''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' is an American

late-night talk show A late-night talk show is a genre of talk show popular in the United States, where the format originated. It is generally structured around humorous monologues about the day's news, guest interviews, comedy sketches and music performances. It i ...

hosted by Scottish actor and comedian

Craig Ferguson Craig Ferguson (born 17 May 1962) is a Scottish-born American comedian, actor, writer, and television host. He is best known for hosting the CBS late-night talk show '' The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' (2005–2014), for which he won ...

. This was the third iteration of the ''Late Late Show'' franchise, airing from January 3, 2005, to December 19, 2014. It followed the ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production c ...

'' in the CBS late-night lineup, airing weekdays in the U.S. at 12:37 a.m. Taped in front of a live studio audience from Monday to Thursday (with two episodes taped on Thursdays) at

CBS Television City Television City, alternatively CBS Television City, is an American television studio complex located in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles at 7800 Beverly Boulevard, at the corner of Fairfax Avenue. Designed by architect William Pereira and ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, directly above the

Bob Barker Studio Television City, alternatively CBS Television City, is an American television studio complex located in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles at 7800 Beverly Boulevard, at the corner of Fairfax Avenue. Designed by architect William Pereira and Ch ...

(Studio 33), it was produced by

David Letterman David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He hosted late night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982 debut of '' Late Night with David Letterma ...

's production company Worldwide Pants Incorporated and

CBS Television Studios CBS Studios, Inc. is an American television production company which is a subsidiary of CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. It was formed on January 17, 2006, by CBS Corporation as CBS Paramount Television, as a renaming of the o ...

. The ''Late Late Show'' franchise had previously aired as '' The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder'', then as ''

The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn ''The Late Late Show'' is an American late-night television talk and variety comedy show on CBS. It first aired in January 1995, with host Tom Snyder, who was followed by Craig Kilborn, Craig Ferguson, and current host James Corden. The sho ...

''. During the late 2004 transition of guest hosts following Craig Kilborn's departure, Craig Ferguson hosted a series of shows in October and November 2004, culminating in being announced on December 7, 2004, as the pick for new host. After launching ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' on January 3, 2005, Craig Ferguson achieved the highest ratings since the show's inception in 1995. While quirky comedy was emphasized in the majority of the episodes, Ferguson also addressed difficult subject matters, such as the deaths of his parents, his struggles with

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...

, and commenting on national tragedies such as the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...

. Ferguson undertook serious interviews, such as one with Archbishop

Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbish ...

, which earned the show a 2009 Peabody Award. Despite not initially having a

sidekick A sidekick is a slang expression for a close companion or colleague (not necessarily in fiction) who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to the one they accompany. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, ...

, comedian and voice actor Josh Robert Thompson joined the show on April 5, 2010, and voiced Craig's sidekick

Geoff Peterson Geoff Peterson is an Animatronics, animatronic human skeleton that served as the sidekick on the late-night talk show ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson''. He was voiced and operated by Josh Robert Thompson and first appeared on ''The Late ...

, a robotic human skeleton. Often Geoff is referred to as a "robot skeleton", "gay skeleton robot" or "gay robot skeleton". Geoff is a radio-controlled animatronic robotic puppet skeleton with a metallic

Mohawk hairstyle The mohawk (also referred to as a Mohican) is a hairstyle in which, in the most common variety, both sides of the head are shaven, leaving a strip of noticeably longer hair in the center. It is today worn as an emblem of non-conformity. The m ...

; he was designed and built by

Grant Imahara Grant Masaru Imahara (October 23, 1970 – July 13, 2020) was an American electrical engineer, roboticist, and television host. He was best known for his work on the television series ''MythBusters'', on which he designed and built numerous ...

of the TV show ''

MythBusters ''MythBusters'' is a science entertainment television program, developed by Peter Rees and produced by Australia's Beyond Television Productions. The series premiered on the Discovery Channel on January 23, 2003. It was broadcast internation ...

''. Geoff stayed as Craig's sidekick until the show's finale, after which Craig took Geoff home. Once Thompson began voicing Geoff Peterson, the format of the ''Late Late Show'' shifted from a more traditional formula (albeit with Ferguson's subversive humor) to a more loose, stripped-down and semi-improvisational comedy style in which Ferguson and Peterson would riff on various topics, often discarding prepared material and going over time limits. On April 28, 2014, Ferguson announced that he was ending the show at the end of the year. The last episode aired on December 19, 2014. Afterwards, ''Late Late Show'' began a series of episodes with guest hosts; then the new permanent host

James Corden James Kimberley Corden (born 22 August 1978) is an English television host, actor, comedian, and singer. In the United Kingdom, he is best known for co-writing and starring in the critically acclaimed BBC sitcom '' Gavin & Stacey''. In the ...

began his iteration of the franchise on March 23, 2015.

Show format

The show often started with a

cold open A cold open (also called a teaser sequence) is a narrative technique used in television and films. It is the practice of jumping directly into a story at the beginning of the show before the title sequence or opening credits are shown. In Amer ...

ing which consisted of a short improvised monologue or commentary by Ferguson either as himself or involving his various puppets including Sid the Rabbit. Later openings of the show featured Ferguson talking or fighting with his "Gay Robot Skeleton" sidekick

(voiced by Josh Robert Thompson), interacting with

pantomime horse A pantomime horse is a theatrical representation of a horse or other quadruped by two actors in a single costume who cooperate and synchronize their movements. One actor plays the front end, including the horse's head and its front legs, in a mo ...

Secretariat, interrogating members of the studio audience, or presenting a musical number or a pre-taped sketch. The cold open was followed by the

opening credits In a motion picture, television program or video game, the opening credits or opening titles are shown at the very beginning and list the most important members of the production. They are now usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen ...

and a commercial break. Following the break and his introduction by announcer

Shadoe Stevens Shadoe Stevens (; ) is an American radio host, voiceover actor, and television personality. He was the host of '' American Top 40'' from 1988 to 1995. He currently hosts the internationally syndicated radio show ''Top of the World,'' and co-host ...

, Ferguson began with "Welcome to Los Angeles, California, welcome to the ''Late Late Show.'' I am your host, TV's Craig Ferguson. It's a great day for America, everybody!" as he threw pieces of candy to the audience and hit the side of the camera repeatedly. He then went into a free-form, largely ad-libbed monologue. After another commercial break, Ferguson was often seated behind his desk, where he'd ask Geoff "WHAT TIME IS IT GEOFF PETERSON!?" Mail theme songs then played, usually with the phrase "Ass Mode" in them as well as robots. Then Craig read and responded to viewer

email Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic ( digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" mean ...

s and (starting in February 2010) tweets from his proclaimed "robot skeleton army". Generally, one or two celebrities were interviewed. Starting in 2008, Ferguson began each by dramatically ripping up note cards written for the interview, "signalling to the audience, and to the guest, that this conversation need not be rigidly managed". Sometimes, a

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, ...

, cooking segment, or a musical guest performs, the latter of which was typically pre-taped. Ferguson had many

running gag A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are n ...

s. These included themed weeks such as "Crab Week", " Magic Week", and " Shark Week"; and the long running "photo of

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. On ...

" joke, wherein Ferguson called for a photo of McCartney that was actually a photo of actress

Angela Lansbury Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American film, stage, and television actress. Her career spanned eight decades, much of it in the United States, and her work received a great deal ...

and vice versa. The show occasionally used variations of the latter gag featuring other pairs of look-alike celebrities, such as

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female autonomy in a male-dominated industr ...

being shown as

Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band which shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since it ...

. The show also used short skits such as "Dear

Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). The character is a pastiche of Namor. Initially a b ...

