David Letterman
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 Entertaining coalition forces in Baghdad, Iraq, |
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| Born: | April 12, 1947 Indianapolis, Indiana |
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| Occupation: | late night talk show host, comedian, and television producer |
| Salary: | $40,000,000 [1] |
| Website: | www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow |
David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television personality, late night talk show host, comedian, television producer, Indy Racing League car owner (Rahal Letterman Racing), and philanthropist. His first long-running hit in the 1980s was on NBC's, Late Night with David Letterman before he transferred to CBS in the 1990s and began Late Show with David Letterman. He is once divorced, from Michelle Cook and had a long-term relationship with his current show's writer, Merrill Markoe. His longtime fiancée, Regina Lasko, is 13 years younger than Letterman [2]. They have one son, Harry Joseph, born November 3, 2003. He is named for Letterman's father. They currently reside in North Salem, New York.
Letterman's ironic, often absurd comedy is heavily influenced by comedians Steve Allen and Johnny Carson.[citation needed]
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[edit] Early career
David Letterman was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. His father, Harry Joe Letterman, was a florist who died in 1974; his mother Dorothy Letterman (born July 18, 1921), a Presbyterian church secretary, is an occasional figure on the show, usually at holidays and birthdays. He has an older sister, Janice, and a younger sister, Gretchen. One of his early comedic influences was the Cincinnati talk show host Paul Dixon, but the person who would influence his life the most would be Johnny Carson, host of the Tonight Show.
Letterman attended Broad Ripple High School in Indianapolis and later graduated from Ball State University, where he was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. He received a B.A. in telecommunications in 1969. He began his broadcasting career at Ball State's student-run radio station, WAGO - AM 570 (Now known as WCRD, 91.3). A rare aircheck of Letterman on WAGO can be heard here (registration required). (the voice of Letterman's first wife Michelle Cook can be heard on the clip, playing a character in a sketch)
[edit] Weather
Letterman began work as a radio talk show host and on Indianapolis television station WLW-I (now called WTHR) as a local anchor and weatherman. He received recognition for his unpredictable on-air behavior, which included erasing state borders from the weather map and predicting hail stones "the size of canned hams." One night he reportedly upset his bosses when he congratulated a tropical storm on being upgraded to a hurricane.
[edit] Move to LA
In 1975, Letterman moved to California with hopes of becoming a comedy writer and started writing material for sitcoms. He also began performing stand-up comedy at The Comedy Store, a famed Los Angeles comedy club and proving ground for young comics.
Letterman also appeared in the summer of 1977 on the short-lived Starland Vocal Band Show, in which he made various jokes about how fortunate he was that nobody would ever see his performance on the program (because of its low ratings).
Letterman had a stint as a cast member on Mary Tyler Moore's variety show Mary, a guest appearance on Mork & Mindy (as a parody of est leader Werner Erhard), and appearances on game shows such as The $20,000 Pyramid. He also hosted a 1977 pilot for a game show, entitled The Riddlers that was never picked up. His dry, sarcastic humor caught the attention of talent scouts for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and Letterman was soon a regular guest on the show. Letterman became a favorite of Carson's and became a regular guest host for the show starting in 1978.
[edit] NBC
[edit] Morning Show
Soon afterwards, Letterman was given his own morning comedy show on NBC, The David Letterman Show. The show was a critical success, winning two Emmy Awards, but was a ratings disappointment and was cancelled after a brief run during the summer of 1980.
[edit] Late Night
NBC kept Letterman under contract and tried again in a different time slot; in 1982, Late Night with David Letterman debuted on the network. Letterman's show, which ran weeknights at 12:30 am eastern time, immediately following The Tonight Show, quickly established a reputation as being edgy and unpredictable, and soon developed a cult following (particularly among college students). The show was markedly different from the soft-sell talk-show competition (including his own lead-in); Letterman as an interviewer could be sarcastic and antagonistic to the point that a number of celebrities have even stated that they were afraid of appearing on the show. Letterman's reputation as an acerbic interviewer was born out of moments like his verbal sparring matches with Cher, Shirley MacLaine and most notably, Madonna (see Madonna on Letterman).
