Full Article Text
.,.
Graham Norton's
talk show and its
naughty sense of
humor have found
a home in the U.S.
Graham Norton ready to
laugh it up in the U.S.
By MICHAEL GILTZ
TAPING dozens of
promotional spots
plugging a show for
local cable companies
can get tiresome. But
Graham Norton -the
naughty-minded UK talk
show host set to conquer
America -is finding it a
source of endless amuse
ment.
Norton giggles help
lessly after he realizes
that he is about to read a
prepared line that goes:
uOh, come now, Cox cus
tomers, don't try and
pretend that wasn't fun."
(He does not know that
Atlanta-based Cox Cable
is one the biggest opera
tors in the U.S.)
"Why would you call
something that?" laughs
Norton, who has just
begun a 13-week run on
Comedy Central with a
new talk show, "The
Graham Norton Ef
fect." "That's just mean."
Mean is exactly what
Norton's good-natured
shtick is not. Though his
talk show is filled with
silly sex toys, randy Web
sites (like one devoted to
a man's fetish for watch
ing women brush their
teeth) and stories that would make Congress
man Jack Ryan blush,
Norton isn't mean or
dirty in the Howard
Stern way.
He just reacts with
shocked glee over the
awfully embarrassing
things celebrities and au
dience members can't
wait to reveal.
A huge star in the UK,
Norton's most recent
show aired five days a
Norton reacts with
shocked glee over
the embarrassing
things celebrities
and audience
members can't
wait to reveal.
week (almost unheard of
in Great Britain, where
they have no tradition of
daily taik shows like
"The Tonight Show").
So filming one show a
week here (it airs Thurs
days at 10 p.m.) seems
like a vacation.
"That's a good thing
but also a bad thing,"
says the 41-year-old
Irish-born comic. "I'm
not sure what will finish
first -the series or my
liver.
''I'm living in New York, and I haven't quite
figured out yet that that
doesn't mean you have to
stay out 'til four every
night. The city that never
sleeps? That can't be
true. Oh. but it is."
He's just bought an
apartment in Chelsea,
proof that he's serious
about putting in the time
to become as well known
here as he is in the UK.
Of course, if the U.S.
show clicks, Norton
could have a terrible
problem: He's committed
to both Comedy Central
for two years (which has
an option for an extra
nine shows and a second
season) and a brand-new,
family-oriented variety
show for the BBC. That's
set to launch in October
but doesn't even have a
firm format yet.
Point out that those
two commitments could
very well overlap, and
Norton laughs.
"It's a lovely problem
to even contemplate,"
says Norton. "Presum
ably, if this show is a dis
aster, I'll be on my way
to JFK with a thank-you
note, if that:
"And I'll be paying for
the cab myself." 89
;:: o " C.
0>
::0:
<:
" '" N po
" '< "0 o
~ n o 3
Graham Norton's
talk show and its
naughty sense of
humor have found
a home in the U.S.
Graham Norton ready to
laugh it up in the U.S.
By MICHAEL GILTZ
TAPING dozens of
promotional spots
plugging a show for
local cable companies
can get tiresome. But
Graham Norton -the
naughty-minded UK talk
show host set to conquer
America -is finding it a
source of endless amuse
ment.
Norton giggles help
lessly after he realizes
that he is about to read a
prepared line that goes:
uOh, come now, Cox cus
tomers, don't try and
pretend that wasn't fun."
(He does not know that
Atlanta-based Cox Cable
is one the biggest opera
tors in the U.S.)
"Why would you call
something that?" laughs
Norton, who has just
begun a 13-week run on
Comedy Central with a
new talk show, "The
Graham Norton Ef
fect." "That's just mean."
Mean is exactly what
Norton's good-natured
shtick is not. Though his
talk show is filled with
silly sex toys, randy Web
sites (like one devoted to
a man's fetish for watch
ing women brush their
teeth) and stories that would make Congress
man Jack Ryan blush,
Norton isn't mean or
dirty in the Howard
Stern way.
He just reacts with
shocked glee over the
awfully embarrassing
things celebrities and au
dience members can't
wait to reveal.
A huge star in the UK,
Norton's most recent
show aired five days a
Norton reacts with
shocked glee over
the embarrassing
things celebrities
and audience
members can't
wait to reveal.
week (almost unheard of
in Great Britain, where
they have no tradition of
daily taik shows like
"The Tonight Show").
So filming one show a
week here (it airs Thurs
days at 10 p.m.) seems
like a vacation.
"That's a good thing
but also a bad thing,"
says the 41-year-old
Irish-born comic. "I'm
not sure what will finish
first -the series or my
liver.
''I'm living in New York, and I haven't quite
figured out yet that that
doesn't mean you have to
stay out 'til four every
night. The city that never
sleeps? That can't be
true. Oh. but it is."
He's just bought an
apartment in Chelsea,
proof that he's serious
about putting in the time
to become as well known
here as he is in the UK.
Of course, if the U.S.
show clicks, Norton
could have a terrible
problem: He's committed
to both Comedy Central
for two years (which has
an option for an extra
nine shows and a second
season) and a brand-new,
family-oriented variety
show for the BBC. That's
set to launch in October
but doesn't even have a
firm format yet.
Point out that those
two commitments could
very well overlap, and
Norton laughs.
"It's a lovely problem
to even contemplate,"
says Norton. "Presum
ably, if this show is a dis
aster, I'll be on my way
to JFK with a thank-you
note, if that:
"And I'll be paying for
the cab myself." 89
;:: o " C.
0>
::0:
<:
" '" N po
" '< "0 o
~ n o 3