" (in which Ferguson dressed as the superhero and gave advice), "

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...

in Space", and various absurdist

Sean Connery Sir Sean Connery (born Thomas Connery; 25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. Origina ...

impersonations, a not realistic Prince Charles coming in and out of commercial breaks, and longer sketches used more infrequently as the show progressed. Ferguson would often disregard censorship rules and swear, much to the chagrin of producer Michael Naidus; in response, Ferguson would jokingly call Naidus a racist. Profanities from Ferguson and his guests would bleeped out by world flags and foreign terms. The show ended with "What Did We Learn on the Show Tonight, Craig?", a segment that started with an animation of an adorable kitten that sometimes got into silly situations, then meowed. Ferguson then removed his tie, put his feet on his desk (or, later on in the series, talked to Geoff or anyone else that showed up). He then summarized the preceding hour of TV. This was first used along with the 2008 set in and was last used in 2014. Later in the series, show would end with "GP and The Fergs: Epilogue." The kitten then showed up in the bottom-left corner of the screen with a gun in its paws.

Twitter email jingles

2008

* 3 Cowboy Email cartoon characters singing "There's Always Time for Emails" with 2 donkeys and a banjo playing email character. (To the tune of "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain.) * An email attachment with a woman's arms & legs. With Craig as

Hugh Hefner Hugh Marston Hefner (April 9, 1926 – September 27, 2017) was an American magazine publisher. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of ''Playboy'' magazine, a publication with revealing photographs and articles which provoked charges of obsc ...

. * Supermodels (all of which have Craig's face on them) also with old

personal computer A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tech ...

s. * Yellow Submarine type song with Craig at the bottom. (A walrus, Craig & racoon as the Beatles.) Psychedelic type font for "Email" as well as peace signs and diamonds for the background. * Pirate and 3 skeletons singing with a green parrot wearing a pirate hat. With skull & cross bones as well as a pirate ship in the background. * Mariachi band of email attachments. 2 kids hitting Craig the piñata. * Las Vegas sign with Craig as poker chips & dancers, as well as an email slot machine. * Circus email theme that has all Craig as the ring leader, the largest weight lifters in front of a circus tent. * 6 children, a fairy godmother, a child asleep in bed, and moon (Craig's faces). 1 of the children says "I peed in my pants". * 4 Cartoon Craig in front of the

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...

. * 2 Craig in

lederhosen Lederhosen (; , ; singular in German usage: ''Lederhose'') are short or knee-length leather breeches that are worn as traditional garments in some regions of German-speaking countries. The longer ones are generally called ''Bundhosen'' or ''Kni ...

s, 2 email attachments & 4 bratwursts dancing on a stage. * 3 Reggae emails cartoons with, smoking "It's Email Time" cigar, and Craig being Superman flying past the bottom of the screen. * 2

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

s one of which is flying on a rocket, as well as a guitar rocket with a flame coming out of the body. * 3 email cartoons with arms and legs shouting in unison the email chant. * Craig Ferguson as Santa Clause and 3 elves and 1 reindeer all the same guy

Bradley Laise ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish actor and comedian Craig Ferguson. This was the third iteration of the The Late Late Show (American talk show), ''Late Late Show'' franchise, airing ...

. * The NO email sign with 3 email attachments, with a prohibition sign, Craig sitting on 2 different cannons, a line dancing group of monkeys and 2 giant analogue clocks on them all in front of a stage auditorium. (Proceeds to read emails anyways)

2009

* Magical emails with a rabbit coming out of a black top hat, Craig the wizard casting spells.

2010

* Craig's face and a rectangular robot. With the black and green background. Text being typed using old computer type font. Ending in a 6 chrome skeleton robot flash mob with a volcano in the background. * 4 robot skeletons all supposed to be David Bowie bots, scrolling along the bottom continuously until the end of the song. With a robot skeleton in the background on the keytar and a triceratops on top of Mars. * 3 Cowboy Robots riding horses shooting laser guns & a wolf in the background howling at the full moon. *

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

Subterranean Homesick Blues "Subterranean Homesick Blues" is a song by Bob Dylan, recorded on January 14, 1965, and released as a single by Columbia Records, catalogue number 43242, on March 8. It was the lead track on the album ''Bringing It All Back Home'', released some ...

type tweetmail theme (Bob Dylan is played by Bradley Laise) with a robot skeleton at the very send that also looks like Bob Dylan. * Robot skeleton wearing a head band & other exercise equipment with ladies in the background. & Craig Ferguson's head with 12 robot arms around it. * Scooter (Played by Geoff) the Trouble Shooter wearing a

turban A turban (from Persian language, Persian دولبند‌, ''dulband''; via Middle French ''turbant'') is a type of headwear based on cloth winding. Featuring many variations, it is worn as customary headwear by people of various cultures. Commun ...

and an Indian robe. With a lady mirrored 3 times in the background. * Twitter Attack - The Jumbo Lizard Wrecking Committee (words scroll along the bottom of the screen).

2011

* Craig on the Keytar and Geoff in the side car ending with Craig (previously on the

keytar The keytar is a lightweight synthesizer that is supported by a strap around the neck and shoulders, similar to the way a guitar is supported by a strap. Keytars allow players a greater range of movement onstage, compared to conventional keyboard ...

) on the side of a volcano on top of the "Tweetmail" logo (in

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instru ...

's logo type font). * Weird eerie music with Craig scrolling across the screen in a solid gray outfit with tambourines and monkeys in the background and Craig as 2 ladies with a beehive hairdo, Craig unzips his pant making a talking monkey visible. * Flamboyant Craig Ferguson in a very bright gold outfit banging on

kettle drums Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally ...

. * Old vintage TV set (with built in speakers and no remote) plays a Beatles-type band named "The Tweets" (with all the same instruments right down to the drumset logo); all of the members of the band are Craig, ending with the "Please Stand By"-type ending replacing "Please Stand By" with "Ass Mode".

2012

*In the Scotland episode, Craig's face and a rectangular robot. With the red, black and green background (for Scotland). Text being typed using old computer type font. Ending in a 6 chrome skeleton robot flash mob with a volcano in the background. (Chanting the email jingle in a more Scottish like accent.) *

Richie Sambora Richard Stephen Sambora (born July 11, 1959) is an American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Bon Jovi from 1983 to 2013. He and lead singer Jon Bon Jovi formed the main songwri ...

and his band with Secretariat play a short tune then say "Tweets and Emails" with flames. * Geoff & Craig play the harmonica or "mouth organ" for a few seconds followed by Geoff saying (in a

Liam Neeson William John Neeson (born 7 June 1952) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Tony Awards. In 2020, he was placed 7th on ''The I ...

accent) "QUICKLY THERE'S NO TIME!"

2013

* Craig & Geoff at the Super bowl for the "Craig Ferguson Super Bowl Special" have Geoff's band called "Bone Patrol" play the tweetmail theme with Secretariat wearing a huge football helmet. * Here come the playas (Geoff & Craig wearing sunglasses and dark outfits going to a rave with robot skeleton ladies, while Craig has

falsies In fashion, falsies are paddings for use in a bra to create the appearance of larger breasts. The term has also, more rarely, been used for pads which create the appearance of larger buttocks. In both cases, there is a note of (more or less) a ...

on his chest as the DJ at the party.

2014

* Movie style rating intro brought to you by "HORSE®" (Secretariat) as

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...

other personalities. * S'MORES (spelled out), gram crackers with arms & legs on an island in front of the ocean. A chocolate bar with

Dairy Queen Dairy Queen (DQ) is an American chain of soft serve ice cream and fast food restaurants owned by International Dairy Queen, Inc. (a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway since 1998) which also owns Orange Julius, and formerly owned Karmelkorn ...

logo on it & a marshmallow with only legs. Then E-MAIL (spelled out) joins them on the beach as well. Then Email has the letters for Tweets in their hands (A DQ Blizzard gets thrown in for good measures). At the very end of this jingle Craig & Geoff are seen eating DQ blizzards as if nothing was happening.

