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Craig Kilborn
Kilborn in 2019
Birth name	Craig Lawrence Kilborn
Born	(1962-08-24)August 24, 1962 (age 62) Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Medium	Television, film, books
Education	Hastings High School
Alma mater	Montana State University
Years active	1986–present
Genres	Political/news satire,observational comedy,cringe comedy,blue comedy,insult comedy,deadpan
Subject(s)	Mass media/news media/media criticism,American politics,American culture,current events,pop culture
Notable works and roles	SportsCenter (1993–1996) The Daily Show (1996–1998) The Late Late Show (1999–2004)

Craig Lawrence Kilborn (born August 24, 1962) is an American television host, actor, comedian, and sports commentator. Kilborn began a career in sports broadcasting in the late 1980s, leading to an anchoring position atESPN'sSportsCenter from 1993 to 1996. He was later the first host ofThe Daily Show, which he hosted from 1996 to 1998, and succeededTom Snyder onCBS'The Late Late Show from 1999 to 2004. In comedy, Kilborn is known for hisdeadpan delivery.^[1]

Kilborn was born on August 24, 1962, inKansas City, Missouri. His father, Hiram Kilborn, was an insurance executive, and his mother, Shirley, was a schoolteacher. When Kilborn was four years old, he and his family moved toHastings, Minnesota, where he was raised.^[2] Kilborn was taller than his peers from an early age, eventually growing to 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m), becoming a standout on the playground basketball court as he got older.^[3] In the ninth grade, Kilborn was recruited by the Northside Magicians, an all-star basketball team inMinneapolis,Minnesota. He excelled with the Magicians and with theHastings High School basketball team, ultimately earning three letters and multiple all-conference and all-state honors.

After graduating from high school, Kilborn accepted a scholarship to play basketball forMontana State University, where he earned dual bachelor's degrees in media and theater arts in 1985 and has joked he "led theBig Sky Conference inturnovers" and alsobench pressed 240 lb (110 kg) while training.^[4][5][6][7]

Kilborn began in radio, as the CBASavannah Spirits's play-by-play radio commentator in 1986 and 1987.^[8] He later began his television career inCalifornia as the sports anchor forMonterey County'sFox affiliateKCBA inSalinas. Some of his early on-air work included covering theGilroy Garlic Festival and playingbocce with the locals nearCannery Row. Kilborn lived in nearbyCarmel-by-the-Sea.

After several small jobs, Kilborn became anESPNSportsCenteranchor from 1993 to 1996. He was primarily the anchor of the late broadcast ofSportsCenter which he coined "The Feel Good Edition". His numerous catch phrases included "Release, Rotation, Splash", "Jumanji", and "Oh, Precious". He made a return appearance toSportsCenter on August 8, 2004, when he co-hostedSportsCenter withDan Patrick duringESPN's 25th Anniversary Celebration.

In 1996, Kilborn became host ofThe Daily Show onComedy Central. During his three-year tenure,The Daily Show was named "Best Late Night Comedy" byTV Guide. Kilborn was also nominated for aCableACE Award for Outstanding Entertainment Host. Some recurring features Kilborn created atThe Daily Show included: "5 Questions", "Moment for Us", "Dance, Dance, Dance", and "Your Moment of Zen" (later hosts would continue to use the latter feature).

In a 1997 interview withEsquire, Kilborn made jokes regardingDaily Show head writerLizz Winstead, saying, "To be honest, Lizz does find me very attractive. If I wanted her to blow me, she would."^[9] Kilborn apologized publicly and pointed out that the remarks were "said in jest", but he was suspended for a week.

In 1998,CBS andDavid Letterman's production company,Worldwide Pants, selected Kilborn to replaceTom Snyder as host ofThe Late Late Show to run afterLate Show with David Letterman. His finalDaily Show episode aired on December 17, 1998, ending a 386-episode tenure. On January 11, 1999,Jon Stewart replaced Kilborn as host ofThe Daily Show. By the time of Kilborn's departure, only one original correspondent,Beth Littleford, stayed with Stewart. She would depart in May 2000.

