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Stephen Colbert and Craig Ferguson end their shows
This week, late night hosts Stephen Colbert and Craig Ferguson wrap up their shows. Colbert, of course, is taking over David Letterman's Late Show gig in 2015; Ferguson's future is less clear.
Both of them have been terrific. Colbert grew out of the shadow of "The Daily Show" in no time with his brand of joyous, blustering satire. Ferguson blew up the traditional host-interview relationship with his anarchic, free-roaming style. They've been the two best late night hosts since their starts in 2005. Here's some of their best moments. (Some mild adult language in some clips)
For Colbert, it all started in the first episode with "Truthiness":
But perhaps the best moment for his character didn't come on the show, but only 30 feet from the president at the White House Press Correspondent's Dinner in 2006:
Colbert moved past his parody persona's limits by integrating his nerdy loves and razor-sharp wit, which were both on display in last week's interview with Smaug the dragon from "The Hobbit":
For Craig Ferguson, there's also three clips that come to mind—and, oddly, two of them are monologues. First, there's the terrific analysis of why everything is terrible:
And his personal monologue about Britney Spears, alcoholism, and the responsibility/role of entertainment and media:
But in the end, it all comes back to his bar pal skills as an interviewer. Watch how this recent interview with actress Gillian Jacobs goes a very unusual direction, eliciting one of the wildest stories you'll hear (bonus: go back and follow how they got there):"
Thanks for the laughs, guys. Enjoy your new adventures.
Late nightVideoStephen ColbertCraig FergusonRetirement