How hot is Craig Ferguson? By my thermometer, he's sizzling. His Late Late Show has risen up to challenge Conan O'Brien in the Nielsens, he was the emcee at the White House Press Correspondents dinner -- riffing on W. right to his face! -- and now the publishing world wants his story. HarperCollins has signed Craig Ferguson to write American on Purpose, the story of his life from small town Scottish boy to big time talk show comic. The book is due to be published in the fall of 2009.As the title suggests, a big part of the story is Craig's choice to become an American citizen, which he did earlier this year. Craig said he hopes the book "...will inspire other alcoholic punk rock drummers from Scotland to find their true place in U.S. late night television." Well, I say to that, hooray! The talk show host also cracked, "I wanted to get the story down before I get so old I forget it and start believing the crap on Wikipedia."
The book won't be all sunshine and lollipops. Ferguson promises to write candidly about his problems with booze and drugs, addiction problems that he has shared with viewers on his show. He'll also recount his suicide attempts.
Craig Ferguson has come a long way since his supporting role on The Drew Carey Show, the place I first remember noticing him. He's a truly funny guy with a good sense of the ridiculous and the real. If he writes a memoir as well as he writes a monologue (or rewrites depending on how good his writers are), American On Purpose will be a bestseller.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-08-2008 @ 3:56PM
Jimmy said...
Craig is an interesting guy and a great storyteller. The eulogy show he did after his father's death is still one of my favorite hours of television -- ever.
I am most interested to read his memoirs, though, to see how much he says about Letterman.
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5-08-2008 @ 5:09PM
David said...
Ferguson has become, for me, the only watchable night-time host. He seems certifiably nuts sometimes, making his material fresh and engaging. Exemplar of my feelings for Ferguson was watching Hugh Laurie on Leno, which was a snoozefest. A week later (earlier this week, in fact) Laurie appeared on Ferguson, and it was a riot. Ferguson knew how to play along with Laurie, a naturally gifted improvisational comedian, and they yukked it up famously.
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5-08-2008 @ 11:16PM
Steve said...
Ferguson's surpassed Letterman and O'Brien as my favorite late night host, but he's even better as a novelist. I highly recommend his book Between the Bridge and the River. Between the way he wrote there and the personality and history he presents on The Late Late Show, I'll definitely be reading the memoirs.
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5-08-2008 @ 11:49PM
nickmagoo said...
he's already a proven writer - his book of fiction (whose title i've forgotten - something with river in it i think) is excellent and got great reviews all around. a talented, humble, and funny guy. he reminds me of the old tv hosts like jack parr and steve allen - very off the cuff and entertaining, but done with intelligence as well.
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5-09-2008 @ 7:47PM
Tricia Smith said...
Last night, I replayed the Hugh Laurie interview because I needed a good belly laugh! Craig has the gift of knowing how to bring out the most in every person he has on his show. His memoirs will be fascinating to read! He's the best reason to watch television at all, not just late night!
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