Drew Carey
Carey in November 2008
Birth name	Drew Allison Carey
Born	(1958-05-23) May 23, 1958 (age 54) Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Medium	Stand-up, television, film
Nationality	American
Years active	1985–present
Genres	Improvisational comedy
Notable works and roles	The Drew Carey Show Drew Carey's Green Screen Show Host of: Whose Line Is It Anyway? The Price Is Right Power of 10 Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza
Website	http://www.drewfromtv.blogspot.com

Drew Allison Carey (born May 23, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, sports executive, and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, Carey eventually gained popularity starring on his own sitcom, The Drew Carey Show, and serving as host of the U.S. version of the improv comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway?, both of which aired on ABC.

Carey has appeared in several films, television series, music videos, a made-for-television film, and a computer game. As of 2012, he hosts the television game show The Price Is Right. He is interested in a variety of sports, has worked as a photographer at U.S. National Team soccer games, is a minority owner of the Major League Soccer team Seattle Sounders FC and a member of the WWE Hall of Fame. Carey has written an autobiography, Dirty Jokes And Beer: Stories Of The Unrefined, detailing his early life and television career.

Early life[link]

Carey in his U.S. Marine Corps uniform, with rank insignia of a Corporal

Carey was the youngest of Lewis and Beulah Carey's three sons and raised in the Old Brooklyn neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio.^[1] When he was eight years old, his father died from a brain tumor.^[2][3] According to his autobiography, he was born with six toes on his right foot and he played the cornet and trumpet in the marching band of James Ford Rhodes High School, from which he graduated in 1975.^[4] Drew is of Scottish heritage from both parents.^{[citation needed]}

He continued on to college at Kent State University (KSU) and was expelled twice for poor academic performance. He left KSU after three years, but not before becoming a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. After leaving the university, Carey enlisted into the United States Marine Corps Reserve in 1980 and served for six years.^[1] He relocated to Las Vegas for a few months in 1982, and for a short time worked as a bank teller and a waiter at Denny's.^[1][3]

Stand-up career[link]

In 1985, he began his comedy career by following up on a suggestion by David Lawrence (a disc jockey friend who had been paying Drew to write jokes for David's radio show in Cleveland) to go to the library and borrow books on how to write jokes.^[5][6] The following year, after winning an open-microphone contest, he became Master of Ceremonies at the Cleveland Comedy Club.^[2] He performed at multiple comedy clubs over the next few years in both Cleveland and Los Angeles. He was first brought to the national eye as a comedian when he competed in the 1988 Star Search.^[7] Carey was working as a stand-up comedian when he appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in November 1991.^[8] His performance that night impressed Carson, who invited Carey to the couch next to his desk; this was considered a rare honor for any comedian.^[5][9] In that same year, Carey joined the 14th Annual Young Comedians Special on HBO and made his first appearance on Late Night with David Letterman.^[10] In 1994, Carey wrote his own stand-up comedy special which aired on Showtime, entitled Drew Carey: Human Cartoon, for which he won a CableACE Award for Best Writing.^[11]

Acting career[link]

Early roles[link]

Following on the success of his early stand-up career, he subsequently appeared in a number of supporting roles on television shows, during which he developed the character of a hapless middle-class bachelor. In 1993, Carey had a small role in the film Coneheads as a taxi passenger. Turning his attention to television, in 1994, Carey co-starred with John Caponera in The Good Life, a short-lived sitcom that aired on NBC.^[12] After the show's cancellation, Carey joined up with writer Bruce Helford (who was also a writer for The Good Life), who gave Carey a job as a consultant for the television show Someone Like Me.^[13]

[edit] The Drew Carey Show

After their stint on Someone Like Me, Carey and Helford developed and produced the storyline for The Drew Carey Show. The sitcom revolved around a fictionalized version of Carey, as he took on the stresses of life and work with his group of childhood friends. The show premiered on September 13, 1995 on ABC. In his autobiography, Carey revealed his frustration with having to deal with censors and being unable to employ the off-color humor common in his stand-up routines.^[4] Carey initially earned $60,000 per episode in the first seasons, then renegotiated for $300,000.^[14] By the final season, he was earning $750,000 per episode.^[15] The show had high ratings for its first few seasons, but declining ratings and increasing production costs (around $3 million per episode) precipitated its cancellation.^[15][16] The program had a total of 233 episodes over its nine-year run and Carey was one of four actors to appear in every episode. The show starred (in order of episode appearances) Carey, Diedrich Bader, Kathy Kinney, Ryan Stiles (all in every episode); Craig Ferguson (starring role in seasons 2-8 and guest appearances in 9); Christa Miller (seasons 1-7); and Ian Gomez (semi-regular from seasons 1-9) and John Carroll Lynch (semi-regular from seasons 3/4-9).

