& there. But now he calls 'Late Late' home
By Richard Duff--New York Daily News
March 22, 2004
Look at his resume. He's spent just about three years in every job he's held, from being a sportscaster in Monterey, Calif., to the host of "The Daily Show" to a stint with ESPN.
That makes his five-year run as host of CBS' "The Late Late Show" stand out. It's the longest stay yet in his TV career.
"The five years have gone quickly," Kilborn told the Daily News. "Unlike other places, where I was ready to move on after a year, the actual mechanics, the routine of the day here, I so enjoy."
Kilborn, 41, who made a name for himself with a frat-boy style of comedy at ESPN and Comedy Central, was picked by David Letterman and his Worldwide Pants to fill the time period after "The Late Show" on CBS. Tom Snyder was the original host, and when he left, Kilborn stepped in.
"It's a great life," Kilborn admits.
The signs have been surfacing the past few years that the Minnesota-born Kilborn might be sticking around at the "Late Late Show" longer than in past jobs. Indeed, three years ago he bought his first home, a 1927 Spanish-style house in the Hollywood Hills.
"I told myself, 'This may be it,'" Kilborn said. "'And if this is it, you've done all right.'
"There's so much greed in the world, in this business, everywhere," he added. "I'm one of those guys who at an early age, I think, are more happy in their skin than others. I've found an enjoyable way to make a living. It's good to be ambitious. But also, it's good to be content. I really enjoy it."
The late-night show also gives him a chance to be a bit more creative than if it aired at an earlier hour. Some jokes aren't made for the masses, he said. And if he and the producers want to have an Elvis impersonation contest the night Elvis Costello is on the show, fine. And it's just as easy for him to have members of his beloved Minnesota Timberwolves on, too.
Away from the show, Kilborn spends time on furnishing his home.
"I try to stay in shape," he said. "I don't watch television, except for pro basketball. I'm a bit of a homebody. I stay away from Hollywood parties. They bore me."
A bachelor, Kilborn won't talk about his private life. It's instinctive, he said. "It's a little comical when you read about different celebrities dating other celebrities, and swapping and getting a new boyfriend and girlfriend," he said. "It's not my style. My parents have been married for 47 years. My brother 16."
To that end, if a celebrity tells a producer they don't want to talk about specific topics, Kilborn honors the request.
Some folks like spilling their guts, he said. Not him.
"I don't do that," he said. "I always thought I was a little bit of an outsider in the industry. The highest compliment I can get from my friends is that I'm the same. It's all a silly game, and I don't take it seriously. I stay above the fray."
He used to joke that he would retire early. He was never in it for the public adoration, he said. Still, he admitted he might be misleading himself by saying he could live without it.
So is he in the seat for the long term?
"I think that if you were to ask a couple of years ago, I would have said no," Kilborn said. "But now I've hit a rhythm where I can do this for a while. A lot of people say [doing a nightly show is] difficult and it wears you out. I don't find it as difficult as it used to be. But there's still a part of me that wants to retire or walk away early."