2015

* 4 different Craig characters are on the beach jumping onto their surf boards to ride the waves at the very end Craigetta is using the surfboard on land being pulled by an old car & she falls off onto the sand. (Created in 2008. Did not actually air until 2015)

Production milestones

Ferguson's first show as host was on January 3, 2005. For approximately the first two months, he continued his predecessor's monologue format, reading 5–10 jokes from

cue card Cue cards, also known as note cards, are cards with words written on them that help actors and speakers remember what they have to say. They are typically used in television productions where they can be held off-camera and are unseen by the au ...

s. He would ad-lib between the jokes, and soon noticed that the "stuff in-between" got the most reaction from his audience; after that realization, he decided he and his writers would stop writing jokes. By May 2006, Studio 58, the

venue from which the show is taped, had been updated with a digital broadcast

Solid State Logic Solid State Logic (SSL) is a British company based in Begbroke, Oxfordshire, England that designs and markets audio mixing consoles, signal processors, and other audio technologies for the post-production, video production, broadcast, sound ...

mixing console A mixing console or mixing desk is an electronic device for mixing audio signals, used in sound recording and reproduction and sound reinforcement systems. Inputs to the console include microphones, signals from electric or electronic inst ...

, needed for 5.1 Channel Surround. A new set debuted on the July 24, 2006, episode. It included a miniature CBS

airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

that floated along over the backdrop depicting Los Angeles. In the week of March 17, 2008, ''The Late Late Show'' debuted a new set featuring a desk interview area on a raised platform; the backdrop was also changed to a detailed representation of Los Angeles. When the

2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike From November 5, 2007, to February 12, 2008, all 12,000 film and television screenwriters of the American labor unions Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), and Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) went on strike. The Writers Guild of Americ ...

began, the show went into reruns. It resumed production on January 2, 2008, after

Worldwide Pants Worldwide Pants Inc. is an American television and film production company founded and owned by comedian and talk show host David Letterman. The company was formerly headquartered at the Ed Sullivan Theater building in New York City, but has sin ...

and the WGA came to an agreement. In 2008, Worldwide Pants Incorporated signed a

product placement Product placement, also known as embedded marketing, is a marketing technique where references to specific brands or products are incorporated into another work, such as a film or television program, with specific promotional intent. Much of th ...

deal with Ford to promote the Ford Flex during ''The Late Late Show''. Eight episodes ("with one repeat") of the show included custom-written skits in which Ferguson played the leader of a Scottish rap band called The Highlanderz (consisting of Angus "Big Ginger" Ferguson, Philip "The Howler" McGrade, and Shannon "Bubbles" McGee), riding in a Flex as they traveled from

Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...

to the CBS Studio. The skits were shown on successive Thursdays starting on September 4. On August 31, 2009, the show began broadcasting in

high definition High definition or HD may refer to: Visual technologies *HD DVD, discontinued optical disc format *HD Photo, former name for the JPEG XR image file format *HDV, format for recording high-definition video onto magnetic tape * HiDef, 24 frames-pe ...

, featuring a refitted studio and production facilities, along with a new show logo, new lights, an opening title sequence that "features Ferguson in iconic Los Angeles locations", and a new

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

of the show's theme song. Craig Ferguson2008

Ferguson's initial contract as host was for six years, until the end of 2010; as of August 2007 he was telling television critics he might not be interested in a contract renewal, though by February 2008, he was publicly professing his loyalty to David Letterman, saying: "I will sit behind Dave as long as he sits there." December 15, 2009, marked his 1,000th episode as host. For the occasion, puppets took over the show; Ferguson conducted the entire show as his puppet Wavy Ranchero, and recurring sketches also featured puppet replacements. Guests, which were not puppets, included

Kristen Bell Kristen Anne Bell (born July 18, 1980) is an American actress. Beginning her acting career by starring in stage productions while attending the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, she made her Broadway stage debut as Becky Thatc ...

, Maria Bello, and

Jason Schwartzman Jason Francesco Schwartzman (born June 26, 1980) is an American actor and musician. Schwartzman made his film debut in Wes Anderson's 1998 film '' Rushmore'', and has gone on to appear in six other Anderson films: ''The Darjeeling Limited'' (20 ...

. Jason Segel also made an appearance as his muppet Dracula, performing a musical number with band

The Broken West The Broken West was an American power pop band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 2004, and later signed to Merge Records. The members are Ross Flournoy (guitar, vocals), Dan Iead (guitar, backing vocals), Brian Whelan ( bass, backing vocals), ...

. On March 31, 2010, the

Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication The Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication is a constituent college of the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, United States. Established in 1915, Grady College offers undergraduate degrees in journalism, advertising, public re ...

of the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

announced that the ''Late Late Show'' had won the

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

for Excellence in Television for its "Evening with Archbishop

" episode. According to the Peabody Board, "the Scottish-born Ferguson has made late-night television safe again for ideas". On April 3, 2012, CBS announced Ferguson agreed to a contract extension through 2014. As part of the deal, CBS will co-produce the show with

and

and the show will move to a bigger studio. Although financial terms were not disclosed, the extension likely included a raise beyond what ''Variety'' reported had been his US$13 million salary. A new set debuted on August 27, 2012. This is similar to the 2008 set, but the detailed representation of Los Angeles remains the same.

Final seasons and departure

Following the departure of

Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2 ...

from ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 2010� ...

'' and the late night shake-up at NBC, both ''Late Show'' and ''The Late Late Show'' struggled in the ratings against Jimmy Fallon and his successor at 12:30 a.m. ET/PT, ''

Late Night with Seth Meyers ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'' is an American late-night news and political satire talk show hosted by Seth Meyers on NBC. The show premiered on February 24, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. Airing weeknight ...

''. In April 2014, Letterman announced his plans to retire. CBS passed over Ferguson to choose

Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program '' The Colbert Report'' from 2005 t ...

as the new host of ''Late Show'' beginning sometime in 2015, reportedly viewing Ferguson as too much of a niche performer to succeed Letterman. Ferguson's contract, which expired in June 2014, stipulated that he was Letterman's successor at 11:30 and that if he was not given the position, he would be paid compensation of as much as US$10,000,000. Letterman's contract included the right to control the time slot that follows his and produce the ''Late Late Show'' and it was his production company (Worldwide Pants) that selected Ferguson as host and with whom his contracts were negotiated. With Letterman's departure, CBS would become the sole producer of the show and it is the network that determines what is done with the time slot and with which any contract is negotiated. CBS had been ambiguous in regard to Ferguson's future as host of ''The Late Late Show''. CBS chief executive Leslie Moonves said in an interview: "12:30 is up in the air ..Obviously, we’re considering all sorts of candidates and women are among them. A woman would be great in late night." However, CBS Entertainment chairman Nina Tassler said that the CBS management are "big fans of Craig" and that "Craig is here and doing his show at 12.30am, and we love having him there".

Chelsea Handler Chelsea Joy Handler (born February 25, 1975) is an American comedian, actress, writer, television host, and producer. She hosted the late-night talk show '' Chelsea Lately'' on the E! network from 2007 to 2014 and released a documentary series ...

had reportedly begun negotiations to take over hosting of ''The Late Late Show'' when Ferguson's contract expired; however, both Handler and CBS later denied this, saying she was in fact in negotiations with CBS' syndication arm for a daytime show.

