Scottish Daily Record, June 17, 1999, by Siobhan Synnot
"I'm Bigger Than Ally McBeal; Life's never been so good for 
'Bing Hitler' creator Craig Ferguson."
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HE is currently working on his second big feature film in 
the space of a year, as well as starring in a sitcom that 
pulls in more viewers than *Ally McBeal.* 

And he has recently married beautiful blonde Sascha Corwin, 
daughter of a wealthy American financier. 

It's safe to say Craig Ferguson has never had it so good. 

It's all a far cry from the days when he was an overweight 
stand-up comic with a failed marriage and a drink and drugs 
habit. He was, by his own admission "a real booze head". 

Now Craig - best known for his outrageous comic creation 
Bing Hitler - has put those dark days behind him, thanks to 
an incredible turnaround of fortunes. 

He admits with a big, cheesy grin: "The money's good. 
Certainly a lot more than you get for doing panto at the 
McRobert in Stirling, I'll tell you that." 

Craig, 37, who grew up on a council estate in Cumbernauld, 
went to Los Angeles hoping to hit the big time in Hollywood. 

He was down to 29 cents in his bank account and was 
borrowing money from friends when he finally got his big 
break - a role alongside Marie Osmond in the TV comedy 
series, *Maybe This Time.* 

It was short-lived, but it got his face known Stateside.Then 
Craig hit the jackpot, landing a regular slot in a top 
network comedy, *The Drew Carey Show.* One of America's most 
successful sitcoms, it pulls in a huge audience of 25 
million. 

His portrayal of Nigel Wick, an overbearing department store 
boss with a ridiculously posh English accent, has made him a 
household name throughout the States. 

So why, given his gritty Scottish roots, is Craig playing a 
plummy Englishman? 

He explains: "The producer told me he wanted my character to 
be a real a*******, so I said, okay, he'll have to be 
English then." 

Craig is currently filming *Saving Grace,* his follow-up 
movie to *Big Tease,* which he also co-wrote an produced. 
He's on top form. Just before he starts filming his first 
love scene, he strides confidently to the front of the movie 
set and addresses the crew. 

"Tell the ladies not to look directly at the camera while 
I'm acting sexy - they may receive optical burns," he jokes.

There's little doubt that, these days, Craig is a driven 
man, but what is it he's trying to prove? 

"I just don't quite know how to relax," he admits, when we 
meet during a break between scenes. 

"When people say 'I'm just going to lie on a beach for two 
weeks', I just think 'that's really dull'. 

"Although, having said that, after I've finished this film I 
am going to relax on a beach for two weeks - but I'll read a 
book or some scripts and just keep my mind going." 

Craig first came to fame in Scotland as a stand-up comic, 
who told jokes about bees and The Antiques Roadshow.

He found his niche when he began touring clubs in the guise 
of Bing Hitler, a corpulent, loud-mouthed bigot. 

But fame took its toll. And success with Bing led not to 
further glory, but to one of the most depressing periods of 
his life, when his bouts of drug-taking and drinking were at 
their peak. 

He admits: "I was a drunk - a real booze-head. I was nuts. I 
don't know how much I drank or how many drugs I took because 
I wasn't taking a catalogue at the time, but it was a lot. 

"I spent a lot of money. I was a punk kid making too much 
money and I feel very grateful to have lived through it. 

"But I honestly screwed up, drinking and drugging and going 
a bit bananas with all the showbusiness stuff that was 
thrown at me from when I was 24 years old." 

Craig's luck changed, however, when he chose to follow his 
instincts and cross the Atlantic five years ago. 

Landing a role in the *Drew Carey Show* was a dream ticket. 
Now, as well as *Saving Grace* and *The Big Tease,* Craig 
has been getting other tempting offers. 

Recently, he was approached by Mick Jagger's film production 
company to script a movie, provisionally entitled *Swap.* 
He's also been asked to script the big-screen version of 
*Baywatch.*

*The Drew Carey Show* may not be able to hold onto him for 
much longer - but in the meantime, he's signed on for one 
more year. 

"Drew Carey's a pal of mine," says Craig. "If you work with 
someone that much, either you're a pal or you hate them, and 
that's the only reason I've signed on to do more. 

"It's fun. I like doing it and it's very relaxed. We make 26 
of these things every eight months. 

"It's a formula, it's a factory - but it's a nice factory to 
work in." 

Although Craig is now living the Hollywood lifestyle - a 
house in the hills, sunshine and freeway traffic jams - he 
says he's always felt Scottish. 

Both his movie projects feature Scottish characters. 
Crawford, the star of The Big Tease is a kind, sweetnatured 
soul. 

And gentle Matthew the gardener in *Saving Grace* is accused 
by his girlfriend of avoiding confrontation - giving Craig 
the killer line that "if you grew up in Glasgow, you'd avoid 
confrontations, too." 

Unlike a lot of home-grown movie products of late, Craig is 
not interested in stories about macho Scottish hardmen who 
do their talking with their fists. 

He says: "I'm tired of neds and I'm tired of the 
glorification of neds and that they are somehow 
representative of the youth of Scotland. This kind of angry, 
death-to-the-English stuff is just not my experience 
anywhere in Scotland. 

"They're witty, erudite people, not necessarily tough guys 
or hard men or members of the Orange Order." 

Although he's never been busier, Craig says he's also never 
been happier. 

"I feel more comfortable now. Maybe it's age," he says. He 
looks good, too - fit, clear-skinned and clear eyed. 

The days of drinking and drug-taking binges are long gone. 
Nowadays he doesn't even smoke. 

Despite his lavish Hollywood lifestyle, Craig gets homesick 
and says he'd love to return to Scotland. 

He talks about buying a home in Edinburgh or the Western 
Isles, though he admits: "Maybe I'm being a bit too 
romantic. I might go mad after two weeks on an island." 

Craig's *Saving Grace* Scots co-star Valerie Edmond had 
never heard of Craig's early alter-ego Bing Hitler. And 
she's never seen Craig doing any stand-up comedy. 

She says: "Friends tell me he was so funny he could make the 
back of your head hurt from laughing too much. I'd love to 
see him do it." 

Craig is still keen to return to his one-man shows and 
Scotland would be one of his first stops, he says. 

"At some point I'm determined to go to the Edinburgh 
Festival and do a show. I'm determined to do more of that. 
Stand-up is a fantastic freedom. 

"Unlike movies, there are no executives standing around 
saying 'maybe it should be a girl, maybe we can interest 
Kevin Costner in playing the guy'." 

Meantime, as well as work, Craig has family ties to keep him 
in America. 

Last July, he tied the knot with American love Sascha, his 
girlfriend of three years. 

Their wedding was a blend of elements that reflected the 
couple's backgrounds. 

A female rabbi officiated at the Jewish ceremony, though the 
bride walked down the aisle to the sound of bagpipes. 

And while Sascha wore a designer gown, the groom wore a kilt 
and a skullcap. 

The 150 guests, including Craig's co-star Drew Carey, and 
*Buffy The Vampire Slayer's* Anthony Head, dined on a 
wedding cheesecake in the shape of a fish stick (Craig's 
favourite food), sprinkled with shaved coconut and raspberry 
sauce served as "ketchup". 

"I liked the idea of the ceremony being fun," says Craig. 

With the bad old days now truly behind him, it looks like 
fun is set to be an important part of the menu in Craig's 
future.   



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