Improv television[link]

While still starring in The Drew Carey Show, in 1998 Carey began hosting the American version of the improvisational comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway?. He would announce the improv guests, direct the games, and then would usually involve himself in the final game of the episode. The show ran for a total of 220 episodes until the show's cancellation in 2006. In 1998, the New York Friars' Club made Carey the newest inductee of the group's Comedy Central Roast. His friend Ryan Stiles (who costarred in The Drew Carey Show and Whose Line Is It Anyway?) served as the roastmaster.^[17] Carey's income from Whose Line Is It Anyway? and The Drew Carey Show led to his inclusion on the Forbes list of highest-paid entertainers of 1998, at 24th with $45.5 million.^[18]

For the WB's 2004-2005 prime time schedule, Carey co-produced and starred in Drew Carey's Green Screen Show, a spin-off of Whose Line Is It Anyway?.^[19] It was canceled by the WB, but picked up shortly afterward by Comedy Central.^[20] The show's premise relied on the use of a green screen for all of the actors' improv interactions. Animation on the screen was inserted during post-production.

On November 18, 2010, the Game Show Network announced that Drew Carey would host a new improv show in primetime, called Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza. The show is filmed at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada and first aired on April 11, 2011.^[21] The show takes on the premise of Whose Line? and Drew Carey's Green Screen Show in that it features many of the same performers from both shows and they do improv based on audience-provided suggestions.

Improv All-Stars[link]

Carey was one of the founders of the Improv All-Stars, a group of eleven actors who perform in unscripted skits.^[22] The group joined Carey in all three of his improv shows, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Drew Carey's Green Screen Show, and Drew Carey's Improv-a-ganza and some members had major roles or guest starred on The Drew Carey Show.^[23] The Improv All-Stars travel on comedy tours, performing at comedy clubs throughout the United States.

Game show host[link]

[edit] Power of 10

Beginning in 2007, Carey began hosting game shows, beginning with his April selection as host of the CBS game show pilot Power of 10. The show ran from August 7, 2007 to April 7, 2008 and aired twice weekly during the late summer and early fall. Each game featured contestants predicting how a cross-section of Americans responded to questions covering a wide variety of topics in polls conducted by CBS.^[24]

[edit] The Price Is Right

After taping the pilot episode for Power of 10, Carey was contacted by CBS about replacing the retiring Bob Barker at The Price Is Right. After initially turning down the offer, Carey announced on Late Show with David Letterman that he would succeed Barker as host of the program beginning in the fall of 2007.^[25] His first episode of The Price Is Right was taped on August 15, and his shows began airing on October 15. In response to replacing Barker as host of the game show, Carey stated "You can't replace Bob Barker. I don't compare myself to anybody... It's only about what you're doing and supposed to do, and I feel like I'm supposed to be doing this."^[26] When Carey began hosting, the set, theme music, and show logo were updated. However, Carey kept the old closing line about spaying and neutering that originated with Barker, although his version uses slightly different wording. During Carey's second year as host, he began to write some of the sketches used during the Showcase, which features guest appearances by stars of other CBS programs.

Other roles and appearances[link]

Carey began appearing in commercials for restaurants in the late 1990s in Canada with The Great Root Bear, but his two-year contract with A&W Food Services of Canada was cut short in November 1998 after an episode of The Drew Carey Show featured McDonald's. As a result of his dismissal, Carey sued A&W for compensation.^[27]

Entrance to Sounds Dangerous! at Disney's Hollywood Studios

Disney's Hollywood Studios (then "Disney-MGM Studios"), part of Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, debuted a 12-minute attraction in 1999 titled Sounds Dangerous!.^[28] In the show, a camera follows Carey through a day as an undercover detective. When his video camera fails, the audience is left in complete darkness wearing earphones, following his adventure through sound cues. The attraction is presently^[when?] running on a limited "seasonal" schedule.

In 2000, Carey was given a cameo appearance in the House Party expansion pack of the computer game The Sims.^[29] To make him appear, the characters in the game must throw a successful party, which causes Carey to arrive in a limo and join the festivities. Carey is a fan of The Sims series and during one April Fool's episode of The Drew Carey Show, a scene takes place completely within The Sims.^[29][30] Carey made several other cameo appearances in music videos, including "Weird Al" Yankovic's "It's All About the Pentiums"^[31] and Fountains of Wayne's 2004 video for "Mexican Wine", giving an introduction to the video as if it were on a stage.^[32]

Although primarily known for his television work, Carey has done limited film work, with his first appearance in 1993's Coneheads. His next film was the 2000 television film, Geppetto that debuted on The Wonderful World of Disney. The film, an adaptation of Pinocchio, included actor Wayne Brady who had joined Carey on his improv shows.^[33] Carey took singing lessons to prepare for the role.^[3] In 2005, Carey appeared in three films: the animated film Robots, where he provided a voice-over for the character Crank; The Aristocrats where he retold a dirty joke along with other celebrities; and the documentary, Fuck, where he was interviewed.

Carey provided the entertainment for the 2002 Annual White House correspondents' dinner.^[10] Once Carey completed his standup routine for the 1,800 guests, President George W. Bush, noting Carey's improv work, made a joke of his own: "Drew? Got any interest in the Middle East?"^[34] In 2003, he joined Jamie Kennedy to host the WB's live special Play for a Billion.^[35] In September 2003, Carey led a group of comedians, including Blake Clark and The Drew Carey Show's Kathy Kinney, on a comedy tour of Iraq.^[36]

On June 8, 2006, Drew Carey's Sporting Adventures debuted on the Travel Channel. In this series, Carey traveled throughout Germany to photograph multiple FIFA World Cup soccer games while he immerses himself in the culture of the towns and states he visits.^[37] In early 2008, Carey appeared in Matt Groening's The Simpsons as part of the episode "All About Lisa" as a guest on the Krusty the Clown Show.

