David Letterman

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{{Infobox Celebrity | name = David Letterman | image = Davidlettermannavy.jpg|180 px | caption = David Letterman | birth_date = 12 April 1947 | birth_place = Indianapolis, Indiana, USA | death_date = | death_place = | occupation = late night talk show host, comedian, and television producer | salary = $31 500 000 | networth = | spouse = | website = http://www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/ | footnotes = }} David Michael Letterman (born April 12 1947) is an American late night talk show host, comedian, television producer, and Indy Racing League car owner (Rahal Letterman Racing).

Letterman's ironic, often absurd comedy is heavily influenced by comedians Steve Allen, Ernie Kovacs, and Johnny Carson. He is currently most known for hosting The Late Show with David Letterman on CBS.

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Personal

Letterman was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. His father, Harry Joe Letterman, was a florist who died in 1974; his mother Dorothy Letterman, a Presbyterian church secretary, is an occasional personality on his show. 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.

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College

Letterman 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 can be heard on the clip, playing a character in a sketch)

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Early career

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Weather

Image:Weatherdave.jpg Letterman began work as a radio talk show host and on Indianapolis television station 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.

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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 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. 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.

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NBC

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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.

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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 than 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).

Image:Daveln.jpg The show often included quirky, genre-mocking regular features, including "Stupid Pet Tricks", throwing things off the roof, the Top 10 List, and a facetious letter-answering segment on Thursdays ("Viewer Mail" moved to Fridays in 1987 when a fifth night was added to the program's weekly broadcast schedule). 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 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.

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Late Shift

Image:Johnnylatenight.jpg 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 Tonight Show job.

In 1993, reportedly on Carson’s advice, Letterman departed the peacock web to host his own show opposite Tonight on CBS at eleven-thirty Eastern, The Late Show with David Letterman (he was immediately replaced by a then unknown Conan O'Brien). Three years later, HBO produced a made-for-television movie called The Late Shift, based on a book by 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 and 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.

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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 has narrowed, as of February 2005, to less than a million viewers (5.8 vs. 4.9 million) [1].

Letterman has also consistently ranked higher than Leno in the annual Harris Poll of Nation's Favorite TV Personality; as of 2003 Letterman ranked third in that poll, behind Oprah Winfrey and Ray Romano, while Leno ranked ninth. Image:Happydave.jpg

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Academy Awards

In early 1995, it was announced Letterman would host that year's Academy Awards ceremony. Letterman would be blasted by critics for his poor hosting of the Oscars. In an infamous quote, he started off by introducing Uma Thurman to Oprah Winfrey ("Uma...Oprah! Oprah...Uma!") and many of his jokes fell flat.

Letterman, ever the comedic environmentalist, 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.

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Health

In January of 2000, Letterman underwent quintuple heart bypass surgery. During the initial weeks of his recovery, friends of Letterman hosted reruns of the Late Show, including Drew Barrymore, Ray Romano, Robin Williams, Bill Murray, Regis Philbin, Charles Grodin, 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 1990's) by allowing Bill Cosby, Kathie Lee Gifford (recommended by Regis, who was asked first but had no time in his schedule), Dana Carvey,
Image:Johndave.jpg 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. 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.

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Return

Upon his return to the show on February 21, 2000, Letterman brought onstage all of the doctors and nurses who had participated in the surgery and his recovery, 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 of "These are the people who saved my life.". The episode earned an Emmy nomination.

Additionally, Letterman invited band the Foo Fighters to play, introducing them as "my favorite band, playing my favorite song."


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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, 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, "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 goddamn sense?"

His guest that night was then-CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather, who was in high emotions as well and repeated the same point and tone of Letterman. During the interview, Rather brought new poignancy to the well-worn lyric from America The Beautiful:
Oh beautiful, for patriot's dream
That sees beyond the years!
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!

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Contract Renewed

In March 2002, as Letterman's contract with CBS was expiring, 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.

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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." [2] 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.

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HD

The show started to broadcast in HDTV format on August 29 2005, one day before its 12th anniversary show.

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Guests

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Oprah

On December 1, 2005, daytime talk queen Oprah Winfrey returned to Letterman's show, ending a 16-year "feud" between the two TV titans. Winfrey's appearance garnered Letterman his highest Nielsen ratings (13.5 million people) in ten years, tripling his average numbers. In this show, Oprah said she had no knowledge of a "feud": "Feud? What feud? That's news to me." Dave also walked Oprah to the premiere of her broadway show The Color Purple which was opening on that same night at the nearby Broadway Theatre.

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Bill O'Reilly

On January 4, 2006, Bill O'Reilly appeared on the David Letterman program. When O'Reilly began a discussion on the alleged War on Christmas, Letterman replied, "I think that this is something that happened here, and it happened there, and so people like you are trying to make us think that it's a threat." Letterman accused O'Reilly of making up some of his claims on particular points on the supposed War, and O'Reilly replied with, "Then I could write for your show." When O'Reilly attacked the views of Cindy Sheehan, Letterman said O'Reilly had never lost a family member in a war, and therefore O'Reilly should have nothing but sympathy for Sheehan (implying O'Reilly had no standing to speak against Sheehan's opinions.) When asked if Letterman agreed with Sheehan's comparison of terrorist insurgents in Iraq to "freedom fighters" and how other parents of fallen soldiers feel about such an assertion, Letterman responded "well why are we there in the first place?" Letterman then continued "I might not be smart enough to debate you point-for-point, but I have the feeling that about 60 percent of what you say is crap," to which O’Reilly replied, "Listen, I respect your opinion. You should respect mine." Letterman also admitted that he never watched O'Reilly's show and was basing his opinion on what he read from others, to which O'Reilly replied, "Oh come on, you're going to take things that you've read. You know what say about you? Come on." The next day on his program, O'Reilly called Letterman "a card-carrying member of the secular progressive movement". Yet, in 2001, O'Reilly had said about Letterman and the show "The late-night program hosted by David Letterman is the toughest interview show on television. That's because Mr. Letterman is a smart guy who can spot a phony with telescopic accuracy and expects his guests to bring something to the table. If a guest begins to sink on this show, the bottom is a long way down."[3]

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Albert Brooks

On January 10, comedian Albert Brooks made an appearance on Letterman's show. He joked that he'd heard January 13 would be Letterman's last show: "I have had a knot in my stomach all day because obviously this will be the last David Letterman show I will ever do." Letterman replied, "I don't think that's true. I think we are going to be here another two or three years." Letterman's spokesperson said that he has no plans to retire.

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Most Appearances by Guests

Image:Jayondave.jpg According to the Late Show Newsletter, the following comedians have appeared most frequently on Letterman's two late-night talk shows as of April 2004:

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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.

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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." 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.
  • 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 regularly donate 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.
  • 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".
  • On September 12, 2003, Letterman announced that his long-time girlfriend and ex-colleague Regina Lasko [4] 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 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 December 2005, a fan named Colleen Nestler (whom Letterman claimed he had never met) filed 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 towards 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. [5] At a December 26 hearing, the order was lifted. [6] 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."
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Quotes

Everyone has a purpose in life. Perhaps yours is watching television.

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See also

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External links

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