John Oliver John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British-American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. Oliver started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom. He came to wider attention ...

was also reportedly approached by CBS as a possible ''Late Late Show'' host prior to his signing a contract with HBO, as were

Neil Patrick Harris Neil Patrick Harris (born June 15, 1973) is an American actor, singer, writer, producer, and television host. Primarily known for his comedic television roles and dramatic and musical stage roles, he has received multiple accolades throughout ...

and

. On April 28, 2014, Ferguson announced he would leave the show in December 2014. He had made the decision prior to Letterman's announcement but agreed to delay making his own decision public until the reaction to Letterman's decision had died down. He had also originally intended to leave in the summer of 2014 but agreed to stay until the end of the year to give CBS more time to find a successor. In a statement following his announcement, Tassler said that in his decade as host, Ferguson had "infused the broadcast with tremendous energy, unique comedy, insightful interviews, and some of the most heartfelt monologues seen on television". In an interview with

Larry King Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American television and radio host, whose awards included 2 Peabodys, an Emmy and 10 Cable ACE Awards. Over his career, he hosted over 50,000 interviews. ...

, Ferguson stated that the final episode of ''The Late Late Show'' with him as host would air December 19, 2014. In September 2014, comedian

was announced as host of ''

The Late Late Show with James Corden ''The Late Late Show with James Corden'' (also known as ''Late Late'') is an American late-night talk show on CBS. It is the fourth and current iteration of '' The Late Late Show''. Airing in the U.S. from Monday to Friday nights at 12:37:28am ...

'', beginning in 2015. In November 2014, CBS announced

would be Ferguson's guest on his final show; during December "notable friends of the show" scheduled for appearances in December included

Steve Carell Steven John Carell (; born August 16, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He played Michael Scott in '' The Office'' (2005–2011; 2013), NBC’s adaptation of the British series created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, where C ...

Jon Hamm Jonathan Daniel Hamm (born March 10, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Don Draper in the period drama television series ''Mad Men'' (2007–2015), for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Televisio ...

Rashida Jones Rashida Leah Jones (; born February 25, 1976) is an American actress. Jones appeared as Louisa Fenn on the Fox drama series ''Boston Public'' (2000–2002), as Karen Filippelli on the NBC comedy series '' The Office'' (2006–2009; 2011), and a ...

Mila Kunis Milena Markovna "Mila" Kunis (born August 14, 1983) is an American actress. Born in Chernivtsi and raised in Los Angeles, she began playing Jackie Burkhart on the Fox television series '' That '70s Show'' (1998–2006) at the age of 14. Sinc ...

, Thomas Lennon,

Tim Meadows Timothy Meadows (born February 5, 1961) is an American actor and comedian. He was one of the longest-running cast members on ''Saturday Night Live'', where he appeared for ten seasons and for which he received a nomination for the Primetime Emm ...

(whose 41 appearances set the show's record), Jim Parsons,

Michael Sheen Michael Christopher Sheen OBE (born 5 February 1969) is a Welsh actor, television producer and political activist. After training at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), he worked mainly in theatre throughout the 1990s with stage rol ...

, Ariel Tweto,

Betty White Betty Marion White (January 17, 1922December 31, 2021) was an American actress and comedian. A pioneer of early television, with a television career spanning almost seven decades, White was noted for her vast work in the entertainment indus ...

, and

Henry Winkler Henry Franklin Winkler, OBE (born October 30, 1945), is an American actor, comedian, author, executive producer, and director. After rising to fame as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on the American television series '' Happy Days'', Winkler has ...

. Meanwhile, several of Ferguson's final episodes dealt with his distaste for

abstract expressionism Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of the ...

—

Mark Rothko Mark Rothko (), born Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz (russian: Ма́ркус Я́ковлевич Ротко́вич, link=no, lv, Markuss Rotkovičs, link=no; name not Anglicized until 1940; September 25, 1903 – February 25, 1970), was a Lat ...

in particular—and public reactions to that stance. Ferguson's final episode started with the usual cold open, but this time showing a montage of friends from the show while they performed Dead Man Fall's song "Bang Your Drum". Cameos included:

Kevin Bacon Kevin Norwood Bacon (born July 8, 1958) is an American actor. His films include the musical-drama film '' Footloose'' (1984), the controversial historical conspiracy legal thriller ''JFK'' (1991), the legal drama '' A Few Good Men'' (1992), th ...

Jack Black Thomas Jacob Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for his acting roles in the films '' High Fidelity'' (2000), '' Shallow Hal'' (2001), '' Orange County'' (2002), '' School of Rock'' (2003), ' ...

Pierce Brosnan Pierce Brendan Brosnan (; born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He is best known as the fifth actor to play secret agent James Bond in the Bond film series, starring in four films from 1995 to 2002 ('' GoldenEye'', '' Tomorrow ...

Don Cheadle Donald Frank Cheadle Jr. (; born November 29, 1964) is an American actor. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including two Grammy Awards, a Tony Award, two Golden Globe Awards and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. He has also earned no ...

Kristin Chenoweth Kristin Dawn Chenoweth (; born Kristi Dawn Chenoweth; July 24, 1968)Kristin Cheno ...

Marion Cotillard Marion Cotillard (; born 30 September 1975) is a French actress, film producer, singer, and environmentalist who is widely known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters in both European and Hollywood productions. She has receive ...

Tenacious D Tenacious D is an American comedy rock duo formed in Los Angeles, California in 1994. It was founded by actors Jack Black and Kyle Gass, who were members of The Actors' Gang theater company at the time. The duo's name is derived from "tenac ...

Jeff Daniels Jeffrey Warren Daniels (born February 19, 1955) is an American actor, comedian, musician, and playwright, known for his work on stage and screen playing diverse characters switching between comedy and drama. He is the recipient of several accol ...

Ted Danson Edward Bridge "Ted" Danson III (born December 29, 1947) is an American actor. He achieved stardom playing the lead character Sam Malone on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'', for which he received two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. H ...

, Kat Dennings,

Julia Louis-Dreyfus Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus ( ; born January 13, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, and producer who worked on the comedy television series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1982–1985), ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), '' The New Adventure ...

Carl Edwards Carl Michael Edwards II (born August 15, 1979) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. Prior to that, he drove the No. ...

Cedric the Entertainer Cedric Antonio Kyles (born April 24, 1964), better known by his stage name Cedric the Entertainer, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He hosted BET's '' ComicView'' during the 1993–1994 season and '' Def Comedy Jam'' in 1995. He is ...

Tony Hale Anthony Russell Hale (born September 30, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his role in the Fox comedy series '' Arrested Development'' as Buster Bluth. Hale played Gary Walsh on the HBO comedy '' Veep'' from 2012 until ...

, Sean Hayes, Samuel L. Jackson,

Toby Keith Toby Keith Covel (born July 8, 1961), known professionally as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He released his first four studio albums—1993's ''Toby Keith'', 1994's ''Boomtown'', 1996' ...

Jimmy Kimmel James Christian Kimmel (born November 13, 1967) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is the host and executive producer of ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', a late-night talk show that premiered on ABC on January 26, 2003, ...

Angela Kinsey Angela Faye Kinsey (born June 25, 1971) is an American actress. She played Angela Martin in the sitcom '' The Office'' (2005–2013) and appeared in the sitcoms ''Your Family or Mine'' (2015) and '' Haters Back Off'' (2016–2017). Since ''The ...

Lisa Kudrow Lisa Valerie Kudrow ( ; born July 30, 1963) is an American actress, producer, and screenwriter. She rose to fame for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the sitcom ''Friends'' (1994–2004), which has since been named one of the greatest television cha ...

, Thomas Lennon,

Justin Long Justin Jacob Long (born June 2, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, director and screenwriter. Long is known for his film roles, notably appearing in '' Jeepers Creepers'' (2001), ''Dodgeball'' (2004), '' Accepted'' (2006), '' Idiocracy'' ( ...