Writing[link]

Carey has routinely written throughout his career, including developing his stand-up comedy routines in his early stand-up career, and then moving on to assist in writing sitcoms. In 1997, Carey published his autobiography, Dirty Jokes and Beer: Stories of the Unrefined wherein he shared memories of his early childhood and of his father's death when he was eight. He also revealed that he was once molested, had suffered bouts of depression, and had made two suicide attempts by swallowing a large amount of sleeping pills.^[4] The book discusses his college fraternity years while attending Kent State University, and his professional career up to that time. The book featured large amounts of profanity and, as the title suggests, includes multiple dirty jokes (there is one at the start of each chapter) and references to beer. The book was featured on The New York Times bestseller list for three months.^[38]

Personal life[link]

He adopted his crew cut hair style while serving in the United States Marine Corps. Carey has had refractive surgery to correct his vision and therefore did not really require glasses (any glasses he wore in public were merely props to help the audience recognize him).^[39] However, while this was true for several years, on the May 17, 2006 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! he revealed that when he turned 40, he actually developed a need for bifocals. Carey currently^[when?] lives in Los Angeles and New York City.^[40]

On October 9, 2007 Carey proposed to Nicole Jaracz.^[41] In January 2012, it was reported that Carey and Jaracz had called off their engagement.^[42] She has appeared on The Price Is Right several times.^{[citation needed]}

After suffering chest pains while filming The Drew Carey Show in August 2001, Carey went to the hospital where he underwent a coronary angioplasty.^[43] Although his weight was a comedic topic throughout his sitcom and improv shows, in 2010 he began a diet and exercise plan, resulting in an extensive weight loss and elimination of his type-2 diabetes.^[44]

Political views[link]

Carey is an outspoken libertarian.^{[45][46][47][48]} He has expressed his political philosophy in the following terms, "I believe the answers to all the problems we face as a society won't come from Washington, it will come from us. So the way we decide to live our lives and our decisions about what we buy or don't buy are much more important than who we vote for."^[49]

Carey has expressed his distaste for the Bush administration's management of the War in Iraq, specifically on the September 15, 2007, episode of Real Time with Bill Maher. He made donations to Ron Paul's presidential campaign for the 2008 election.^[50] On the September 26, 2008 episode of The Late Late Show, Carey defined "libertarian" to host Craig Ferguson as "a conservative who still gets high."^[51]

Carey has spoken about his various political beliefs in several interviews and in 1998, he led a "smoke-in" in defiance of California's newly passed no-smoking ordinance inside bars and restaurants.^[52] Carey has hosted a series of mini-documentaries called The Drew Carey Project on Reason.tv, an online project of Reason Foundation, a libertarian think tank.^[53] The first episode, "Gridlock", addresses private highway ownership and was released on October 15, 2007. Other episodes discuss topics such as eminent domain, urban traffic congestion, and medical marijuana.

Sports involvement[link]

Carey is a devoted fan of the U.S. National Soccer Team, Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Cleveland Indians. In 1999, Carey was part of the pregame ceremonies at the first game of the return of the Cleveland Browns, televised on ESPN.^[18] Carey attended the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany and the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Carey is a minority owner of the Seattle Sounders FC, who began play in Major League Soccer on March 19, 2009. Carey is a fan of FC Barcelona and of the Scottish team Rangers.^[54] In 2006 he was a season ticket holder for the Los Angeles Galaxy.^[55]

Carey preparing for a TV broadcast at the dedication of Cleveland Browns Stadium, September 1999

Carey has shown his support for the Indians by throwing the first pitch at an August 12, 2006 game against the Kansas City Royals. He was rewarded by the Cleveland Indians for being "the greatest Indians fan alive" with a personal bobblehead doll made in his likeness that was given to fans. Carey responded to his bobblehead likeness by saying "Bobblehead Day, for me, is as big as getting a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame."^[56]

In 2001, Carey was the first television actor to enter World Wrestling Entertainment's 30-man "Royal Rumble" match, which he did to promote an improv comedy pay-per-view at the time. He appeared in a few backstage segments before his brief participation in the match. Upon entering the ring, Carey stood unopposed for more than half a minute, but after the next entrant Kane refused a monetary bribe, Carey eliminated himself from the match by jumping over the top rope and retreated from ringside.^[57] On April 2, 2011 Carey was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Kane.^[58]

Carey competed against five other celebrities in the first celebrity edition of the 2003 World Poker Tour. He placed fifth, only beating out actor Jack Black. Carey won $2,000 for his charity.^[59]

On May 15, 2011, Carey completed the "Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon" in 1:57:02, then on September 4, 2011, he improved to complete the Disneyland Half Marathon in 1:50:46.

On October 30, 2011, Carey finished the Marine Corps Marathon with a chip time of: 4:37:11 and placed 10149th out of 20940.

