Craig Ferguson on His Recovery and Suicide Attempt

hello Ellen how are you back okay it's better than it has been I wanted to give you a really big hug and I could see you get nervous yeah I get very nervous actually someone from the audience gave me a big hug uh the last time this happened and fixed me uh accidentally that's good you should pay them for that I know well I did a monologue for her instead well that's fine now have you had to work under a back problem too it's hard to work no I did though I did once go to a chiropractor because uh I was married to someone at the time who thought it'd be a good idea and I besides a longer story and the uh I went to the chiropractor and he was asking me some questions and he and he said uh and how's Mr Happy and I said Mr Happy who's Mr and he meant something that a chiropractors get no business talking about so I I said I don't care to be treated by a doctor who refers to a part of the human body as Mr Happy yeah so and that's my only experience with chiropractor oh well that's he went to the wrong guy did I say it was a guy yeah and so a thousand is that right a thousand yeah we're on a thousand and two now yeah [Applause] it's a lot of shows it's a lot of days coming up with stuff to say I know I don't know how I do it I you know I David Letterman called me that day and he said uh he said congratulations and his usual effusive Manner and then he uh he said I said how many of you done he said no I think about five five thousand no oh five thousand five no he's done more than five shows yeah yeah five thousand yeah something like that yeah probably more right he's been on for a long long time I think so and and when you started this did you have a feeling it would last this long no I thought I would be I thought I'd be out after two shows I figured that I figured I would do the two tryout shows and then I'd be done and so they said because they were trying out different people they said just in case you get the job you have to sign a six-year contract and I think wow what's the problem I was saying a six-year contract I'm gonna be here two days it's not a problem right it's five and a half years later yeah yeah yeah but you must love it yourself yeah I love it yeah I do I do I like it I'm kind of I I watched you the kind of I was watching a little dance number you were doing and you know before your back got hurt and I was watching that and I watch how much joy you get out of it and I kind of I feel the same way it's not you can't be up every day that would be just uh crazy frightening yeah you would be just crazy right but but most days it's it kind of even when I feel bad you get out and it kind of lifts you a little bit Yeah because your audience I mean you can feel when you have that that support from the audience it gives you so much energy and uh and you're so hilarious too because you you do sort of I mean we come out here we get to do anything we want to do and you especially on your show well because I'm on in the middle of the night and no one knows what I'm doing I can do anything I want for for Mike yeah that's right I noticed there's a certain a certain section of the population that really like to do whatever they want in the middle of the night and uh and these are my people including hand puppets yeah right including hilarious um no I like the way you play with the camera all the time and the hand puppet thing was something I started because I didn't know what else to do and there was one lying there and so I just picked up and started uh talking with it and it's right and the thousandth show I wasn't in the show until the very end it was just all puppets right which made made a few people pretty angry I think actually but what other job I mean if you work like if Dina at the mall only answered questions as a hand puppet she would be fired she well but she might feel more free to actually give up some information because she could play on the hamper exactly no it wasn't me it was the hand puppet I always buy a candle for Oprah every year thank you um and congratulations on uh one year uh wedding anniversary which is not great yes it is no I'm very happy are you still happy I just celebrated my one year also did you really December congratulations that's lovely that really I'm I'm happy and I I was very worried I don't know if you know you're a comedian right before you get married you're happy you're saying can I be funny if I'm happy it really was a genuine concern for me and then I thought I don't care because I'm so happy I don't care if I'm funny and then it's fine you've been married before no a couple of times yeah and um and so you didn't think you wanted to get married again and uh and you're wildly and madly in love right yeah well as as much as a Scotsman is worldly madly love I'm I'm dignified and quietly in love uh-huh yeah I just kind of go um well you look very pleasant today dear that kind of thing no point in over doing it about no very huge touchy-feely uh people we touch and feel a little bit obviously [Applause] well she sounds like a lucky woman hey come on now all right let's talk about the book because it's it's funny but it's also you talk about uh you have been sober for 18 years is that almost 18 years um and there are some crazy stories in here including that you uh thought about killing yourself oh it did yeah yeah I was actually on my way to do it what happened was I was going to jump off a tower bridge in London which is the big dramatic bridge that opens up I thought I'll Swan Dive off that bridge and kill myself um I don't know how to dive I just thought well I'll cross that bridge when I come to a sort of thing and then I I on the way to kill myself I met a guy and he offered me a drink and I drank it and I forgot to kill myself that day we ended up we ended up drinking but it really was in kind of a way it helped me understand later on it helped me understand that I was using it as some kind of medicine you know and it really was as much as it was killing me it was also helping me which was the real Paradox of trying to break free of that kind of thing you know I mean I needed it but it was killing me it was very strange yeah well it's it's amazing because you're so brutally honest about it and you're uh you're so smart and so funny and uh and you're just a great writer foreign

Channel: TheEllenShow

Views: 893,399

Keywords: ellen, degeneres, ellen show, humor, comedy, funny, celebrity, television, music, interview, tv, ellen degeneres, the ellen show, daytime tv, talk show

Id: f8BBhlAzZiE

Length: 6min 25sec (385 seconds)

Published: Wed May 31 2023