Jane Lynch Jane Marie Lynch (born July 14, 1960) is an American actress, comedian and author. She is known for starring as Sue Sylvester in the musical comedy series ''Glee'' (2009–2015), which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award. Lynch also gained recogn ...

James Marsden James Paul Marsden (born September 18, 1973) is an American actor, singer, and former model. Marsden began his acting career guest starring in the television shows '' Saved by the Bell: The New Class'' (1993), ''Touched by an Angel'' (1995), '' ...

Matthew McConaughey Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He had his breakout role with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first succes ...

, Mary McCormack, Joel McHale,

Kunal Nayyar Kunal Nayyar (, ; born 30 April 1981) is a British actor. He portrayed Raj Koothrappali on the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019) and voiced Vijay on the Nickelodeon animated sitcom ''Sanjay and Craig'' (2013–2016). Nayyar al ...

Regis Philbin Regis Francis Xavier Philbin (; August 25, 1931 – July 25, 2020)Archived aGhostarchiveand thWayback Machine was an American television presenter, talk show host, game show host, comedian, actor, and singer. Once called "the hardest working ma ...

Ray Romano Raymond Albert Romano (born December 21, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Ray Barone on the CBS sitcom '' Everybody Loves Raymond'', for which he received an Emmy Award, and as t ...

Bob Saget Robert Lane Saget (May 17, 1956 – January 9, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, and television host. Saget played Danny Tanner on the ABC sitcom ''Full House'' (1987-1995), and reprised the role for its Netflix sequel '' Fulle ...

, Kyra Sedgwick (plus dog Lily),

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship ''Enterpri ...

Dax Shepard Dax Randall Shepard (born January 2, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker and podcast host. Since 2018, he has hosted ''Armchair Expert'', a podcast that interviews celebrities, journalists, and academics about their lives. Shepard ha ...

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensemb ...

, Josh Robert Thompson, Archbishop

Shailene Woodley Shailene Diann Woodley (born November 15, 1991) is an American actress. Born in San Bernardino, California, Woodley was raised in Simi Valley, and started modeling at the age of four and began acting professionally in minor television roles. She ...

Weird Al Yankovic Weird derives from the Anglo-Saxon word Wyrd, meaning fate or destiny. In modern English it has acquired the meaning of “strange or uncanny”. It may also refer to: Places * Weird Lake, a lake in Minnesota, U.S. People *"Weird Al" Yankovic (b ...

, and various friends. The pre-taped montage segued to the studio with Ferguson continuing the song backed by the occasional semi-house band Bone Patrol,

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

guitarist

Steve Jones Steve or Steven Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Steve Jones (English presenter) (born 1945), English musician, disk jockey, television presenter, and voice-over artist *Steve Jones (musician) (born 1955), English rock and roll guita ...

, a full choir, various celebrities, musicians, and friends of the show. The monologue began with a short time lapse of Craig coming out to start show through the last 10 years, starting on his first day (January 3, 2005) to his last. Craig thanked his comedic partner Josh Robert Thompson, the viewers, the crew, and explained: After reading his last Tweets & E-mails and doing his final interview with guest Jay Leno, the show ended with his final segment: ''What Did We Learn on the Show Over the Last 10 Years, Craig?'' Craig tells Geoff he wants to finally find out who the real identity of Secretariat is. Asked to lift up his mask, it's revealed to be

Bob Newhart George Robert Newhart (born September 5, 1929) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery style. Newhart came to prominence in 1960 when his album of comedic monologues, '' The Button-Down M ...

. Craig asks, "Bob Newhart?! What are you doing here?" to which Newhart replies, "Hey, guy, it's your dream." Craig wakes up next to

Drew Carey Drew Allison Carey (born May 23, 1958) is an American comedian, actor and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, he gained stardom in his own sitcom, '' The Drew Carey Show'', an ...

as Nigel Wick and proceeds to spoof the finales of ''

Newhart ''Newhart'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS from October 25, 1982, to May 21, 1990, with a total of 184 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons. The series stars Bob Newhart and Mary Frann as an author and his wife ...

'' (the show was all a dream), ''

St. Elsewhere ''St. Elsewhere'' was an American medical drama television series created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey, that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982, to May 25, 1988. The series stars Ed Flanders, Norman Lloyd, and William Daniels as ...

'' (he imagined it all from a snowglobe), and ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based American Mafia, Italian-American mobster, portraying h ...

'' (cut to black with Journey's "

Don't Stop Believin' "Don't Stop Believin' is a song by American rock band Journey. It was released in October 1981 as the second single from the group's seventh studio album, '' Escape'' (1981), released through Columbia Records. "Don't Stop Believin'" shares wri ...

").

Show elements

Cold open

Ferguson starts with a

, which is a two-minute segment before the first commercials, theme song, and actual show. Originally, it was a miniature monologue and to talk about the guests on the show. Over time, this segment expanded to include short skits and musical sessions often involving

puppets A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods or strings to move ...

, and occasional interaction with members of the studio audience. In actual practice, the cold open was the second segment presented when the show was recorded at the CBS studios. The open was actually recorded after the monologue but aired before it, something Ferguson originally thinly disguised, but later openly mocked. On November 22, 2010, Ferguson opened the show with evidence that a French talk show called ''

Ce Soir Avec Arthur Arthur (born Jacques Essebag; 10 March 1966) is a French television presenter, producer and comedian. After dropping from law studies, he began his career as a host on local radio in the Paris region in the late 1980s. In the early 1990s, he f ...

'' had stolen his show's opening sequence, as well as some of his puppet and song-and-dance concepts. On November 29, 2010, Ferguson introduced

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more w ...

in the cold opening of the show; they joked back and forth for about two minutes, and then Arthur returned to help Ferguson answer viewer emails and again at the end of the show.

Theme song

When he was hired as the full-time replacement for

Craig Kilborn Craig Lawrence Kilborn (born August 24, 1962) is an American comedian, sports and political commentator, actor, and television host. Kilborn began a career in sports broadcasting in the late 1980s, leading to an anchoring position at ESPN's ''Spo ...

, Ferguson co-wrote and recorded a theme song. The theme tune was re-recorded for the show's switch to HD, premiering on August 31, 2009, and produced by Andy "Stoker" Growcott. Except for when the show traveled (i.e. Paris, Scotland, New Orleans), the lyrics to this theme were the same during the entire 10-year run.

Sidekicks

Geoff Peterson

On April 5, 2010, Ferguson began featuring a robot skeleton

, voiced by Josh Robert Thompson. The robot was created by former ''

Mythbuster ''MythBusters'' is a science entertainment television program, developed by Peter Rees and produced by Australia's Beyond Television Productions. The series premiered on the Discovery Channel on January 23, 2003. It was broadcast internationa ...

. According to a web article by Jeremy Kaplan, when Imahara became aware of Ferguson's idea to have a robot sidekick, he responded with a March 1, 2010 tweet: Ferguson subsequently came through with the followers and Imahara came through with the robot. While Geoff began with pre-recorded phrases, Thompson voiced him live in studio for almost every episode since late June 2011, including those filmed in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. Three people are often given screen credit at the end of the show as being responsible for Geoff: Imahara, writer Tom Straw (and later Bob Oschack), and voice actor Thompson. Ferguson has said that the robot is "my metaphor for deconstructing the dead art form of the late night talk show", and that he selected the name because of its commonness. Ferguson has jokingly referred to Geoff as an "appliance" who is being used because the show's small budget does not permit a typical (and living) sidekick or band. But as the years progressed, mainly due to Thompson's performance, even Ferguson would admit that Geoff Peterson came to fully embody the very sidekick

cliché A cliché ( or ) is an element of an artistic work, saying, or idea that has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, even to the point of being weird or irritating, especially when at some earlier time it was consi ...

that they intended to mock. Geoff has a running "feud" with recurring guest

, who claims that she had wanted to be Craig's sidekick and was upset when Geoff was selected.