The show often included quirky, genre-mocking regular features, including "Stupid Pet Tricks", dropping various objects off the roof of a five story building, the Top 10 List, and a facetious letter-answering segment. Other memorable moments included Letterman using a bullhorn to interrupt The Today Show TV program, which was on the air conducting a live interview at the time, announcing that he was the NBC president and that he was not wearing any pants; interrupting Al Roker on the Live at Five live local news by walking into the studio; and the outrageous appearances by comedian Andy Kaufman, Late Night writer Chris Elliott and comic book writer Harvey Pekar. In one highly publicized appearance, Kaufman appeared to be slapped and knocked to the ground by professional wrestler Jerry Lawler. (Lawler and Kaufman's friend Bob Zmuda later revealed that the event was staged.) Actor Crispin Glover once aimed a kick at Letterman's head; the host immediately left the set. When the show returned after a commercial break, Glover had disappeared. A guest shot by writer Hunter S. Thompson was cut short, apparently after Thompson offered to shoot off fireworks on the studio floor. Peter Ustinov was the midpoint guest on the night of Letterman's famous "upside down show," during which the television camera was gradually rotated 360 degrees over the course of the hour; Ustinov was photographed completely upside down during his appearance, in close-up, but Letterman himself was only shot from a distance during this part of the show. After leaving NBC Letterman would gripe about his former bosses.[1]
[edit] Late Show
[edit] Switch to CBS
Letterman remained with NBC for eleven years. Upon Johnny Carson’s unexpected announcement that he would retire in May 1992, a protracted, multi-lateral battle erupted over who would replace the long-time Tonight host. Eventually, executives at NBC announced Carson's frequent guest-host Jay Leno as Carson's replacement, despite Carson's professed desire to see the torch passed to Dave. Letterman had ironically become a victim of his own success — NBC’s confirming Letterman's high ratings in the 12:30 (EST) timeslot signaled that the network preferred to hold on to Letterman in the 'Late Night' gig. Letterman, a longtime protégé of Carson's who had frequently credited Johnny with boosting his career, was reportedly bitterly disappointed and angry at not having been given the job on the Tonight Show.
In 1993, reportedly on Carson’s advice, Letterman departed NBC to host his own show opposite Tonight on CBS at eleven-thirty Eastern, The Late Show with David Letterman. Three years later, HBO produced a made-for-television movie called The Late Shift, based on a book by New York Times reporter Bill Carter, chronicling the battle between Letterman and Leno for the coveted Tonight Show hosting spot. Letterman would mock the film for months afterward, specifically on how the actor playing him didn't resemble him in the least. ("They took a guy who looked nothing like me and with makeup and special camera angles, turned him into a guy who looked nothing like me, with red hair.") About a year after Late Show began, Carson made a surprise appearance during a 'Top 10 list' segment. The audience went wild as Letterman stood up and proudly invited Carson to sit at his desk. Such was the overwhelming applause that Carson was unable to deliver the joke (the applause having gone on too long) and he humbly returned backstage.
[edit] Popularity
The Late Show competes in the same time slot as Leno's The Tonight Show. Letterman has garnered both critical and industry praise; his shows have received 67 Emmy Award nominations, winning twelve times in his first twenty years in late night television. Nevertheless, Leno consistently beats Letterman in the ratings. At one point Leno's lead was as large as two million viewers, but narrowed, as of February 2005, to fewer than a million viewers (5.8 vs. 4.9 million)[3].
On September 22, 2006, Variety reported that the Tonight Show with Jay Leno won its 11th consecutive season and Leno stretched his lead over Letterman to 31% in total viewers with 5.7 million on average compared with 4.1 million for Letterman, 3.4 million for "Nightline" and 1.6 million for Jimmy Kimmel. This would be a lead over Letterman of 1.6 million viewers.
Letterman has also consistently ranked higher than Leno in the annual Harris Poll of Nation's Favorite TV Personality; as of 2004 Letterman ranked second in that poll, behind Oprah Winfrey.[4]
[edit] Heart Surgery
On January 14, 2000, a routine checkup revealed that an artery in Letterman's heart was severely constricted. He was rushed to emergency surgery, receiving a quintuple bypass.
