Craig Kilborn

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 at ESPN's SportsCenter from 1993 to 1996.

After graduating high school, Kilborn accepted a scholarship to play for Montana State University, where he earned dual bachelor's degrees in media and theater arts in 1985 and has joked he "led the Big Sky Conference in turnovers" and also bench pressed 240 lb while training.

Kilborn began in radio, as the CBA Savannah Spirits's play-by-play radio commentator in 1986 and 1987.

He later began his television career in California as the sports anchor for Monterey County's Fox affiliate KCBA in Salinas.

Some of his early on-air work included covering the Gilroy Garlic Festival and playing bocce with the locals near Cannery Row.

Kilborn lived in nearby Carmel-by-the-Sea.

After several small jobs, Kilborn became an ESPN SportsCenter anchor from 1993 to 1996.

He was primarily the anchor of the late broadcast of SportsCenter which he coined "The Feel Good Edition".

His numerous catch phrases included "Release, Rotation, Splash", "Jumanji", and "Oh, Precious".

He was later the first host of The Daily Show, which he hosted from 1996 to 1998, and succeeded Tom Snyder on CBS' The Late Late Show from 1999 to 2004.

In comedy, Kilborn is known for his deadpan delivery.

Craig Kilborn was born in Kansas City, the son of Shirley, a schoolteacher, and Hiram Kilborn, an insurance executive.

When he was four years old, he and his family moved to Hastings, Minnesota, where he was raised.

Kilborn was taller than his peers from an early age, eventually growing to 6 ft, becoming a standout on the playground basketball court as he got older.

In the ninth grade, Kilborn was recruited by the Northside Magicians, an all-star basketball team in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

He excelled with the Magicians and with the Hastings High School basketball team, ultimately earning three letters and multiple all-conference and all-state honors.

In 1996, Kilborn became host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central.

During his three-year tenure, The Daily Show was named "Best Late Night Comedy" by TV Guide.

Kilborn was also nominated for a CableACE Award for Outstanding Entertainment Host.

Some recurring features Kilborn created at The 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 with Esquire, Kilborn made jokes regarding Daily Show head writer Lizz Winstead, saying, "To be honest, Lizz does find me very attractive. If I wanted her to blow me, she would."

Kilborn apologized publicly and pointed out that the remarks were "said in jest", but he was suspended for a week.

In 1998, CBS and David Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants, selected Kilborn to replace Tom Snyder as host of The Late Late Show to run after Late Show with David Letterman.

His final Daily Show episode aired on December 17, 1998, ending a 386-episode tenure.

On January 11, 1999, Jon Stewart replaced Kilborn as host of The Daily Show.

By the time of Kilborn's departure, only one original correspondent, Beth Littleford, stayed with Stewart.

She would depart in May 2000.

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.

On Jon Stewart's last Daily 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 with The Athletic, Kilborn reflected on his time on The 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 at Comedy Central to do a politics-heavy show, and he "would never do one — I have no interest." Kilborn credited The 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."

Kilborn hosted The 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.