Philanthropy[link]

Carey at the World Cup Fest in Kaiserslautern, Germany in June 2006 while filming Drew Carey's Sporting Adventures

Carey is a supporter of libraries, crediting them for beginning his successful comedy career. On May 2, 2000, in a celebrity edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, he selected the Ohio Library Foundation to receive his $500,000 winnings.^[60] He later went on to win an additional $32,000 on the second celebrity Millionaire, making him one of the biggest winning contestants on Millionaire who did not win the top prize. Carey also has played on the World Poker Tour in the Hollywood Home games for the Cleveland Public Library charity.^[61] In June 2007, Carey offered to donate up to $100,000 (in $10,000 increments) to the Mooch Myernick Memorial Fund if anybody could beat him at the video game FIFA Soccer 07 for the Xbox 360. He dared five players from both the U.S. Men's and Women's National Teams to compete against him.^[62] Carey ended up donating $100,000 plus $60,000 for losing two games out of the six games he played.^[63]

In October 2009, Carey made a bid of $25,000 in a charity auction for the @drew Twitter account. He later increased his offer to $100,000 if the number of followers of his account @DrewFromTV reached 100,000 by the end of the auction.^[64] In an interview with CBS News, he announced that he would instead donate $1 million to the charity LIVESTRONG Foundation if his follower count reached one million by December 31, 2009.^[65]

Photography[link]

Carey can sometimes be seen on the sidelines of U.S. National Team soccer games as a press photographer.^[66] His images are sold via wire services under the pseudonym Brooks Parkenridge.^[55] He was at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in the summer of 2006, for his television show Drew Carey's Sporting Adventures.

Awards and honors[link]

Carey's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

• Carey won the Cable Ace Award for Best Writing for his work on Drew Carey: Human Cartoon.^[10]
• In 1995, he was named one of the "10 Hottest New Faces of '95" by TV Guide.^[1]
• Carey received an honorary DHL from Cleveland State University in 2000.^[67]
• He won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Television Performer for his work in The Drew Carey Show, in both 2000 and 2001.^[68]
• On February 21, 2003, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.^[69] His star can be found at 6664 Hollywood Blvd.
• In 2004, he was ranked 84th on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time.^[70]
• On June 21, 2008 Carey won second place from the Los Angeles Press Club for his feature on medical marijuana in the multimedia package category.^[71]
• On June 26, 2011 Carey shared the award for "Best Advocacy Journalism" with Reason.tv Editor Nick Gillespie and Paul Feine at the 53rd Annual Southern California Journalism Awards.^[72]

Filmography[link]

Carey has starred in only a few television shows and films, but also has numerous guest star appearances in a variety of sitcoms and comedy shows.

Television work[link]

Films[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Biography portal

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Drew Carey

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Drew Carey

Wikinews has related news: Drew Carey to replace Bob Barker as host of "The Price is Right"

• Drew Carey on Twitter
• Drew Carey's blog
• Drew Carey at the Internet Movie Database
• Drew Carey and the Improv All-Stars
• Drew Carey's WWE Hall of Fame Profile
• Reason Foundation Official site

v t e Whose Line Is It Anyway? UK version Host Clive Anderson Regular contestants Chip Esten Stephen Frost Stephen Fry Josie Lawrence Mike McShane Paul Merton Colin Mochrie Greg Proops John Sessions Brad Sherwood Tony Slattery Steve Steen Ryan Stiles Jim Sweeney Sandi Toksvig Caroline Quentin Musicians Colin Sell Richard Vranch Laura Hall Win Meyerson US version Host Drew Carey Regular contestants Wayne Brady Chip Esten Kathy Greenwood Colin Mochrie Greg Proops Brad Sherwood Denny Siegel Ryan Stiles Jeff Davis Musicians Laura Hall Linda Taylor Cece Worrall-Ruben Related topics List of UK episodes List of US episodes List of games Drew Carey's Green Screen Show (List of episodes) Mock the Week Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza (List of episodes)

Craig Ferguson
Performing stand-up in New York City, 2007
Born	(1962-05-17) May 17, 1962 (age 50) Glasgow, Scotland
Medium	Stand-up, television, film, music, books
Nationality	Scotland; United States
Years active	1980–present
Genres	Observational comedy, satire/political satire/news satire
Subject(s)	Everyday life, popular culture, self-deprecation, politics
Spouse	Anne Hogarth (1983–86) (divorced) Sascha Corwin (1998–2004) (divorced) 1 child Megan Wallace-Cunningham (2008–present) 1 child
Notable works and roles	Host of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson Nigel Wick on The Drew Carey Show Glaswegian in One Foot in the Grave Gobber in How to Train Your Dragon
Website	The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

Craig Ferguson (born 17 May 1962^[1]) is a Scottish-American television host, stand-up comedian, writer, actor, director, author, and producer. He is the host of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, an Emmy Award-nominated, Peabody Award-winning late-night talk show that airs on CBS. In addition to hosting that program and performing stand-up comedy, Ferguson has written two books: Between the Bridge and the River, a novel, and American on Purpose, a memoir. He became a citizen of the United States in 2008.^[2]

Before his career as a late-night television host, Ferguson was best known in the United States for his role as the office boss, Nigel Wick, on The Drew Carey Show from 1996 to 2003. He also wrote and starred in three films, directing one of them.

