By Bill Keveney--USA Today
August 27, 2004
His isn't one of them. "I'm proud of what we've accomplished. We have a unique, small, intimate show," says the host of The Late Late Show With Craig Kilborn, whose last show is tonight (CBS, 12:35 a.m. ET/PT). But "I've done all I could do with this particular show."
"Friends of the show" planning to drop by tonight include Will Ferrell, Marlee Matlin, Martin Mull and Adam West, along with Wayne Newton via satellite from Las Vegas. After the finale, the show will be in reruns for three weeks, with guest hosts to follow as CBS and David Letterman's Worldwide Pants, the show's producer, search for a new host.
Another late-night host, ABC's Jimmy Kimmel, says it's too early to tell how Kilborn's departure will affect late TV. "It depends on who they replace him with," says Kimmel, whose show starts at 12:05 a.m. ET/PT. "I think any time a show's going to be in reruns for three weeks that it's a good opportunity to get (viewers). But late-night TV moves like a glacier. I don't think anybody will change their habits entirely."
Kilborn, 42, had been in negotiations for a new contract when he told CBS and Worldwide Pants two weeks ago that he'd be leaving. He denies reports that his departure, just five months after his fifth anniversary, may have come about because the sides were far apart in salary discussions. "They made a very generous offer. It was fair. I just wanted to make a change," says Kilborn, who reportedly was making at least $1 million a year.
The Late Late Show's smallness created an intimacy suitable for the post-midnight slot, Kilborn says, but it also meant limitations, such as a smaller writing staff and the lack of a house band. But that isn't his reason for leaving, either, he says. "I loved the show. (But) I'm doing what I want to do. The places I've worked in the past, I always stayed three years and moved on. This is the longest job I've ever had."
Although he adds that he'd "never say never" to hosting again, "you have to be prepared to never be heard from again when you make a decision like this."
Letterman picked Kilborn to replace Tom Snyder in the plum post-Letterman slot in 1999 after the tall, blond Minnesota native had had a successful run hosting Comedy Central's The Daily Show. Before that, he hosted ESPN's SportsCenter. Kilborn's audience has grown since he started, but he still trails NBC's Conan O'Brien, who inherits a larger audience from Jay Leno.
"I called David Letterman (Tuesday) to thank him for the job, " Kilborn says. "I said, 'It was an honor foloowing you.' He said, 'It shows a remarkable amount of confidence to do what you're doing. Good luck.'"
Kilborn, who appeared in Ferrell's Old School, says he has ideas for two sitcoms he wants to produce and write but not act in. No deals are in place.
As he talks about the end of his show, the host who often refers to himself as Craiggers shows off a little of the frat-boy humor that attracted fans--and occasional controversy, as when he made some off-color remarks about a female producer in a magazine interview.
"I've joked in the last five years about drinking on the show. It won't be a joke on Friday. Move over, Janet Jackson. There's a new obscene gesture in town."
