David Letterman

David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American talk show host, comedian, and television producer. Letterman's ironic, often absurdist comedy is heavily influenced by comedians Steve Allen, Ernie Kovacs, and Johnny Carson. He is most known currently for being the host of his own show, The Late Show with David Letterman.

Career

Letterman began work as a radio talk show host and on Indianapolis television 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.

Related Topics:
Radio - Hail - Tropical storm - Hurricane

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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.

Related Topics:
1975 - California - Sitcom - Stand-up comedy - The Comedy Store - Los Angeles - Comedy club

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Letterman had a stint as a cast member on Mary Tyler Moore's variety show Mary, a guest appearance on Mork & Mindy, and appearances on game shows such as The $20,000 Pyramid. His dry, sarcastic humor caught the attention of talent scouts for Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show, 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.

Related Topics:
Mary Tyler Moore - Mary - Mork & Mindy - Game show - The $20,000 Pyramid - Johnny Carson - The Tonight Show - 1978

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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. NBC kept Letterman under contract and tried again in a different time slot; in 1982, Late Night with David Letterman debuted on the network.

Related Topics:
NBC - The David Letterman Show - Emmy Award - 1980 - 1982 - Late Night with David Letterman

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Letterman's show, which ran weeknights at 12:30am eastern time, immediately following The Tonight Show, quickly established a reputation as being edgy and unpredictable and soon developed a cult following. The show was markedly different than the soft-sell talk-show competition; 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 a testy interviewer was born out of moments like his verbal sparring matches with Cher, Shirley MacLaine and most notably, Madonna (see Madonna on Letterman).

Related Topics:
The Tonight Show - Cher - Shirley MacLaine - Madonna - Madonna on Letterman

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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.)

Related Topics:
Top 10 List - 1987 - The Today Show - Al Roker - Live at Five - Andy Kaufman - Chris Elliott - Comic book - Harvey Pekar - Jerry Lawler - Bob Zmuda - Staged

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Letterman remained with NBC for eleven years. When Johnny Carson announced 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. Letterman, a longtime protégé of Carson's and who had frequently credited Carson with boosting his career, was reportedly bitterly disappointed and angry at not having been given the Tonight Show job. In 1993, after receiving advice from Carson, Letterman moved to CBS to host a new show, The Late Show with David Letterman. In 1996, 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.

Related Topics:
NBC - Johnny Carson - 1992 - Jay Leno - 1993 - CBS - The Late Show with David Letterman - 1996 - HBO - The Late Shift - Bill Carter

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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. Leno consistently beats Letterman in the ratings, with a lead that has grown over the years to two million viewers but has been narrowed, as of February 2005, to less than a million viewers (5.8 vs. 4.9 million) http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.letterman/browse_thread/thread/9beb064836f93133. 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.

Related Topics:
The Tonight Show - Emmy Award - As of February 2005 - Harris Poll - 2003 - Oprah Winfrey - Ray Romano

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Letterman started his own production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated, which produces his show and several others, including Everybody Loves Raymond, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and several critically acclaimed, but short-lived television series for Bonnie Hunt.

Related Topics:
Worldwide Pants Incorporated - Everybody Loves Raymond - The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson - Bonnie Hunt

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In January of 2000, Letterman underwent quintuple heart bypass surgery. During his recovery, friends of Letterman hosted reruns of the Late Show, including Drew Barrymore, Ray Romano, Robin Williams, Bill Murray, Kathie Lee Gifford, Regis Philbin, Charles Grodin, Julia Roberts, Bill Cosby, Bruce Willis, Jerry Seinfeld, Martin Short, Danny DeVito, Steve Martin and Sarah Jessica Parker. Upon his return to the show on February 21, 2000, Letterman brought onstage all of the doctors that had performed the operation, 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 doctors. The episode earned an Emmy nomination.

Related Topics:
January - 2000 - Drew Barrymore - Ray Romano - Robin Williams - Bill Murray - Kathie Lee Gifford - Regis Philbin - Charles Grodin - Julia Roberts - Bill Cosby - Bruce Willis - Jerry Seinfeld - Martin Short - Danny DeVito - Steve Martin - Sarah Jessica Parker - February 21 - Louis J. Aronne - Emmy

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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?"

Related Topics:
September 17 - 2001 - American - September 11, 2001 attacks

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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 and praise to Koppel.

Related Topics:
2002 - ABC - Nightline - Ted Koppel

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In late February 2003, Letterman was diagnosed with a severe case of shingles. For the first time since his bypass surgery, Letterman handed the reins of the show to several guest hosts including actor Bruce Willis, former professional tennis player John McEnroe, actor Luke Wilson, bandleader Paul Shaffer, comedian Bonnie Hunt, morning talk host Regis Philbin, rock musician Elvis Costello, Brad Garrett from Everybody Loves Raymond, comedians Tom Arnold, Bill Cosby, Tom Green, and other prominent Hollywood performers.

Related Topics:
February - 2003 - Shingles - Bruce Willis - John McEnroe - Luke Wilson - Paul Shaffer - Bonnie Hunt - Regis Philbin - Elvis Costello - Brad Garrett - Everybody Loves Raymond - Tom Arnold - Bill Cosby - Tom Green

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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), " gets a big kick out of." Lassally also claimed that Carson had always believed Letterman, not Leno, to be his "rightful successor." http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6841123/ 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". On Letterman's first show following Carson's passing, the late Carson reportedly wrote all of the jokes in the opening monologue.

Related Topics:
2005 - Johnny Carson

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~