9th at noon. We’ll update the link on our Live Comedy Tour page when the tickets become available.

Reaction to Geoff Petersen’s Birthday
Geoff Petersen graciously thanked everyone for their birthday wishes. [quotetweet tweetid=55395613948395520] Josh Robert Thompson thanked Craig for the chance to give Geoff his voice. [quotetweet tweetid=55448770774700032] And CBS publicist Katie Barker celebrated as well. [quotetweet tweetid=55458831026749440]

Lots of Different Currency Accepted
When you buy RSA gear at @Colleen_Byrne‘s CafePress store, the profits go to charity… and you can make your purchase with Australian Dollars, Canadian Dollars, British Pounds, Euros or American Dollars.  That’s a great way to let the world know about the RSA!

Steven Wright Rescheduled, Writing Story on Twitter
Comedian Steven Wright was scheduled to appear on Tuesday but the tweetmail segment was cut for time.  We’ll look for him on a future episode sometime soon.  LLS Producer Michael Naidus noticed that Steven is doing something interesting on his Twitter stream: [quotetweet tweetid=55402279506939904]

Reaction to Tuesday’s Show
Sophia Bush enjoyed her visit with Craig on Tuesday: [quotetweet tweetid=55654613721952256]

TVSquad.com reports on Craig’s conversation with Jerry O’Connell about biting, ContactMusic.com reported on the biting story and New York Magazine chose a clip where the two talked about Jerry’s role in Stand By Me.

New DW Trailer Released
BBC America has released a trailer for the new Doctor Who series which debuts April 23rd.  See the last paragraph of this post for a Doctor Who guest tidbit!

Video courtesy: BBCAmerica

Tonight’s Guests
Wednesday on the Late Late Show, Craig chats with actress Ellen Page and we’ll see a performance by comedian Marc Maron.  Thursday, Craig welcomes actress Helen Hunt and actor Billy Gardell.  Today’s NPR Monkey See blog mentions Maron’s appearance and Ellen tweeted about Wednesday’s show: [quotetweet tweetid=55789121150517248]

New DW Guest Coming Soon
Added to the list of future Late Late Show guests is Doctor Who actress Karen Gillan.  While she is listed for a taping on April 13th, on-air guests for that date have already been announced.  She could be scheduled for a future show (we’re guessing April 21 or 22 right before the new season begins) or the schedule could change between now and then.  We have the latest list on our Guests page, so please check back for updates.

Due to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament championship game and post-game on CBS, the late night schedule of late local news, David Letterman and Craig Ferguson was pushed back one hour in the Eastern, Central and Mountain time zones.  The shows stayed on schedule in the west.

Craig’s stand up comedy appearance at the “Comics for Kids” fundraiser in Carmel, California is just a couple of weeks away.  Organizers tell us there are still a few tickets left but they usually sell out each year, so book early to avoid disappointment.  You can find a link to buy tickets for this and all of Craig’s upcoming live performances on our Live Comedy Tour page.

Two new clips for Winnie The Pooh have emerged.  The film debuts in the US on July 15 but will be on screens in France April 13th and in the UK and Germany on April 14th. StitchKingdom.com posted two clips in German on Monday.

Craig explains the string bracelet he wore for more than a year.

Video courtesy: Fergufool

Monday on the Late Late Show, Craig talks with actor DL Hughley and actress Michelle Monaghan.  On Tuesday, Craig reads emails with comedian Steven Wright and chats with actor Jerry O’Connell and actress Sophia Bush.

Do you have a Craig Ferguson fan website, tumblr, Posterus, LiveJournal or other place on the web where post your favorite Craig-related things?  We’d appreciate having a link on your site to help us reach more fans.  Let us know using our contact form.  If your site is filled with Craigy goodness, we’d be happy to link back!

We were feeling nostalgic and decided look back at some early articles about Craig Ferguson‘s tenure as host of the Late Late Show.  He was one of more than twenty guest hosts that were given the chance to try out the desk in the fall of 2004 after the departure of former host Craig Kilborn.  Craig guest hosted seven times before the decision was made that he would get the job, and he started as permanent host on January 3rd, 2005.

Among the reports about his new gig were these from:  The New York Times, The New York Daily News, in which Craig explained who he really wanted as his first guest but couldn’t get, and Newsday, which recalled his role in Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.  He told the Associated Press what his gimmick would be for the show.  In a brief post from ContactMusic.com, Craig recalls the night he got the news that he’d be new host of the Late Late Show.  People.com had the news as he started the new job and USA Today did a short profile.

[pullquote]”I will be here for a while, and I will get it right.” – Craig Ferguson[/pullquote]After Craig settled in a bit, it was starting to become clear that he wasn’t the same kind of talk show host American was used to.  The New York Times Magazine peppered him with questions and in The Seattle Times, his approach to interviewing guests was praised.  The Washington Post did a longer profile, learning about how Craig approaches the show.

By the end of 2005, TVSquad.com had good things to say about Craig’s first year and the Scottish website Scotsman.com talked about his success.

Now to a more recent clip, where playing the anagram game with Craig’s name can be fun:

Video courtesy: Fergufool

Michelle Monaghan

It’s another week of all-new episodes of the Late Late Show, beginning Monday with actor DL Hughley and actress Michelle Monaghan.  On Tuesday, comedian Steven Wright stops by to help Craig read emails, then we’ll see actor Jerry O’Connell (bumped from last week) and actress Sophia Bush.  On Wednesday, Craig welcomes actress Ellen Page and comedian Marc Maron.  Actress Helen Hunt and actor Billy Gardell are on the show Thursday.  And on Friday, Craig’s guests are actress Zooey Deschanel, and artifact collector Evan Michelson.

Craig is enjoying springtime by getting back in the air.  On Friday, he flew a vintage biplane called a Waco.  Wondering what one looks like?  We did too, and found a picture on an airplane fan website.  Many biplanes are praised by pilots for being stable and reliable.  Craig usually flies a Cessna T182 Turbo like this one.  He tweeted a photo of himself sitting in the cockpit of the Waco along with a funny observation. [quotetweet tweetid=54204780880474113]

We’re not even going to think about that April Fool’s gag.  Not even think about it.

[pullquote]“We do the kind of comic books Craig Ferguson would write: kind of goofy, kind of shameless.” –Keith Giffen[/pullquote] A special project at DC comics will be bringing together artists from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s to write new “retro-active” comic stories.  In a long article on ComicBookResources.com talking about the idea, one of the project’s organizers says they’re trying to think like Craig.

When the paparazzi find Craig, he puts on a show.

Video courtesy: Fergufool

Saturday, April 2nd is UN World Autism Awareness Day.  The CBS Television City building is lighted in blue on Friday and Saturday nights for the “Autism Speaks:  Light It Up Blue” project.  Saturday is also the birthday of Hans Christian Andersen and International Children’s Book Day.  Sunday, April 3rd is Mothering Sunday in the UK, the birthday of Washington Irving and the anniversary of the Pony Express Mail Service.