During the initial weeks of his recovery, friends of Letterman hosted re-runs of the Late Show, including Drew Barrymore, Ray Romano, Robin Williams, Bill Murray, Regis Philbin, Charles Grodin, Nathan Lane, Julia Roberts, Bruce Willis, Jerry Seinfeld, Martin Short, Danny DeVito, Steve Martin and Sarah Jessica Parker.
Later, while still recovering from surgery, Letterman revived the late night tradition of 'guest hosts' (a practice that virtually disappeared on network television during the 1990s) by allowing Bill Cosby, Kathie Lee Gifford (recommended by Regis, who was asked first but had no time in his schedule), Dana Carvey, Janeane Garofalo, and others to host new episodes of The Late Show. Cosby, the show's first guest host, refused to sit at Letterman's desk out of respect, using the couch instead; Garofalo also followed suit, utilizing a set of grade-school desks instead.
Upon his return to the show on February 21, 2000, a visibly thinner and weakened Letterman brought onstage all of the doctors and nurses who had participated in the surgery and his recovery (with extra teasing of a nurse who had given him bedbaths -- "This woman has seen me naked!"), including Dr. O. Wayne Isom and physician Louis J. Aronne, who makes frequent appearances on the show. In an unusual show of emotion, Letterman was nearly in tears as he thanked the healthcare team with the words "These are the people who saved my life!" The episode earned an Emmy nomination. For a number of episodes, Letterman would continually crack jokes about his bypass.
Additionally, Letterman invited the band Foo Fighters to play "Everlong", introducing them as "my favorite band, playing my favorite song."
Letterman would again hand over the reins of the show to several guest hosts (including Brad Garrett, Elvis Costello, John McEnroe, Vince Vaughn, Will Ferrell, Bonnie Hunt, and Luke Wilson) in February 2003, when he was diagnosed with a severe case of shingles. Later, Letterman tried using guest hosts for new shows broadcast on Fridays, but that experiment did not last long, possibly due to the decreased ratings from these shows.
[edit] September 11th
On September 17, 2001, David Letterman was the first major American comedy performer to return to the television airwaves after the September 11, 2001 attacks. In his opening monologue, absent the usual musical opening credits and cheering audience, an uncharacteristically serious and very emotional Letterman struggled with the reality of the attacks and the role of comedy in a post-9/11 world, saying
| "The reason we were attacked, the reason these people are dead, these people are missing and dead ... They weren't doing anything wrong, they were living their lives, they were going to work, they were traveling, they were doing what they normally do. Uh, as I understand it -- and my understanding of this is vague, at best -- another smaller group of people stole some airplanes and crashed them into buildings. And we're told that they were zealots fueled by religious fervor, religious fervor. And if you live to be a thousand years old, will that make any sense to you? Will that make any goddamned sense?" |
His guests that night were then-CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather, who was very emotional as well and spoke with feeling about the courage of firefighters as well as reading verses from the song, America the Beautiful. Dave got his first laugh when, at the end of his monologue, he said, "And thank God Regis is here so we have something to make fun of." Before September 11, various descriptions were affixed to New York City at the beginning of the show, but starting with the September 17, 2001 show and continuing indefinitely, announcer Alan Kalter introduces the show "From New York, The Greatest City in the World, it's The Late Show with David Letterman!"
[edit] Academy Awards
In early 1995, it was announced Letterman would host that year's Academy Awards ceremony. Critics blasted Letterman for what they judged as his poor hosting of the Oscars. In a joke about their unusual names, he started off by introducing Uma Thurman to Oprah Winfrey, and then the both of them to Keanu Reeves ('Uma...Oprah! Oprah...Uma! Oprah, Uma...Keanu!'), and many of his other jokes fell flat.
Letterman recycled the apparent debacle into a long-running gag. On his first show after the Oscars, he confessed 'Looking back, I had no idea that thing was being televised.' For years afterward, Letterman would bring up how horrible a host he was, although some have defended him by saying it was the show itself, not him, that was poor that year.
