In the Audience
Tumblr blogger WolfofWallSt recently attended some tapings of Celebrity Name Game and wrote about the experience. The post gives some insight about what Craig is like when the camera is off, and how being in the studio audience differs from tapings of The Late Late Show. Thanks to the RSA’s @koopakid121 for the link! If you attend tapings of the game show, please let us know. We’d be happy to share your story with the rest of the robot skeleton army. By the way tickets are available for the next round of tapings, August 25-29 and September 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20 and 21.

Stage Days
Craig recently tweeted about his days on stage with The Rocky Horror Show in London in 1991:

One night, long ago, I went on a strange journey. I met @AnthonySHead and he stole my girlfriend. #1991 http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k308/witherwings7/EYE%20CANDY%20MEN/Craig%20Ferguson/RHVocalSelections-PhotosPg2L.jpg …

Actor Anthony Head saw the tweet and responded:

@CraigyFerg But I had you too! I made no distinctions and was very happy sharing…

Back in ‘Cleveland’
Craig’s character of Simon returns to TVLand’s Hot In Cleveland this week. The episode’s description says, “Simon sneaks back into Joy’s life,” so we’ll have to see how he does it on this Wednesday’s episode. Thanks to the RSA’s @bgrhubarb for the reminder!

Pirate Speak
In this two-part monologue from 2005, Craig talks about pirates.

Video courtesy: FrankGerbertson

What Josh Did on His ‘Summer Vacation’
Instead of taking The Late Late Show‘s August hiatus to get a tan on a beach somewhere, Josh Robert Thompson threw himself into his latest project, The Josh Robert Thompson Show. He describes it as a variety show that draws inspiration from classics like The Muppet Show and The Carol Burnett Show, and it was done without a script to showcase his improvisational skills. As segments of the show are edited, we expect to see previews along the way. For now, Josh explains what motivated him to produce the show. Thanks to the RSA @hoborobot for the preview image!

Cartoon Past
The Internet-based Cartoon Hall of Fame is loaded with characters from decades of television and film. This year, they are celebrating the “Year of the Villain,” and highlighted NOS-4-A2, a bad guy from the TV series Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, back in 2000. The character was voiced by none other than Craig Ferguson.

Hero of Color City
Of course, Craig continues to lend his voice to several animated projects including the How To Train Your Dragon films, Winnie the Pooh and more. This year, a film called The Hero of Color City is being released, after being in production for several years. In it, Craig plays a character called Nat, who is a gnat. Here is a preview, featuring a glimpse of Nat. Thanks to the RSA’s @cozyhobo for the link!

Video courtesy: Fresh Movie Trailers

New Talk Show Possible
File this under the heading of “unconfirmed”: While we were away, the trade publication Variety posted a story saying Craig Ferguson may host a new half-hour talk show in the fall of 2015, to be carried on 42 Tribune television stations and perhaps syndicated to other station groups. The report said representatives of the parties refused to comment. The article goes on to say that Late Late Show producer Michael Naidus may produce the new show, which could air in the early evening hours, paired with a half-hour entertainment show, first-run sitcom or even Craig’s new game show Celebrity Name Game. This would be Tribune’s second attempt at an evening talk show; the group brought back The Arsenio Hall Show before canceling it after one season. We’ll keep an eye out for any confirmation of this story and pass it along.

Mythbusters Busted
The long-running Discovery Channel show Mythbusters had dumped three of its most recognizable stars. The 2015 season will be without Tory Belleci, Kari Byron and the building of Geoff Peterson, Grant Imahara. Co-hosts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman broke the news on the show, which was picked up by several media outlets including Fox News. No reason was given for the show’s “new direction.”

Ice Bucket Challenge
While on his summer vacation, Craig joined thousands of people across the country taking the “ice bucket challenge,” a fundraiser for the ALS Association. He was challenged by Danny Bonaduce and others, and went on to challenge comedians Dave Attell and Bob Saget to follow suit, although Bob has already done it. The RSA’s @becka_shoe created an animated gif of Craig’s effort, and in case you missed it, the complete video is below.

I (grudgingly) accepted the #icebucketchallenge. I nominate Dave @attell and @bobsaget http://moby.to/35n5at

Video courtesy: Craig Ferguson

CF in Boston
UPDATE: Craig Ferguson will be one of the comedians headlining this year’s “Comics Come Home” event in Boston on November 8th. Hosted by Denis Leary, the annual comedy blockbuster, packed with comedians including Jimmy Fallon, Lenny Clarke, Marc Maron, Jim Gaffigan, Bill Burr and more, will benefit the Cam Neely Foundation. It will be held at the TD Garden in Boston. Tickets go on sale August 14th. To see event details and a link to tickets, visit our Live Comedy Tour page.

‘Shark After Dark’ Lines Up Guests
August 10th marks the beginning of Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, and once again this year, the prime time programs will be followed by Shark After Dark, where viewers can get in on the conversation. Hosted by comedian Josh Wolf and featuring LLS writer and comedian Bob Oschack as Bob The Shark, the show is produced by Craig Ferguson‘s production company. Deadline.com reports on some of the guests on the schedule for week. Podcaster Cameron Lewis recently spoke with Bob Oschack about the show. Here’s the full schedule of Shark Week shows (thanks @bgrhubarb), including a reprise of Craig’s Caribbean adventure from 2010 on Monday at 2pm ET.

Host Update
There is still no official confirmation on whether CBS has chosen a new host for The Late Late Show, but CBS President Les Moonves did confirm to TMZ that James Corden is among those being considered. The Wrap, which broke the original story suggesting Corden may be the choice, expanded on their story, explaining why he would be a good choice for CBS in the competitive late-night landscape, especially on social media. The Hollywood Reporter also did a story, explaining more about his background.