Secretariat

Secretariat is a

which first appeared on October 11, 2010, as a joke reference to the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

film ''

Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred racehorse who is the ninth winner of the Ameri ...

'' which was based on the life of the 1973 triple-crown winning racehorse,

. The people playing Secretariat were Joseph Bolter and Ryan McGowan. Secretariat's appearances on the show would begin through a doorbell ring, which Ferguson would press at random moments in the show, even in the middle of an interview. Ferguson would ask, "Who's that at the door?," prompting Secretariat to enter and dance around the stage accompanied by

techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...

music, with Ferguson, the guest, and the audience standing up to dance with him. Secretariat would initially leave through where he entered, but later episodes would show him proceeding to his "stall" at the right-hand side of the stage. By December 2010, he had become a regular on the show, and Secretariat would often appear even if unprompted, such as the cold opens or when talked to from his stall. Sometimes, Secretariat would be provoked by Ferguson or a Tweets & Email submission, causing him to angrily kick his stall open; Geoff would jokingly aggravate the situation by saying, "Kick his ass, man!," though he varies in rooting for either Ferguson or Secretariat. Secretariat has appeared in some sketches, including one on January 7, 2011, when a clip was shown of Secretariat traveling to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

to deliver a Christmas present to

Jimmy Fallon James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an American comedian, television host, actor, and writer. He is known for his work in television as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' and as the host of the late-night talk show ''The Ton ...

, who competed against Ferguson in the same time slot on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

. In the clip, Secretariat makes appearances on other New York-based CBS programs such as ''

Live with Regis and Kelly ''Live with Kelly and Ryan'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American syndicated morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show formula has aired under various hosts since ...

'', '' The View'', '' CBS News'' (where

Katie Couric Katherine Anne Couric ( ; born January 7, 1957) is an American journalist and presenter. She is founder of Katie Couric Media, a multimedia news and production company. She also publishes a daily newsletter, ''Wake Up Call''. From 2013 to 2017, ...

did the Secretariat Dance), and ''

''. When Ferguson hosted the show from

during the week of August 1, 2011, Secretariat played a role in several locations. He again accompanied the show during its week of programs taped in Scotland, airing in the summer of 2012. Secretariat also appeared in several background shots of

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

remote shows during the show's visit to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Super Bowl XLVII Super Bowl XLVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champio ...

in 2013. A following has been built around the false horse, with multiple fan pages existing on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin ...

, and several

website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Wikip ...

s selling Team Secretariat

T-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a '' crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are genera ...

s. As part of the finale's last sketch, Secretariat unmasks himself and reveals himself to be

Sandra the Rhino

Voiced by Dana DeLorenzo, Sandra is a rhino head mounted above the studio's faux fireplace. Craig would try and get Geoff and Sandra to speak at the same time and they couldn't so everyone would just laugh hysterically about the lack of having more staff.

Alfredo Sauce and the Shy Fellas

Over the course of his run as host, Ferguson wished to have a house band. As a substitute, Alfredo Sauce and the Shy Fellas were created, billed as "the Shyest Band in Late Night." Said to be hiding behind the curtain covering the studio

bandstand A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an orname ...

, in reality Alfredo Sauce and the other band members were voiced by Thompson and their musical cues were stock recordings. Though the characters' faces were never shown, Alfredo Sauce's hand (an oversized prop) made an appearance in one episode when it reached out from behind the curtain.

Impersonations and characters

Impersonations and sketch characters frequently done by Ferguson on the show include

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

(usually hosting "''The Rather Late Programme''"),

Wilford Brimley Anthony Wilford Brimley (September 27, 1934 – August 1, 2020) was an American actor. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and working odd jobs in the 1950s, Brimley started working as an extra and stuntman in Western films in the la ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (Birth name, né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 ...

, Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

Andy Rooney Andrew Aitken Rooney (January 14, 1919 – November 4, 2011) was an American radio and television writer who was best known for his weekly broadcast "A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney", a part of the CBS News program ''60 Minutes'' from 1978 to 2011 ...

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended ...

, and

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusett ...

. He claims that he developed his imitation of Caine after an eight-hour-long plane ride on which he sat behind Caine, who "gabbed" with his wife the entire trip. Less frequent impersonations include

Dr. Phil Phillip Calvin McGraw (born September 1, 1950), better known as Dr. Phil, is an American television personality and author best known for hosting the talk show '' Dr. Phil''. He holds a doctorate in clinical psychology, though he ceased rene ...

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality, entrepreneur and record executive. He is the creator of '' The X Factor'' and '' Got Talent'' franchises which have been sold around the world. He has judged on ...

, Kim Jong-il,

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, director, and narrator. He is known for his distinctive deep voice and various roles in a wide variety of film genres. Throughout his career spanning over five decades, he has received ...

(as "

Jessica Fletcher Jessica Beatrice "J. B." Fletcher (born Jessica Beatrice MacGill) is a detective show character and the protagonist on the American television series ''Murder, She Wrote''. Portrayed by award-winning actress Angela Lansbury, Fletcher is a bes ...

" on ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The ser ...

''),

("of the Jungle"), Arnold Schwarzenegger, and

J. K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), also known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and philanthropist. She wrote ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume children's fantasy series published from 1997 to 2007. The ser ...

Puppets

Beginning in 2008, the show began incorporating puppets in the

; many were given to Ferguson by Folkmanis Puppets. Ferguson stated in an interview with ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

'' magazine that the impetus behind starting to do the puppets is hearing an episode of ''Steve Jones (musician)#Jonesy's Jukebox, Jonesy's Jukebox'' during his drive in to work where "The Lonely Goatherd" was played. Upon arriving he decided to lip synch the song on air that night using some hand puppets that were already on hand. The cloth puppets were phased out of the series after its move to a new studio in the fall of 2012, and were not featured in the show's opening that premiered in September 2013, but marionettes of Drew Carey and Morgan Freeman were used frequently in cold opens during the fall of 2013. Puppets used on air: * Sandra Biggerstaff: An adorable male giraffe that is a representative for BP. * Sid: A cute, yet vulgar white rabbit, with a North London accent. * Wavy Rancheros: A crocodile with a Cajun accent prone to waving his left hand at the audience (hence his name), Wavy "hosted" the show's 1,000th episode. * The Pig/Gustave Flaubert: Used during the initial outbreak of swine flu, a pig with sideburns and a tuft of hair who has a "contempt for the bourgeoisie". * Kronos: A monkey who wears a bellhop's uniform and claims to be from another planet. * Brian: A shark with a wonderful singing voice. * Punxsutawney Phil: A groundhog that speaks in a German accent. * Sebastian Trousers: A wolf objecting to the portrayals of wolves in the movies. * George: A slow talking French snail. *

: A highly satirized version of the host, with a giant Liza Minnelli cut-out for the head. Voiced by Josh Robert Thompson in scenes with Craig portraying Tiny Drew Carey * Evangeline: A female ferret with a deep, male voice who is on steroids in preparation for the Olympics. *Sandra Peterson, a remote-controlled Rhinoceros, rhino head that hangs over the fireplace; originally voiced by Dana DeLorenzo (who also portrayed "Beth", a bespectacled "CBS executive"), Sandra "returned" in 2014, voiced and operated by Josh Robert Thompson * Tiny

: A small marionette of Drew Carey (though the body and head reflect Carey before his weight loss in 2010). A miniature desk is sometimes featured for Tiny Drew Carey to "sit" behind. *

: A large Morgan Freeman marionette who usually interacts with Tiny Drew Carey; voiced by Josh Robert Thompson. * In one episode, Lauren Graham operated Nadine, a cat puppet, which appeared to have a romantic relationship with Wavy.