[edit] Contract renewed
In March 2002, as Letterman's contract with CBS neared expiration, ABC expressed the intention to offer Letterman the time slot for long-running news program Nightline with Ted Koppel, citing more desirable viewer demographics. This caused a minor flap that ended when Letterman re-signed with CBS. Letterman addressed his decision to re-sign on the air, discussing that he was content at CBS. He also gave a short speech, discussing his great respect for Ted Koppel, praising his work in television.
[edit] Letterman and Carson
In early 2005, it was revealed that retired King of Late Night Johnny Carson still kept up with current events and late-night TV right up to his death that year, and that he occasionally sent jokes to Letterman. Letterman then used these jokes in the monologue of his show, which, according to CBS senior vice president Peter Lassally (a onetime producer for both men), "[Johnny] gets a big kick out of." Lassally also claimed that Carson had always believed Letterman, not Leno, to be his "rightful successor." [5] Letterman would do a characteristic Johnny Carson golf swing after delivering one of Carson's jokes. Letterman also frequently employs some of Carson's trademark bits on his show, including "Carnac the Magnificent" (with Paul Shaffer as Carnac), "Stump the Band" and the "Week in Review". The late Carson wrote all of the jokes Letterman used in the opening monologue of his first show after Carson's passing.
[edit] Letterman and Conan O'Brien
After Letterman left "Late Night" on NBC, his hosting duties were given to Conan O'Brien. During O'Brien's first rocky year as host of Late Night Letterman was very supportive, making an amicable appearance as one of O'Brien's first guests and later filling O'Brien's audience with the stand-by audience from his own show. Letterman would also invite O'Brien as a guest on The Late Show With David Letterman. Years later, when NBC announced that O'Brien would take over The Tonight Show (a job previously coveted by Letterman), Letterman congratulated O'Brien on his show.
[edit] Worldwide Pants
Letterman started his own production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated, which produces his show and several others, including Everybody Loves Raymond, The Late Late Show, and several critically acclaimed, but short-lived television series for Bonnie Hunt. Worldwide Pants also produced the comedy/drama program Ed, starring Tom Cavanagh, which aired on NBC from 2000-2004. It was Letterman's first association with NBC since he left the network in 1993. During Ed's run, Cavanagh appeared as a guest on The Late Show several times.
[edit] Outside of television
- Letterman's personal life is kept very private.
- Letterman was raised Presbyterian but is not known to attend church on a regular basis. When guest Ray Romano once broached the subject, Letterman quipped, "I've been to a few games, but I'm no season ticket holder." After his bypass surgery, he commented, "And by the way - I ain't Presbyterian," in reference to the name of the medical center. Letterman frequently speaks respectfully of people's faith and church involvement.
- A Life Loyal Member and Significant Sig laureate of the Sigma Chi fraternity, Letterman financed the construction of a house for Ball State's chapter.
- An on-and-off cigar smoker, Letterman could sometimes be seen taking puffs between commercial breaks, when coming back from break a cloud of smoke could always be seen and Letterman would make the "who me?" face. He has been on the cover of Cigar Aficionado in addition to having many blurbs in other issues.
- In 1969, Letterman married his college sweetheart, Michelle Cook. The couple divorced in 1977.
- For a time, Letterman was engaged to Late Night head writer Merrill Markoe, but their relationship eventually fell apart. Markoe moved to California soon after to pursue a writing career.
- In 1985, Letterman established the Letterman Telecommunications Scholarship at his alma mater, to provide financial assistance to Department of Telecommunications students, based solely on his or her creativity, and not high academic grades —Many reports have stated that in order to qualify for the scholarship a student must have a C average or below. This is not true, nor has it ever been true. The scholarships are based on creativity regardless of grade point average. Letterman continues to donate regularly to Ball State and other organizations through his American Foundation for Courtesy and Grooming.
- In 1988, Margaret Mary Ray was arrested while driving Letterman's Porsche near the Lincoln Tunnel in New York City. Ray claimed to be Letterman's wife. Ray went on to be arrested repeatedly in subsequent years on trespassing and other counts. In one instance, police found her sleeping on Letterman's private tennis court at his home in New Canaan, Connecticut. Ray spent nearly ten months in prison and 14 months in a state mental institution for her numerous trespassing convictions. On October 7, 1998, Ray was struck and killed by a train in an apparent suicide in Colorado.