On Jon Stewart's lastDaily Show episode August 6, 2015, Kilborn made a cameo appearance as "Host Emeritus". It was his first appearance on the show since he left as host.

In a 2020 interview withThe Athletic, Kilborn reflected on his time onThe Daily Show, stating that he "had a blast" doing the show and that he was "living in New York City, hosting a comedy show, and sipping martinis at the illustrious 21 Club." He also said he "wasn't hired atComedy Central to do a politics-heavy show, and he "would never do one — I have no interest." Kilborn creditedThe Daily Show for leading him to his dream job of hosting a traditional late-night show. He also said, "The Daily Show was innocently set up in a different way — they didn't hire the host first – so we inherited each other. Fortunately, most of the people were a good fit and supportive. But as much as I enjoyed it, I was always a short timer. It wasn't my show, and I wanted to do a network traditional hour format as opposed to a half-hour news parody."^[10]

Kilborn hostedThe Late Late Show for five years, changing the format to appeal to a younger audience. On the show, he popularized segments such as "Yambo" and "5 Questions". He created several characters, including Sebastian, the Asexual Icon. He also narrated his own introduction and would enter to the sound of the song "Play That Funky Music" at the beginning of his show.^{[citation needed]}

In August 2004, Kilborn elected not to extend his contract. In a 2010 interview with theLos Angeles Times Kilborn said, "I didn't leave to do anything else, I left to leave. I achieved my career goals and it wasn't all it was cracked up to be", and adding that he believed the late night timeslot to be "crowded", and "the formats repetitive".^[3] Kilborn later stated in a 2019 interview with thePhiladelphia Inquirer, "The main reason I leftThe Late Late Show was creatively I lost interest in late night comedy. The other reason was that the business side of that particular show was excessively flawed so I escaped the silliness," adding that he had "developed a specific, aristocratic comedic sensibility that didn't mesh with late night."^[11]

In a 2009 interview with the Television Academy Foundation, World Wide Pants executivePeter Lassally indicated that Kilborn left the show "because he didn't get the raise he wanted."^[12] However, Kilborn stated in a 2004 interview withDaily Variety that "[The Late Late Show] was easily the greatest job I've had, and CBS was very generous in their offer to re-sign me."^[13]

Kilborn's last episode ofThe Late Late Show aired on August 27, 2004. The Scottish comedianCraig Ferguson took over the show on January 3, 2005."^[14]

Craig Kilborn returned to television on June 28, 2010 after six years off the air, when his new half-hour showThe Kilborn File debuted on select Fox stations.^[15] The show aired for a six-week test run on a 7:00pm time slot in most markets, but was not well received.^[16]Christine Lakin was his sidekick. The show brought back many of the hallmark segments from his time onThe Daily Show andThe Late Late Show, such as "5 Questions" and a segment similar to "Yambo" (with some minor rule changes and a name change to "Kilbo" and later to "Kilbyashi").^[17][18] The show was not renewed.

In the movieOld School (2003), Kilborn played Mark, the philandering boyfriend ofEllen Pompeo's character. In the 2006 filmThe Benchwarmers, he played Jerry, the bully toJon Heder,David Spade, andRob Schneider's nerdy roles. In 2011, Kilborn played the villain in an episode ofChuck during its final season.

Kilborn guest hostedThe Artie Lange Show on November 6–8, 2013.^{[citation needed]}

He appeared in a TV commercial forKraft Macaroni & Cheese in 2016.^[19]

Since 2022, Kilborn has hosted a podcast entitledThe Life Gorgeous.^[20]

• The Daily Show's Five Questions from Comedy Central (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 1998)ISBN 978-0836253252

• Craig Kilborn atIMDb
• Craig Kilborn onFacebook

• 1962 births
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