Where Have You Gone, Craig Kilborn?

Yeah, "Craiggers" (as he liked to call himself), what has become of ye?

I saw my buddy Lowell at his sister Ashleigh's wedding yesterday. Lowell and I were roommates, as it were, as I was a boarder with his family for a time. Lowell and I used to watch The Late, Late Show with Craig Kilborn religiously - and both of us agree that Kilborn is perhaps the greatest, and most underappreciated, comic of his generation (OK, I admit, that's a bit over the top).

After a successful career as a sportscaster at ESPN, Kilborn actually hosted The Daily Show on Comedy Central for two seasons before leaving for a plum offer to helm The Late, Late Show, which, of course, follows The Late Show with David Letterman on CBS, in 1999 (Kilborn was replaced on The Daily Show by Jon Stewart).

Lowell figured out after a while that Kilborn was actually introducing himself, using another voice, off-stage before appearing before his adoring throngs in the studio audience. Gotta love it.

But, after a successful four-year stint on the show, Kilborn decided to leave to pursue acting opportunities. Kilborn made his motion picture acting debut with a small role in Will Ferrell's Old School. In 2006, he appeared in three movies: The Shaggy Dog, The Benchwarmers, and Full of It (which was not, incidentally, autobiographical). Seen any of those last three? Me neither.

Although in a recent interview, he said that he'd "never say never" about hosting again, he added (prophetically?) about leaving the show, "you have to be prepared to never be heard from again when you make a decision like this."

I hope not, Kilby.

One final note: probably the funniest moment (for me, at least) on The Late, Late Show was Kilby playing one-on-one basketball vs. a midget. Keep in mind the fact that Kilborn is 6'5", and played college basketball at Montana State. The midget was (maybe) three feet tall.

That's not funny, you say, that's cruel! Well, guess it depends on your point of view. But the real funny part was this - it wasn't enough for Kilby to back the midget down into the post, and score at will. It was the fact that he deemed it necessary to up-fake the poor guy about seven times in a row before he'd go up for a shot. Classic.