Musical performances

''The Late Late Show'' tapes musical performances separately from the rest of the show. For example, the noise rock band No Age was videotaped on October 2, 2008, for an appearance scheduled to air October 27. That performance was also the subject of an equal-time rule controversy in which guitarist Randy Randall was not allowed to wear a pro-Barack Obama T-shirt. Randall, not wanting to cancel the appearance, chose instead to turn the T-shirt inside out.

Interview ending activities

Starting in 2010, Ferguson began ending interviews by variously offering the guest a choice between two or three activities. These have included: * Mouth Organ: Ferguson and the guest play the mouth organ (harmonica) briefly. Guests that can play the instrument properly are awarded the Golden Mouth Organ.‡ * Awkward Pause: Ferguson and the guest act out an Awkward silence, awkward pause together. Occasionally Ferguson and the guest would agree on a particular subtext for the awkward pause, for instance 'sexual tension awkward pause' or 'smell my finger awkward pause'. * Big Cash Prize: Ferguson will offer the guest $7.50 in nickels for either answering a question (which always start with factoids about Iceland's Reykjavik, capital city), or guessing 'What's in My Box?', an imaginary box that only Geoff knows the contents of. Prior to August 27, 2012, the prize was $50 in $1 bills or in quarters. Ferguson explained that the reduced prize was necessary to help pay for the new studio. During episodes taped in Scotland, the prize was awarded in pound sterling, pounds sterling. * Fruit: Ferguson asks the guest if they would like a piece of fruit, selected from a basket on the desk containing tropical fruit such as mangoes, cherimoyas, and other exotic offerings. When a coconut is chosen, Ferguson proceeds to smash it open on his desk and drink the coconut milk with the guest. * Throw Frisbees at the Horse: Ferguson and the guest attempt to hit Secretariat with frisbees. * Guess What Her Majesty The Queen Is Thinking: A variation of the Big Cash Prize, Ferguson states that they have imagined a scenario where her majesty the queen has been wrongly imprisoned, and the guest must guess what she is thinking. He then proceeds to impersonate the queen and tell whether or not they were correct. * True or Not True?: Another variation of the Big Cash Prize, where Ferguson utters a short story (of any matter) and the guest has to decide if it's true or not true. As with "What's in My Box", the real answer is only known to Geoff Peterson. * Touch My Glittery Ball: The guest is encouraged to touch a small, spinning disco ball on Ferguson's desk. By mid-October 2011 Ferguson had only occasionally offered this option. * Haggis in a TARDIS/Touch My Haggis: the guest is offered the option to touch a vegetarian haggis, supplied by Neil Gaiman, which has been stuffed into the model TARDIS which sits on Craig's desk. * Freeze-frame High Five: Craig and guest high-five and keep pose. Only used a few times before being phased out.

Ratings

In 2006, clips of ''The Late Late Show'' began appearing on the video sharing website YouTube. Subsequently, Ferguson's ratings "grew seven percent (or by 100,000 viewers)." During the week ending March 31, 2006, ''The Late Late Show'' attracted an average of 1.9 million total viewers, a number that increased to 2.0 million a year later. During the week ending April 4, 2008, ''The Late Late Show'' attracted an average of 1.88 million total viewers; that week, for the first time since Ferguson began hosting, the show's "five-night week of original head-to-head broadcasts", which was later discovered to actually be four nights due to a difference in title, drew a larger audience than ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien''. Reuters noted that "Ferguson's bigger accomplishment seems to be that he has merely lost fewer viewers this season, with his total audience slipping 12% from a year ago, compared with a 24% drop for O'Brien"; the year-to-year decline in viewership was attributed to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' encountered new competition in March 2009, the first night of ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon''. During Fallon's first week, the new show averaged 2.4 million viewers, a half million more viewers than Ferguson's show. Fallon maintained his lead over Ferguson during the show's second week, but by March 16, ''The Late Late Show'' had attracted a larger audience. In July 2009, Ferguson led Late Night in total viewers by a 25% margin. On September 22, 2009, the night Ferguson followed the Letterman interview of President Obama, his audience reached 3.24 million, the show's biggest ever; Ferguson attracted two million viewers more than Jimmy Fallon and almost a million more than Conan O'Brien attracted an hour earlier. By the end of 2009, ''The Late Late Show'' topped ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' in the ratings with a 1.8 rating/6 share and 1.6 rating/6 share, respectively. By May 2010, ''Late Late Show'' and ''Late Night'' were roughly tied in the ratings, with Ferguson leading in total viewers (1.7 million compared to 1.6 million for Fallon) and Fallon having a narrow edge in ratings. During November sweeps in 2011, ''The Late Late Show'' was third in late-late night broadcasting; its 1.7 million views were well ahead of ''Last Call with Carson Daly'' but behind the 2 million viewers of ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' and the 1.8 million viewers of ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon''. The 2012 November sweeps saw ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' edge ahead of ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' and ''The Late Late Show'' with 2.1 million total viewers, compared to Fallon's 1.75 million and Ferguson's 1.6 million.

Notable episodes

* On January 3, 2005, Ferguson hosted his first episode, with first guests David Duchovny, and Nicole Sullivan. * On January 30, 2006, Ferguson eulogized his father, who had died the day before. He was nominated for his first Emmy Award for the episode. * On February 19, 2007, Ferguson announced he would do "no Britney Spears jokes", saying "comedy should have a certain amount of joy in it" and that it shouldn't include "attacking the vulnerable." He referenced his 15 years of sobriety and the struggle he had with Drug addiction, addiction, almost ending in suicide. Despite Ferguson's initial trepidation over how the monologue would be received, it earned widespread support from both industry peers and viewers, and it has resurfaced on the internet several times since its broadcast in relation to Britney Spears' subsequent media attention. * On September 10, 2008, he described his excitement about voting in his first United States presidential election, U.S. Presidential election and ranted against American voter fatigue, stating, "If you don't vote, you're a moron!"My fellow Americans: Craig Ferguson tells viewers, "If you don't vote you're a moron"; read his monologue
from kansascity.com * On March 4, 2009, he dedicated the entire show to his guest, Archbishop

. The cold open and monologue featured a brief history of South Africa and apartheid. The show was during a week of change in late night, with the premiere of ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'', a show competing with ''The Late Late Show'', occurring two days earlier. The interview received critical praise from National Public Radio, NPR's TV critic, David Bianculli, who called the episode's monologue "nothing less than an entertaining, understandable, shockingly thorough history of South African politics and colonization" and its interview "inspirational ..almost beyond measure." This show was given a

March 31, 2010 for broadcasting excellence in news and entertainment. * On October 27, 2009, during an interview with Alicia Silverstone, CBS lost power due to abnormally high gusts of wind in the area, with Ferguson joking that "We've gone to radio, everybody!" before going to a commercial break. The power "returned" before the interview with Salman Rushdie (the interview was pretaped), only to "go out" again during the "What did we learn on the show tonight, Craig?" segment. The next night, he commented in the cold opening that Wolf Blitzer reported on CNN that the lights went out on the show, "but how can that be news?" * The episode on December 15, 2009, was the 1,000th of Ferguson's tenure as host, and to mark the occasion, the entire show was done with puppets. "Wavy Ranchero" "filled in" as host, delivering a brief monologue and interviewing the celebrity guests, the shark puppet was used for the "Dear

" skits, and "Connery the Bull" appeared in the "A

Holiday Memory" skits. Jason Segel appeared with a Count Dracula, Dracula puppet, performing the song "Dracula's Lament" from his film ''Forgetting Sarah Marshall'', accompanied by

