Top 10 'The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson' memorable guests

On Monday, Craig Ferguson released that he was going to leave The Late Late Show in December 2014. Since becoming the host of the show in 2005, Craig has had many memorable guests and shows. From holding a show in Paris to having one dedicated to African-American history, there is never a dull moment on his late night show.

In his time on TLLS, Ferguson has been nominated for an Emmy and has won a Peabody Award. He brought the show to the highest ratings in its history. His announcement of leaving follows the retirement of David Letterman on The Late Show. Steven Colbert will take Letterman’s place next year.

TLLS has many recurring gags and characters. There is Kronos, the bellhop uniform wearing monkey and Brian, a shark who sings. The most popular characters are Geoff, a robotic skeleton with a sarcastic attitude and Secretariat, a dancing, life size puppet horse.

Each show has the same format. There is a cold open, theme song, monologue, celebrity guest interview then a recap of the entire episode by a kitten. There have been a few shows that have not followed that format due to national events or special guests.

While there have been many special TLLS guests, these ten are the most memorable. Here are the top 10 memorable guests.

[new page=Bacon]
10. Kevin Bacon

One common segment in TLLS was having celebrity guests try to play the mouth organ, also known as a harmonica. If the guest is successful, Ferguson gives them a golden mouth organ. There are 22 celebrity guests who have won a golden mouth organ. The most recent winner is Tom Hanks.

At the end of Bacon’s interview, he tried to win the golden mouth organ. While he was slightly successful on his own, he wanted to try Ferguson’s. After playing the host’s, Bacon showed that he could play and won the golden mouth organ.

[new page=Fey]
9. Tina Fey

There are only two women on my list of best TLLS interviews. Tina Fey made the cut. Her interview was smart and hilarious. She not only laughed at Ferguson but she also laughed with him. They talked about more than just her. They talked about everything.

The best interviews are the interviews where everyone is loose and willing to talk. She was willing to play along and that was incredibly funny to see.

[new page=The Rock]
8. Dwayne Johnson

Johnson, perhaps on of the biggest action stars on TV at the moment, was on the show to promote his film. Ferguson considered him to be a big movie star and the interview was interesting because of that.

Johnson, who got his start as a wrestler as The Rock, talked about his film and his wrestling past. While it is interesting to hear about Johnson’s current films, it was also great to understand his transition between the two.

[new page=Brand]
7. Russell Brand

While Brand is known for his crass humor, his interviews are always interesting. His interview on TLLS was not only smart but also funny. He and Ferguson have the same type of humor and that led to a completely interesting interview.

The best thing about this interview was that he actually talked back and had a conversation rather than only plugging his project. They talked as if it wasn’t only for TV. They talked like comedians and that was great.

[new page=Carey]
6. Drew Carey

Carey’s interviews are always interesting on TLLS. The two men talk about anything from their hosting gigs to their love lives. They’ve talked about twitter and everything in between. Carey has been a guest on the show many times and has become a popular guest for the audience to like.

For April Fools, Drew Carey and Ferguson switched jobs in which Carey hosted TLLS and Ferguson hosted The Price is Right.

[new page=Smith]
5. Matt Smith
In 2011, Ferguson held a special only talking about Dr. Who. He brought in the TARDIS and interviewed the current doctor, Matt Smith. In the interview, he showed clips of the show and talked about its success.

Ferguson even did a dance routine to the Dr. Who theme song. The episode was one of his popular on the network. Ferguson is a fan of Dr. Who and also had Alex Kingston on his show.

[new page=Williams]
4. Robin Williams

Late night TV interviews are always funny when the guest is funny. With Ferguson and Williams throwing jokes back and forth, the energy never dies. Williams is a popular guest on the show and has appeared more than once.

The funniest thing about Williams on Ferguson is the fact that their humor is similar, yet vastly different. They laugh at each other’s jokes and can fire one between each chuckle. Williams also includes Geoff in his interviews and doesn’t ignore the metal skeleton.

[new page=West]
3. Cornel West

While Ferguson keeps things very light, sometimes he does have a change of pace. In February 2011, he did a show about African American history. He stated that it wouldn’t be funny, rather it would be educational. He said that since he wasn’t a natural born American that he wanted to know more about African-American history.

On the special episode, he talked with West about African-American history and the troubles that African-Americans have today. He also brought George Clinton to play with his band.

[new page=Tutu]
2. Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Ferguson’s interview with Desmond Tutu won him a 2009 Peabody Award. Tutu is a South African bishop who is an opponent of apartheid. He was also the first black archbishop of Cape Town. He has won the Nobel Peace Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, among other awards.

In TLLS episode, the interview with Tutu lasted the entire episode. There wasn’t a funny monologue and Geoff and Secretariat were not featured. Below is a clip from the first part of the interview. The interview was so long that it had to be cut into four YouTube clips.

[new page=Bell]
1. Kristen Bell

Bell is a frequent guest on The Late Late Show. In one of her most recent episodes, she stated that she had been on his show 25 times. She talked about anything from her films to her personal life. Bell had a running gag that she and Geoff did not like each other.

Bell also helped host TLLS when it had a special and was filmed in Paris. Her interviews always seem to be the most interesting because she and Ferguson have stories together and joke more often.