Early life[link]

Ferguson was born in the Stobhill Hospital in the Springburn district of Glasgow, Scotland to Robert and Janet Ferguson, and raised in nearby Cumbernauld, growing up "chubby and bullied".^[3][4] When he was six months old, he and his family moved from their Springburn apartment to a council house in Cumbernauld. They lived there as Glasgow was re-housing many people following damage to the city from World War II.^[4] Ferguson attended Muirfield Primary School and Cumbernauld High School.^[5] At age sixteen, Ferguson dropped out of Cumbernauld High School and began an apprenticeship to be an electronics technician at a local factory of American company Burroughs Corporation.^[6]

His first visit to the United States was as a teenager to visit an uncle who lived on Long Island, near New York City.^[7] When he moved to New York City in 1983, he worked in construction in Harlem.^[8][9] Ferguson later became a bouncer at a nightclub, Save the Robots.^[10]

Career[link]

British career[link]

Ferguson's experience in entertainment began as a drummer in a rock band called Exposure. He then joined a punk band called The Bastards from Hell.^[11] The band, later renamed "Dreamboys", and fronted by vocalist Peter Capaldi, performed regularly in Glasgow from 1980 to 1982.^[12] Ferguson credits Capaldi for inspiring him to try comedy.^[3]

After a nerve-wrecking, knee-knocking first appearance, he decided to create a character that was a "parody of all the über-patriotic native folk singers who seemed to infect every public performance in Scotland."^[3] The character, "Bing Hitler" (actually coined by Capaldi as Ferguson started with the monogram of "Nico Fulton" but admittedly later stole the name for his "own nefarious ends"),^[12] premiered in Glasgow, and subsequently became a hit at the 1986 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. A recording of his stage act as Bing Hitler was made at Glasgow's Tron Theatre and released in the 1980s;^[13] a Bing Hitler monologue ("A Lecture for Burns Night") appears on the compilation cassette Honey at the Core.

Ferguson's first television appearance was as Confidence on BBC sitcom Red Dwarf during the episode "Confidence and Paranoia".

Ferguson made his starring television debut in The Craig Ferguson Show, a one-off comedy pilot for Granada Television, which co-starred Paul Whitehouse and Helen Atkinson-Wood.^[14] This was broadcast throughout the UK on 4 March 1990, but was not made into a full series.

He has also found success in musical theatre. Beginning in 1991, he appeared on stage as Brad Majors in the London production of The Rocky Horror Show, alongside Anthony Head, who was playing Dr. Frank-N-Furter at the time.^{[citation needed]} In 1994, Ferguson played Father MacLean in the highly controversial production of Bad Boy Johnny and the Prophets of Doom at the Union Chapel in London. The same year, he appeared again at the Edinburgh Fringe, as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple, opposite Gerard Kelly as Felix and Kate Anthony as Gwendolin Pidgeon, who is now much better known as Aunty Pam in Coronation Street; the play, which was relocated to 1990s Glasgow, later toured Scotland.^[15]

After enjoying success at the Edinburgh Festival, Ferguson appeared on Red Dwarf, STV's Hogmanay Show,^[16] his own show 2000 Not Out, and the 1993 One Foot in the Grave Christmas special One Foot in the Algarve.

In 1993, Ferguson presented his own series on Scottish archaeology for Scottish Television entitled Dirt Detective.^[17] He travelled throughout the country examining archaeological history, including Skara Brae and Paisley Abbey.

U.S. career[link]

After cancellation of his show The Ferguson Theory, Ferguson moved to Los Angeles in 1994. His first U.S. role was as baker Logan McDonough on the short-lived 1995 ABC comedy Maybe This Time, which starred Betty White and Marie Osmond.

His breakthrough in the U.S. came when he was cast on The Drew Carey Show as the title character's boss, Mr. Wick, a role that he played from 1996 to 2003. He played the role with an over-the-top posh English accent "to make up for generations of English actors doing crap Scottish accents." In his comedy special "A Wee Bit O' Revolution", he specifically called out James Doohan's portrayal of Montgomery Scott on Star Trek as the foundation of his "revenge". (At the end of one episode, though, Ferguson broke the fourth wall and began talking to the audience at home in his regular Scottish accent.) His character was memorable for his unique methods of laying employees off, almost always "firing Johnson", the most common last name of the to-be-fired workers.^[18] Even after leaving the show in 2003, he remained a recurring character on the series for the last two seasons, and was part of the 2-part series finale in 2004.

During production of The Drew Carey Show, Ferguson devoted his off-time as a cast member to writing, working in his trailer on set in-between shooting his scenes. He wrote and starred in three films: The Big Tease, Saving Grace, and I'll Be There, which he also directed and for which he won the Audience Award for Best Film at the Aspen, Dallas and Valencia film festivals. He was named Best New Director at the Napa Valley Film Festival. These were among other scripts that, "... in the great tradition of the movie business, about half a dozen that I got paid a fortune for but never got made."^[19] His other acting credits in films include Niagara Motel, Lenny the Wonder Dog, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Chain of Fools, Born Romantic, The Ugly Truth, How to Train Your Dragon, Kick-Ass and Winnie the Pooh.