- In 1994, Letterman appeared in the Chris Elliott film Cabin Boy, as the "Old Salt in the Fishing Village." He is credited as Earl Hofert, a pseudonym Letterman employs occasionally, the name borrowed from an uncle on his mother's side of the family. At the 1995 Academy Awards, Letterman did a skit with various other people "auditioning" for the role, including Madonna, Steve Martin, Rosie O'Donnell, Paul Newman, Michael Buffer, Albert Brooks and Jack Lemmon. The biggest reaction came from Barry White's deep delivery of "Would you like to buy a monkey?"
- In 1996, Letterman became co-owner of the open-wheel racing team known as Team Rahal, with former Indianapolis 500 champion Bobby Rahal. The team changed its name to Rahal Letterman Racing in May 2004, and later that same month, team driver Buddy Rice won the Indianapolis 500. This was an exciting win indeed for Indianapolis native Letterman, who has attended the race regularly since he was a young child. Normally a private person away from the studio (like his mentor, Johnny Carson), Letterman uncharacteristically gave many interviews following the race.
- Also in 1996, Letterman provided the voice of the character "Mötley Crüe Roadie #1" in the animated motion picture Beavis and Butt-head Do America, again using Earl Hofert as his name in the end credits. Letterman has often expressed an appreciation for Beavis and Butt-Head, once calling it "the only thing [on television] that consistently makes me laugh".
- Letterman, along with bandleader Paul Shaffer and Late Show stage manager Biff Henderson, celebrated Christmas 2002 in Afghanistan with United States and international military forces stationed there. The three visited Iraq around Christmas in 2003 and 2004 as well.
- On September 12, 2003, Letterman announced that his long-time girlfriend and ex-colleague Regina Lasko [6] was six months pregnant with his child. His son Harry Joseph Letterman, named after David's late father, was born on November 3, 2003. Letterman was about to tape a show when the news came that Lasko was in labor and thus Shaffer was forced to step in as guest host for the broadcast.
- In March 2005, local police in Choteau, Montana, where Letterman owns a home, foiled an alleged scheme to kidnap Letterman's son.
- In late October 2005, Jay Leno told the New York Daily News that he and Letterman have not spoken to one another in 13 years.[7]
- In December 2005, a fan named Colleen Nestler (whom Letterman claimed he had never met) sought a temporary restraining order in a Santa Fe, New Mexico court against Letterman, claiming he used code words and gestures on his television broadcasts to convey romantic feelings toward her. She claims these incidents caused her "mental cruelty." After a judge granted the order, Letterman's lawyer declared the order "absurd and frivolous" and filed a motion to end it. [8] At a December 26 hearing, the order was lifted. [9] As usual, Letterman was able to make fun out of the situation: during one of his monologues soon after the story broke, he told the audience after they laughed at a joke he had made: "That wasn't a joke, that was a coded message."
- In an interview on Tom Snyder's Late Late Show, Letterman expressed his fascination for the hobby of short-wave radio listening. [10]
- The book The Top Ten Ways to Ruin the First Day of School (which was originally published as The Top Ten Ways to Ruin the First Day of 5th Grade) is a fictional book about a boy (Tony Baloney) who attempts to get on the show. The book frequently included David Letterman, especially nearing the end, when Tony is actually on the show.
[edit] References
- ^ TIME cover story
[edit] External links
- Petition to bring the Late Show back to UK television
- Late Show UK - fansite
- Official Late Show biography
- David Letterman at the Internet Movie Database
- David Letterman at the Notable Names Database
- David Letterman at TV.com
- Letterman biography from his hometown newspaper (The Indianapolis Star)
- 1999 article on Letterman from salon.com
- A collection of video clips
| Preceded by: (none) |
Host of Late Night 1982–1993 |
Succeeded by: Conan O'Brien |
| Preceded by: (none) |
Host of The Late Show 1993 – present |
Incumbent |
| Preceded by: Whoopi Goldberg 66th Academy Awards |
"Oscars" host 67th Academy Awards- |
Followed by: Whoopi Goldberg 68th Academy Awards |
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