. The only time Ferguson himself appeared on camera (aside from the opening title sequence and the "Dear Aquaman" intro) was during the closing segment in which he was on stage in his Prince Charles costume, along with many of his puppets and crew members, while Wavy "performed" to James Taylor's recording of Carole King's "You've Got a Friend". Ferguson was also seen during the closing credits which showed various captioned shots of behind-the-scenes action that took place during the episode's production. * On January 14, 2010, Ferguson said in the cold open that he would not talk about 2010 Tonight Show host and timeslot conflict, "the trouble at late night" at

, because there was an actual news story about the 2010 Haiti earthquake, earthquake in Haiti. Commenting on Rush Limbaugh's statement "We already donated to Haiti, it's called U.S. Income Tax", he said "Rush Limbaugh has to fill a lot of air time with saying things and occasionally saying garbage, and God knows I do that every night here." He told Limbaugh that the way to take the sting out of his statement was to donate a million dollars of his money to the American Red Cross, Red Cross "and we'll say no more about it." * On February 23, 2010, Ferguson did a show with a single guest and without a studio audience, a format in part inspired by Tom Snyder, who had hosted ''The Tomorrow Show, Tomorrow'' and the first five years of ''The Late Late Show (CBS TV series), The Late Late Show'' in such a format. According to Ferguson, the 2010 Tonight Show host and timeslot conflict, Tonight Show host and time slot conflict got him to reflect on the "late-night traditions started by Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Johnny Carson, and 'lovingly deconstructed' by David Letterman" and prompted him to try such an experiment. Ferguson's guest for the hour was Stephen Fry. * On April 5, 2010, the show introduced

, Craig's robot skeleton sidekick. Previously, Craig had professed his desire to have his own "Robot Skeleton Army". To that end, Mythbusters'

volunteered to build Craig a robot skeleton sidekick if Craig got him 100,000 followers on Twitter. Originally, Craig provided the voice of Geoff, using a harsh, metallic voice in several short, pre-recorded phrases. Later that month, Josh Robert Thompson began providing Geoff's voice full-time. By mid 2011, Thompson would perform Geoff live in the studio. * On November 16, 2010, Ferguson dedicated an entire episode to the British science fiction program ''Doctor Who'', complete with a Dalek and guest Matt Smith (actor), Matt Smith. The cold open was marred when a rehearsed dance number was forced to be scrapped due to CBS not receiving legal clearance to play the ''Doctor Who'' theme song five minutes before air, much to the anger of Ferguson. The dance number later leaked on YouTube on December 1. Ferguson announced on January 3, 2011, that the dance number had finally been cleared to be shown and that it would air on the upcoming show which Alex Kingston (who plays "River Song" on ''Doctor Who'') would guest on. * On February 1, 2011, the show was dedicated to an examination of African-American history and culture in honor of February being Black History Month in the United States. Ferguson stated at the top of the show that as a recent immigrant to the country he was not very knowledgeable about the topic and would use that night's episode to educate himself. He also declared at the top of the show that there would be "no skeleton" and "no horse" during that night's taping (in reference to Geoff Peterson and Secretariat). His guests that night were Cornel West and George Clinton (funk musician), George Clinton, who also performed "One Nation Under A Groove" with his band Parliament-Funkadelic. * In June 2011, Ferguson filmed an entire week of shows in Paris, France, featuring Kristen Bell as co-host. The episodes aired during the week of August 1. Ferguson joked, "It's the first time in the history of this show that we've been allowed outside." For this week of shows, the program was temporarily re-titled ''Le Late Late Show avec Craig Ferguson à Paris'', and Ferguson sang the show's theme song on-camera with help from two Parisian musicians: one playing a piano, the other a double bass. * On August 23, 2011, Ferguson received a white substance in the mail that was feared to be anthrax. Many people were held in isolation after being exposed to the substance, but they were released after the police discovered that the powdery substance was benign. Ferguson joked about the incident on his show, explaining, "Today someone sent an envelope packed with white powder to the show. I offered to taste it, but they said 'no'". * On June 28, 2012, the show's lights lost power after a transformer blew, shorting out the light grid above the stage. This forced the crew to carry on with the show with the dimly-lit set. * On April 15, 2013, the show following the Boston Marathon bombing began with Ferguson, seated at his desk, talking to the audience about the bombing, his feelings about them, his personal relationship with the city of Boston, and the lack of a proper open and monologue for the show, stating that it would be "insensitive, at best" to open the show with "It's a great day for America." He also explained the bombing might come up again during the show, saying, "This is on my mind; I can't pretend it's not there." Along with the monologue, the show omitted the opening sequence, the usual "Tweets & Email" segment (going straight into the first interview following the first commercial), and the usual "What Did We Learn on the Show Tonight, Craig?" segment at the end of the show. Geoff Peterson and Secretariat were also absent. During the show, Ferguson talked briefly about the bombing to his guests, Rob Lowe and

. To end the show, Ferguson addressed his audience in Boston, saying, "Our thoughts are with you, and we'll see how it goes. Good luck to you." ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine later placed Ferguson's monologue at number one on its list of the Top 10 Late Night Moments of 2013. * April Fools' Day, 2014, featured a swap of cast between the show and ''The Price Is Right (U.S. game show), The Price Is Right''; Craig, Shadoe, and the cast did that day's episode of ''Price,'' while

hosted ''The Late Late Show'' with George Gray (television personality), George Gray working as announcer. * On September 19, 2014, ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' aired its 2,000th episode. * On December 19, 2014, ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' aired its final episode, with

as the featured guest. In the cold open, Ferguson performed Dead Man Fall's song "Bang Your Drum" accompanied by

, Kyra Sedgwick (plus dog Lily),

Kristin Chenoweth Kristin Dawn Chenoweth (; born Kristi Dawn Chenoweth; July 24, 1968)Kristin Cheno ...

, Kat Dennings,

, Sean Hayes, Samuel L. Jackson,

, Mary McCormack, Joel McHale,

, Josh Robert Thompson, Archbishop

, "Weird Al" Yankovic,

, Thomas Lennon, Secretariat, and Ferguson's bunny and alligator puppets in a pre-taped montage which segued to the song continuing live in studio with Ferguson singing backed by occasional semi-house band Bone Patrol,

guitarist

and a choir and various celebrities, musicians and friends of the show accompanying on stage. The What Did We Learn segment at the end of the show revealed Secretariat, the pantomime horse, to be

, at which point the segment became a parody of the ''

'' series finale with Ferguson as Mr. Wick from ''The Drew Carey Show'' waking up from a bad dream, in bed with

revealing the 10 years of ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' to have been a dream. References to the series finales of ''

'' and ''

'' were also made.

International broadcast

The ''Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' aired in Australia on Eleven (TV channel), Eleven, first premiering on January 11, 2011. In Canada, the series aired on CHCH-DT, CHCH, Global Television Network, Global, and Omni Television.

Notes

References

External links

Craig Ferguson
on Twitter
''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson''
on Twitter
''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson''
on

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, 2005 American television series debuts 2014 American television series endings 2000s American late-night television series 2010s American late-night television series 2000s American sketch comedy television series 2010s American sketch comedy television series 2000s American variety television series 2010s American variety television series American television shows featuring puppetry CBS original programming English-language television shows Television series by Worldwide Pants Television series by CBS Studios Television shows filmed in Los Angeles Peabody Award-winning television programs Super Bowl lead-out shows

Show format

Twitter email jingles

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Production milestones

Final seasons and departure

Show elements

Cold open

Theme song

Sidekicks

Geoff Peterson

Secretariat

Sandra the Rhino

Alfredo Sauce and the Shy Fellas

Impersonations and characters

Puppets

Musical performances

Interview ending activities

Ratings

Notable episodes

International broadcast

See also

Notes

References

External links