Ferguson has been touring the United States and Canada with a stand-up comedy show, and performed at Carnegie Hall on 23 October 2010.

[edit] The Late Late Show

In December 2004, it was announced that Ferguson would be the successor to Craig Kilborn on CBS's The Late Late Show. His first show as the regular host aired on 3 January 2005. By May 2008, Ben Alba, an American television historian and an authority on U.S. talk shows, said Ferguson "has already made his mark, taking the TV monologue to new levels with an underlying story. But he is only just starting ... He is making up his own rules: It's the immigrant experience."^[18]

The Late Late Show averaged 2.0 million viewers in its 2007 season, compared with 2.5 million for Late Night with Conan O'Brien.^[20] In April 2008, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson beat Late Night with Conan O'Brien for weekly ratings (1.88 million to 1.77 million) for the first time since the two shows went head-to-head with their respective hosts.^[21]

By the end of 2009, Craig Ferguson topped Jimmy Fallon in the ratings with Ferguson getting a 1.8 rating/6 share and Fallon receiving a 1.6 rating/6 share.^[22]

Ferguson's success on the show has led at least one "television insider" to say he is the heir apparent to take over David Letterman's role as host of The Late Show.^[18]

Television and appearances[link]

Craig Ferguson has made guest appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Rachael Ray, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, The Howard Stern Show, The Daily Show, The View, Loveline, Real Time with Bill Maher, The Soup, The Talk and The Dennis Miller Show. He also co-hosted Live with Regis & Kelly with Kelly Ripa.

On 4 January 2009 Ferguson was a celebrity player on Million Dollar Password.

Ferguson in April 2008

In 2009, Ferguson made a cameo live-action appearance in the episode "We Love You, Conrad" on Family Guy. Ferguson hosted the 32nd annual People's Choice Awards on 10 January 2006.^[23] TV Guide magazine printed a "Cheers" (Cheers and Jeers section) for appearing on his own show that same evening.^{[citation needed]} From 2007 to 2010, Ferguson hosted the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular on 4 July, broadcast nationally by CBS. Ferguson was the featured entertainer at the 26 April 2008 White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, DC.^[24]

Ferguson co-presented the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama with Brooke Shields in 2008. He has done voice work in cartoons, including being the voice of Barry's evil alter-ego in the "With Friends Like Steve's" episode of American Dad; in Freakazoid! as Roddy MacStew, Freakazoid's mentor; and on Buzz Lightyear of Star Command as the robot vampire NOS-4-A2. Most recently, he was the voice of Susan the boil on Futurama, which was a parody of Scottish singer Susan Boyle. He makes stand-up appearances in Las Vegas and New York City. He headlined in the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal and in October 2008 Ferguson taped his stand up show in Boston for a Comedy Central special entitled A Wee Bit o' Revolution, which aired on 22 March 2009.

British television comedy drama Doc Martin was based on a character from Ferguson's film Saving Grace – with Ferguson getting writing credits for 12 episodes.^[25] On 6 November 2009 Ferguson appeared as himself in a SpongeBob SquarePants special titled SpongeBob's Truth or Square.^[26] He hosted Discovery Channel's 23rd season of Shark Week in 2010. Ferguson briefly appeared in Toby Keith's "Red Solo Cup" music video released on 10 October 2011. ^[27]

Literature[link]

Ferguson's novel Between the Bridge and the River was published on 10 April 2006. Ferguson appeared at the Los Angeles Festival of Books, as well as other author literary events. "This book could scare them", Ferguson said. "The sex, the violence, the dream sequences and the iconoclasm. I think a lot of people are uncomfortable with that. I understand that. It was very uncomfortable to write some of it."^[28] Publishers Weekly called it "a tour de force of cynical humor and poignant reverie, a caustic yet ebullient picaresque that approaches the sacred by way of the profane."^{[citation needed]} His novel Between the Bridge and the River is dedicated to his son and to his grandfather, Adam. Ferguson revealed in an interview that he is writing a sequel to the book, to be titled "The Sphynx of the Mississippi".^[29] He also stated in a 2006 interview with David Letterman that he intends for the book to be the first in a trilogy.^[30]

Ferguson signed a deal with HarperCollins to publish his memoirs.^[31] The book, entitled American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot, focuses on "how and why [he] became an American" and covers his years as a punk rocker, dancer, bouncer and construction worker as well as the rise of his career in Hollywood as an actor and comic. It went on sale 22 September 2009 in the United States.^[32][33] On 1 December 2010 the audiobook version was nominated for a Best Spoken Word Album Grammy.^[34]

In July 2009, Jackie Collins was a guest on The Late Late Show to promote her new book Married Lovers. Collins said that a character in her book, Don Verona, was based on Ferguson because she was such a fan of him and his show.^[35]

Personal life[link]

As mentioned on The Late Late Show on 3 August 2009, Ferguson holds an FAA Private Pilot's License issued 31 July 2009.^[36] Ferguson announced on the 8 April 2011 broadcast that he is pursuing an instrument rating.

