Craig Kilborn is seen hosting an episode of
The Daily Show in 1997
(born
August 24,
1962) is an
American comedian and former
talk show host. He was the original host of
The Daily Show, a former anchor on
ESPN's
SportsCenter, and
Tom Snyder's successor on
CBS'
The Late Late Show. One of the taller television personalities, he stands at 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m).
Biography
Early life
Kilborn was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and raised thirty minutes from
Minneapolis-St. Paul in
Hastings, Minnesota, the son of Shirley, a homemaker, and Hiram Kilborn, an insurance executive. He played basketball at Hastings High School, earning All-State and All-Conference honors and a basketball scholarship to
Montana State University.
Career
Kilborn was the Savannah Spirits's play-by-play radio announcer in 1986–1987. At that time, he was chronically broke, according to
Charley Rosen. He began his television career as the sports anchor for
Monterey County's Fox affiliate
KCBA.
ESPN
After several small jobs, Kilborn became an
ESPN SportsCenter anchor from 1993 to 1996. Kilborn was primarily the anchor of the late
broadcast of
SportsCenter, gaining a large
fan following. He made a return appearance to
SportsCenter on August 8, 2004 when he co-hosted
SportsCenter with
Dan Patrick during
ESPN's 25th Anniversary Celebration. The character of Casey McCall on
ABC's
Sports Night was said to be modeled on Kilborn's
SportsCenter career.
The Daily Show
In 1996, Kilborn became host of
The Daily Show on
Comedy Central. In a 1997 interview with
Esquire, Kilborn made comments regarding
Daily Show creator and
executive producer Lizz Winstead, saying that "She'd
Monica Lewinsky me if I asked." . Kilborn apologized publicly and insisted that the remarks were "said in jest," but was suspended for a week.
Kilborn hosted
The Daily Show for three seasons before leaving the show to replace
Tom Snyder at
CBS with a re-tooled
talk show The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn, produced by
David Letterman's production company
Worldwide Pants, to run after
The Late Show with David Letterman. His last
Daily Show episode aired on December 17, 1998. On January 11, 1999
Jon Stewart replaced Kilborn as host.
The Late Late Show
Kilborn hosted
The Late Late Show for five years, changing the format to appeal to a younger audience. In August 2004 he elected not to extend his contract, stating "I simply want to try something new. I can now focus on writing and producing different television projects I haven't had time for." Kilborn made his motion picture acting debut with a small role in
Old School and has since appeared in four other motion pictures:
The Shaggy Dog,
The Benchwarmers,
Full of It, and
Cursed. Kilborn's last episode of
The Late Late Show aired on August 27, 2004. Scottish comedian
Craig Ferguson took over the show on January 3, 2005.
Broadcast career highlights
- 1990–1993: Sports Director at KCBA television in the Salinas/Monterey/Santa Cruz market of California
