"It's an honor to follow the king, Dave Letterman," he added, with mock authority. "That's a great quote."
But as Mr. Letterman has grown more human on national TV, Mr. Kilborn has left an emotional remove between his persona and himself, and between himself and everything else.
Mr. Kilborn said that if he had a baby, like Mr. Letterman did a few weeks ago, he wouldn't choose to announce it on the show. "I would say, because I'm private--see, I think I approach it differently than some of these other guys. I just think it's all make-believe," he said. "Like, on the show, I'll do jokes about my girlfriend. It's not my real girlfriend, it's a made-up thing. Or my dad: Thanksgiving with the folks came and we all held hands and my dad says, 'Where's my pot?'"
"Well, that actually is my real dad," he said. "Normally, it's just for the joke."
Craig Kilborn can sometimes seem at the mercy of "Craig Kilborn," the persona. So much so that his role in Old School (as Mark, the philandering boyfriend) seemed almost uncomfortably close to his on-air personality. Playing the certifiable-asshole character wasn't exactly a great P.R. moment for a guy who some people think might be one.
But that wasn't him, he said.
"My parents have been married for 46 years," he said, taking the tape recorder into his hands and holding it like a microphone. "I know on the show, I flirt. I just think that stuff's funny. But if you want me to be that character in real life, you won't want to hang out with me. You'll be disappointed.
"I think I can occasionally be what I call a 'naughty boy,'" he continued, "but that's refreshing at times. But I don't go out much. I'm a bit of an old soul."
Naturally, NYTV laughed at this.
"I am! You wouldn't believe," he said. "I don't watch any of the modern movies. I'm hung up on old standards, and I like Miles Davis, Chet Baker. The best songs were written back in the 30's and 40's."
To hear him tell it, Mr. Kilborn is a regular Bing Crosby, hanging out in his Spanish-style home in the Hollywood Hills, drinking fine wine, smoking cigars, watching SportsCenter, enjoying the company of a girlfriend whom he wouldn't name and digging old jazz recordings. He even recited by heart the lyrics of Ira Gershwin and Vernon Duke's "I Can't Get Started.":
On the golf course I'm under par
Metro Goldwyn has asked me to star
I've got a house and a showplace
But still I can't get no place with you.
"There's nothing better for me than watching Vertigo or Rear Window or North by Northwest, an expensive cabernet or something," said Mr. Kilborn. "But I do have this thing that, when I retire, it will be one of the happiest days of my life. Because it's all playing a game, doing this stuff. Does that make sense? I just...it's a joy, my show is a joy to do. And I've never been one to hero-worship, and I don't want to rub elbows with celebrities--I just find it superficial."
Mr. Kilborn said he prided himself on intimate interviews, which he said made celebrity publicists happy and celebrities comfortable. "It means a lot when 'Dennis Farina loves Kilby,'" he said, talking about the actor. "He says that, and when he does the show, and we go to Maestro's in Beverly Hills and he picks up the check all the time... I don't want this article to say I'm cheap--that's not the point here."
SInce Mr. Kilborn left The Daily Show, Jon Stewart has redefined it--and come out as the comedy champ of the moment. Mr. Stewart bites down on his subjects--politics and the media--makes himself implicitly vulnerable and hints: There's something at stake in these jokes, and you and I both know what it is, so I don't have to say it.
But Mr. Kilborn's wink refers exclusively to Craig Kilborn. This seems to be his point of view: Craig Kilborn loves jazz, the Timberwolves and the ladies.
"I admit to being dry," he said. "I admit to being dry, and I admit to being private. I also accepted a long time ago that I probably won't be accurately captured by the media."
But, said Craig Kilborn, "I'm not one of those tortured comics. The other day at a Christmas party, a guy said, 'You're the happiest guy in late night.' And I probably am."
Through the window, a blizzard. Inside, Kilby smiled. What a gig!
