Versatile Craig Ferguson keeping busy after 'Late Late Show' (w/video)

When comedian and former TV talk show host Craig Ferguson walks out on the Wells Fargo Center stage at 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19, it might seem a bit early to his fans.

Ferguson followers are used to seeing him after midnight on CBS-TV’s “The Late Late Show,” where he served as host, bantering with guests and often clowning with his sidekicks, Geoff the boney robot and Secretariat the pantomime horse, from January 2005 until last December.

“CBS and I are not getting divorced,” Ferguson said when he left the show. “We are ‘consciously uncoupling,’ but we will still spend holidays together and share custody of the fake horse and robot skeleton, both of whom we love very much.”

During his tenure on “The Late, Late Show,” Ferguson proved unpredictable, with no topic off-limits.

“Other than the laws of physics, rules have never really worked out for me,” he declared.

Still remembered from “The Drew Carey Show” as Drew’s boss, Mr. Wick, from 1996 to 2003, Ferguson has a comparatively long career in American television. But the 52-year-old native Glasgow, Scotland, has done a lot more than that.

Here are the top 5 things you ought to know about Craig Ferguson:

1. He’s finished with “The Late Late Show,” but not with televison. Ferguson hosts the syndicated “Celebrity Name Game” show, and he recently told People magazine that what he really wants to do is write and produce a drama series. In the meantime he has signed on to produce, and possibly star in, an unscripted series for Lionsgate IV, the studio responsible for “Orange Is the New Black” on Netflix and “Nashville” for ABC. (One of his own favorites as a TV fan? “Doctor Who.”)

2. He’s a multi-talented guy. Ferguson had an early career as a musician in Britain, first as a drummer with the rock band Exposure and then as a member of the punk band The Bastards from Hell, later renamed Dreamboys. “I wanted to be a rock star,” he once said.

3. Ferguson worked in British television and musical theater before he moved to the United States, settling in New York in 1983 and shifting to Los Angeles in 1994. He became a U.S. citizen in 2008.

4. Stand-up comedy is not a new job for him. Ferguson has been touring North America since the late 2000s, including performances at Carngie Hall and Radio City Music Hall. He has done three comedy TV specials based on his standup act: “A Wee Bit o’ Revolution,” 2009; “Does This Need to Be Said?” in 2011 and “I’m Here to Help” in 2013.

5. Ferguson writes more than jokes. His novel, “Between the Bridge and the River,” was published in 2006, with a sequel in the works.

You can reach staff writer Dan Taylor at 521-5243 or dan.taylor@pressdemocrat.com. Read his Arts blog at arts.blogs.pressdemocrat.com.