Ferguson is a fan of Scottish football team Partick Thistle F.C.^[12] as well as the British television show Doctor Who. He has three tattoos: his latest, the Join, or Die political cartoon on his right forearm;^[37][38] a Ferguson family crest with the Latin motto Dulcius ex asperis ("Sweeter out of [or from] difficulty") on his upper right arm in honour of his father;^[39] and the Ingram family crest on his upper left arm in honour of his mother. He has often stated that his Join, or Die tattoo is to signal his patriotism.^[37]

Family[link]

In an episode of The Late Late Show that aired 8 December 2008, a somber Ferguson talked about his mother, Janet (3 August 1933 – 1 December 2008). He ended the program by playing her favourite song, "Rivers of Babylon" by Boney M.^[40]

Ferguson has two sisters (one older and one younger) and one older brother.^[41] His elder sister's name is Janice and his brother's name is Scott. His younger sister, Lynn Ferguson Tweddle, is also a successful comedienne, presenter, and actress, perhaps most widely known as the voice of Mac in the 2000 stop-motion animation film Chicken Run. She is currently a writer on The Late Late Show.

Ferguson has married three times and divorced twice as a result of what he describes as "relationship issues". His first marriage was to Anne Hogarth from 1983 to 1986, during which time they lived in New York. From his second marriage (to Sascha Corwin, founder and proprietor of Los Angeles' SpySchool), he has one son, Milo Hamish Ferguson, born in 2001. He and Corwin share custody of Milo, and live near each other in Los Angeles. On 21 December 2008, Ferguson married art dealer Megan Wallace-Cunningham in a private ceremony on her family's farm in Chester, Vermont.^[42] Ferguson announced 14 July 2010 on Twitter that they were expecting a child. He wrote: "Holy crackers! Mrs F is pregnant. How did that happen? ... oh yeah I know how. Another Ferguson arrives in 2011. The world trembles."^[43] The child, a boy named Liam James, was born 31 January 2011.^[44]

Alcoholism[link]

A recovering alcoholic, Ferguson has been sober since 18 February 1992.^[45] Because of this, he declared he wouldn't mock Britney Spears' much-publicized alcohol problems in 2007.^[46] He said he had considered committing suicide on Christmas Day 1991, but when offered a drink by a friend for celebrating the holiday, he was distracted from jumping off Tower Bridge in London as he had planned.^[3]

Citizenship[link]

Holding dual citizenship, Ferguson is both a naturalized citizen of the United States and a British citizen.

During 2007, Ferguson, who at the time held only British citizenship, used The Late Late Show as a forum for seeking honorary citizenship from every state in the U.S. He has received honorary citizenship from Nebraska, Arkansas, Virginia, Montana, North Dakota, New Jersey, Tennessee, South Carolina, South Dakota, Nevada, Alaska, Texas, Wyoming, Pennsylvania and Indiana, and was "commissioned" as an admiral in the tongue-in-cheek Nebraska Navy.^[47] Governors Jon Corzine (New Jersey), John Hoeven (North Dakota), Mark Sanford (South Carolina), Mike Rounds (South Dakota), Rick Perry (Texas), Sarah Palin (Alaska) and Jim Gibbons (Nevada) sent letters to him that made him an honorary citizen of their respective states. He received similar honors from various towns and cities, including Ozark, Arkansas; Hazard, Kentucky; and Greensburg, Pennsylvania.

Ferguson became an American citizen on 1 February 2008^[2] and broadcast the taking of his citizenship test as well as his swearing in on The Late Late Show.

Filmography[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Between the Bridge and the River. Chronicle Books. 2006. ISBN 978-0-8118-5375-0. 
• American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot. HarperCollins. 2009. ISBN 978-0-06-171954-7. 

Comedy specials[link]

• A Wee Bit o' Revolution. Comedy Central. 2009.
• Does This Need to Be Said? EPIX, Comedy Central. 2011.

Discography[link]

• Live At The Tron (as Bing Hitler). Jammy Records. 1986. Catalogue number JRLP 861.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Craig Ferguson

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Craig Ferguson

• Craig Ferguson at the Internet Movie Database
• Craig Ferguson on Twitter
• Craig Ferguson Interview on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos
• Craig Ferguson and Megan Wallace Cunningham
• The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

Jeff Ross
Jeff Ross in 2005
Pseudonym	The Roast Master General
Birth name	Jeffrey Ross Lifschultz
Born	(1965-09-13) September 13, 1965 (age 46) Springfield, New Jersey, U.S.
Medium	Stand-up, television, film, books
Nationality	American
Years active	1986–present
Genres	Roast comedian, satire
Subject(s)	Jewish culture, pop culture, self-deprecation
Influences	Eddie Murphy, Steve Martin, Cheech & Chong, The Blues Brothers[1]
Notable works and roles	Comedy Central Roasts Buddy in Where My Dogs At?

Jeff Ross (born Jeffrey Ross Lifschultz; September 13, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian, insult comic, actor, director and author.