Craig in Chicago
As we reported and included on our Live Comedy Tour page, Craig will be doing stand up comedy at the Chicago Theatre on November 16. Tickets are on sale to the general public on Friday, but early birds can get tickets using the promotional code “chicago” as Craig tweeted:

I’m back at The Chicago Theatre on 11/16! Tix on sale tmrw 10AM, but you can buy NOW with psword “chicago”, use link: http://tinyurl.com/l29rr8c

‘Name Game’ Promo
Celebrity Name Game is coming to a television near you on September 22nd. The Futon Critic has a list of the celebrity guests that have already been confirmed to appear on the show. Thanks to the RSA’s @colleen_byrne for the link to the newest promo:

Video courtesy: Celebrity Name Game

Summer Break

With The Late Late Show on haitus until September 1st, we’re going to step aside for our summer break as well. The final “freeze dried” new episode of the show airs tonight (Friday), followed by a three-week visit from the re-run fairy, while the LLS crew takes some well-deserved time off. About a dozen weeks of taping remain this year, with around 78 new episodes to go before Craig departs for new opportunities. As always, if any important breaking Craig-related news happens, we’ll update you here, as well as our Facebook page and on Twitter. Our readers help us every week with tips about stories and events, and we couldn’t do it without you. Thank you for your support and we’ll see you in September!

‘Who’ Preview
When the new series of Doctor Who premieres on August 23rd, the @Nerdist Chris Hardwick will host a half-hour pre-show and a post-show discussion on BBC America. The cable channel is planning a week of events and shows leading up to the premiere, which will also be shown on theater screens in select cities across the U.S. Check out BBC America’s Anglophenia blog for details.

Book Cover
Craig fan @okto1970 has designed a book cover, in case Geoff Peterson ever writes a book called The Dirty Hand. Thanks to the RSA’s @cozyhobo for bringing it to our attention.

Craig Gets Tied Up
In this two-part monologue from 2005, Craig talks about neckties and dress codes.

Video courtesy: FrankGerbertson

Possible New LLS Host
As always, quoting people “with knowledge of the situation” (translation: people without knowledge of the situation), the Hollywood trade press started buzzing on Tuesday afternoon about a possible successor to Craig Ferguson on The Late Late Show. We say “successor” because no one could replace him, to borrow Mr. Jefferson‘s phrase about Mr. Franklin. First touted by The Wrap.com, followed by Variety, The Huffington Post, Entertainment Weekly and many others, is British star of stage, film and television James Corden.

For American audiences unfamiliar with Corden, he is a talented actor, writer, comedian and a very funny man. Thanks to the power of the interwebs, we’ve seen him many times on UK television programs, including co-creating and writing the sitcom Gavin and Stacey, a sketch show with his comedy partner Matthew Horne, and as a hilarious member of celebrity panel quiz shows, including The Big Fat Quiz of the Year. On film, you can see him co-starring with Keira Knightley in Begin Again, and he will play the key role of the baker in Disney’s film adaptation of Into The Woods this fall, alongside Johnny Depp and Meryl Streep. Last year he won a Tony Award on Broadway for his work in Richard Bean’s comedy One Man, Two Guvnors, and he has received great reviews as host the UK’s BRIT Awards (Britain’s equivalent of the Grammys) for the past few years.

While the move would suggest CBS is planning to keep a comedy format for the show, we hasten to add that nothing has been confirmed by CBS or Corden’s agents. As with every step of the process, we’ll have to wait and see. But for what it’s worth, Corden is sharp, funny, genuinely likeable and a generous performer who has the rare talent of knowing how to make the person standing next to him on stage shine. His four million Twitter followers probably would agree. CBS tends to make big announcements about shows when the shows are on hiatus, so if something is confirmed, we’ll be sure to pass it along.

Dave Makes A Pitch
Last week, when former White House Press Secretary Jay Carney stopped by The Late Show to talk with David Letterman, the two talked about the challenges of working both in and around the media. As the interview was wrapping up, Carney said he was looking for his next job, so Letterman made a pitch for him to host The Late Late Show. We’d guess that probably won’t happen.

Craig at w00tstock
As w00tstock regular Adam Savage mentioned in his tweets, Craig’s appearance at the fantastically geeky festival in San Diego during Comic-Con was a complete surprise, but a welcome one. Saveage tweeted a video clip of Craig’s time on stage. Thanks to the RSA’s @colleen_byrne and a host of other skellies for sending it our way.

Video courtesy: UAT Digital Video

Craig to Return to Chicago
Midwestern skellies (and eager travelers from everywhere else) take note: Craig Ferguson will be making a return appearance at the Chicago Theatre on Sunday, November 16th. Tickets go on sale this Friday, August 8th. Craig has only listed a few stand up dates so far this fall, since he’s busy taping episodes of Celebrity Name Game (a dozen episodes are being tape this week), but a few more could be on the way. You can see the latest information on dates, times, venues and links to tickets on our Live Comedy Tour page.

French Connection
Who was that familiar face on Friday night’s Late Late Show? None other than Craig’s French doppelgänger Jacques “Arthur” Essebag. Authur has a talk show designed to mimic the look and feel of The Late Late Show. Both hosts have appeared on each other’s shows and enjoy the slightly surreal comedic atmosphere.

Nudity and Inhibitions
In this two-part monologue from 2005, Craig talks about nudity and inhibitions.

Video courtesy: FrankGerbertson