Who hosted the first episode of The Late Late Show on CBS in 1995?

Tom Snyder hosted the first episode of The Late Late Show on CBS in 1995. He became the program’s original host when CBS introduced it as a successor to The Pat Sajak Show.

Snyder was known for a conversational interview style that differed from the faster comedy formats associated with many late-night programs. His version often emphasized extended interviews and unusual discussions rather than a traditional celebrity-heavy variety structure.

The program later became much more comedy-oriented under Craig Kilborn, Craig Ferguson, and James Corden. Those later hosts are frequently recalled because their eras lasted longer or developed distinctive fan communities, but none was the original presenter.

The Late Late Show also followed Late Show with David Letterman in CBS’s overnight schedule. Its history therefore includes several substantially different formats under the same title, making the 1995 launch host an easy detail to confuse.