Early life[link]

Ross was born and raised in Springfield, New Jersey.^[2] He attended Jonathan Dayton High School in Springfield. He is Jewish, as mentioned in his 2008 Comedy Central stand-up special, Jeffrey Ross: No Offense. He is a graduate of Boston University's College of Communication. In a 2008 interview for the student-run BUTV10 program Full Circle, Ross mentioned that during his college years he was the director at BU's WTBU and worked at the local NPR affiliate.^{[citation needed]} His mother died from leukemia when he was 14 years old. His father died 5 years later when Ross was 19 years old.^[3]

Comedy career[link]

In 1996, he was in the movie Celtic Pride.

Ross is the current New York Friars' Club Roastmaster General, and was a roaster for the last nine Comedy Central Roasts: Pamela Anderson in 2005, William Shatner in 2006, Flavor Flav in 2007, Bob Saget in 2008, Larry the Cable Guy in 2009, Joan Rivers in 2009, David Hasselhoff in 2010, and Donald Trump and Charlie Sheen in 2011. He has also written for, performed in and/or produced several other celebrity roasts, including those for Hugh Hefner, Rob Reiner, Jerry Stiller, Drew Carey, Emmitt Smith, Carson Daly, Mike Greenberg, Mike Golic, Gene Simmons, and David Hasselhoff. In addition to his roasts, his stand-up has been featured in Comedy Central's animated series Shorties Watchin' Shorties.^[4]

He is the author of a book released September 15, 2009, titled I Only Roast the Ones I Love: Busting Balls Without Burning Bridges. It recounts his rise to stardom and, includes tips on writing roast jokes and has ideas on how to put on a roast.

In addition to Ross' dramatic turn on CBS's CSI, he has appeared on HBO's Six Feet Under, Comedy Central's The Sarah Silverman Program, and Showtime's Weeds. He has also appeared as a regular cast member in Nick Cannon's Wild 'n Out on MTV. In film, he has appeared in Stuck on You and The Aristocrats. He also provided the voice for the beagle Buddy in the MTV2 Sic'emation animated satire program that he created, Where My Dogs At?. He appeared in the third tournament of Celebrity Poker, but lost in his first match.

Ross' 2005 directorial debut, Patriot Act: A Jeffrey Ross Home Movie received the Best Feature Film Award at the Montreal Comedy Festival. The documentary is about Ross' life changing experience entertaining U.S. troops stationed around Iraq. It features fellow comedians/comic actors Drew Carey, Blake Clark and Kathy Kinney.

Ross competed on the seventh season of Dancing with the Stars. He was partnered with Edyta Śliwińska. During rehearsal of their first dance, Ross was accidentally poked in the eye by Śliwińska, suffering a scratched cornea. Against doctor's advice, Ross continued the competition. They were the first couple to be eliminated.

In other media[link]

An animated version of Jeff Ross appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold in the opening to "Crisis: 22,300 Miles Above Earth" voiced by Ross himself. He distracted Joker and the other villains at Joker's celebrity roast in order for Batman to escape being literally roasted alive. When Joker tries to escape, Jeff gets in the way and stops Joker in his tracks. He suggests that he could be a full-time crime-fighter, but Batman advises he should just stick to comedy.

Political Engagments[link]

On October 19th, he visited the protesters of the Occupy movement in L.A to support their cause^[5].

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Jeff Ross on Myspace
• Jeff Ross at the Internet Movie Database
• Patriot Act at the Internet Movie Database

Hugh Hefner
Hugh Hefner attending Glamourcon #50, Long Beach, CA on November 13, 2010
Born	Hugh Marston Hefner (1926-04-09) April 9, 1926 (age 86) Chicago, Illinois
Residence	Playboy Mansion, Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, California
Nationality	American
Education	Steinmetz High School
Alma mater	University of Illinois (B.A.) Northwestern University
Known for	Editor-in-chief of Playboy magazine, Chief Creative Officer of Playboy Enterprises
Home town	Chicago, Illinois
Political party	Independent
Board member of	Playboy Enterprises
Spouse	Mildred Williams (m.1949–1959; divorced) Kimberley Conrad (m.1989–2010; divorced)
Partner	Barbi Benton (1969–1976) Brande Roderick (2000–2001) Tina Marie Jordan (2001–2002) Holly Madison (2003–2008) Crystal Harris (2009–2011)
Children	Christie Hefner (born 1952) David Hefner (born 1955) Marston Hefner (born 1990) Cooper Hefner (born 1991)
Website
Playboy.com

Hugh Marston "Hef" Hefner (born April 9, 1926) is an American magazine publisher, founder and Chief Creative Officer of Playboy Enterprises.^[1]

Early life[link]

Hefner was born in Chicago, Illinois, being the elder of two sons born to Grace Caroline (née Swanson; 1895–1997) and Glenn Lucius Hefner (1896–1976), both teachers.^[2][3] Hefner's mother was of Swedish descent and his father had German and English ancestry.^[4][5] On his father's side, Hefner is a direct descendant of Plymouth governor William Bradford.^[6][7] He has described his family as "conservative, Midwest, Methodist."^[8] He went to Sayre Elementary School and Steinmetz High School, then served as a writer for a military newspaper in the U.S. Army from 1944 to 1946. He later graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign with a B.A. in psychology with a double minor in creative writing and art in 1949, earning his degree in two and a half years. After graduation, he took a semester of graduate courses in sociology at Northwestern University but dropped out soon after.^[9]