The Late Show with David Letterman

Regular sketches

When Letterman moved to CBS and began the Late Show, several of Late Night's long-running comedy bits made the move with him, including his best known bit, the Top Ten List. Letterman renamed a few of his regular bits to avoid legal problems over trademark infringement (NBC cited that what he did on Late Night was "intellectual property" of the network). For example, "Viewer Mail" on NBC became the "CBS Mailbag," and Larry "Bud" Melman began to use his real name, Calvert DeForest.

Related Topics:
Top Ten - Trademark - Calvert DeForest

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One recurring sketch on both the NBC and CBS shows has been the destruction of household items by various methods including explosives, steamrollers, and - most frequently - throwing them off the roof of a building.

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The Late Show is well known for its repeated absurdist segments, often taking the form of competitions or audience participation. The charm of these segments is often that they are completely pointless, yet are taken seriously by Letterman and all involved.

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Is This Anything?

In the Is This Anything? segment the curtain is raised to reveal a costumed performer performing an unusual stunt. Next to this performer, who varies, are two other performers who became regulars for the segment:

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• The "Hula Hoop Girl" (played by Anna Jack), who spins numerous hula hoops around different parts of her body, and
• The "Grinder Girl" (played by Kiva Kahl), who operates a hand-held grinder against metal parts of her costume, producing sparks.

After about thirty seconds the curtain is lowered and Letterman discusses with Shaffer whether the act was "something" or "nothing."

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Know Your Current Events

In this segment ("America's Fastest Growing Quiz Sensation" according to Letterman), Letterman picks an audience member to play a quiz game. He or she first gets to choose the category. Besides the title category, one of the "six big ways to win big" is always "Know Your Cuts of Meat"; other categories are topical and often esoteric, and rarely reappear. Some of these have included "Know Your Home Depot Locations in Delaware," "Know Your Late Show Production Accountant Joe DeGeorge" and "Know Your Shocking Facts about Peter Jennings."

Related Topics:
Home Depot - Delaware - Peter Jennings

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In the case of "Know Your Cuts of Meat", the audience member sees a photo of a cut of meat, and is asked to identify it; other categories are similar. If they win (and they always do, as the answers are given secretly to the contestant), they are given a set of prizes: dinner for two at a local restaurant, (since 1997) the CD Live On Letterman: Music From The Late Show, and most recently added, a box of Explod-O-Pop Atomic popping corn. Winning "Know Your Cuts of Meat" also gets the contestant a special additional prize: a box of USDA Prime beef from Lobel's of New York, worth US$300. (back in April 2000) Letterman will frequently ask winners to share their meat with other members of the audience, or, if the "winner" happens to leave his or her box out in the open, simply reaches in and takes some meat out to give to the other contestant.

Related Topics:
Popping corn - USDA - Prime beef - US

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Will It Float?

In this segment, an item is dropped into a tank of water by two attractive models. Before this happens, announcer Alan Kalter reads off the name of the item that will be tested and what prize Letterman and Shaffer are competing for. A picture of that prize is flashed on screen for a split second. The prize is never actually awarded to anyone. The two then discuss whether the item will float or sink.

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Two models drop the item into the tank while the Late Show "Hula Hoop Girl" and "Grinder Girl" perform on either side of the tank.

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According to Letterman, the idea for the skit supposedly came from a BBC programme entitled "Is It Buoyant?" He also advertises the (fictional) "Will It Float" home game, which has everything you need in a box to play the game for only $19.99. The box comprises of only the box and a sheet of paper (which suggests what items to use in the game). After the game is over, Letterman often makes reference to the big "Will It Float?" party to take place after the show.

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Others

The show sometimes uses Shaffer and Kalter in comedy routines. Crew members also make occasional appearances, such as stage manager Biff Henderson, stagehands Pat Farmer and Kenny Sheehan, handyman George Clarke, cue card boy Tony "Inky" Mendez, producer Maria Pope, and assistant Stephanie Birkitt.

Related Topics:
Stage manager - Biff Henderson - Pat Farmer - Kenny Sheehan - Handyman - George Clarke - Cue card - Tony "Inky" Mendez - Producer - Maria Pope - Stephanie Birkitt

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Some comedy bits also include Rupert Jee, owner of the nearby Hello Deli. Letterman's mother, Dorothy, also makes appearances (via satellite from Indianapolis) from time-to-time, including each Thanksgiving. She also reported nightly from the 1994 Winter Olympics.

Related Topics:
Rupert Jee - Hello Deli - Indianapolis - Thanksgiving - 1994 Winter Olympics

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Former recurring players from the show include Sirajul Islam and Mujibur Rahman (employees of a nearby gift store), Calvert DeForest, now-retired writer Gerard Mulligan, and the late scenic designer Kathleen Ankers (reprising her Late Night role of "Peggy, the Foulmouthed Chambermaid"; on CBS, she was the equally-censored "Helen, the Ill-tempered Ticket Lady").

Related Topics:
Calvert DeForest - Gerard Mulligan - Scenic designer - Kathleen Ankers

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Dozens of cameo appearances have been made by the late Tony Randall and by Regis Philbin.

Related Topics:
Cameo appearance - Tony Randall - Regis Philbin

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Letterman involves his audience in routines such as "Stump The Band" (a bit originated by Johnny Carson), "Know Your Current Events", and "Audience Show and Tell"; he brings Rupert Jee and outside bystanders into bits such as "May We See Your Digital Photos, Please?" The prizes of these games range from Hello Deli meat platters to Explodo-O-Pop, "America's only all-natural atomic popping corn."

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For a while, Letterman took great delight in making fun of his employer, continuing a tradition established at NBC. Senior executive Les Moonves was often the target of his abuse. For example, on hearing that Moonves had met with Fidel Castro in 2001, Letterman asked his audience to:

Related Topics:
Les Moonves - Fidel Castro - 2001

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:"Imagine the lunch...on one side of the table you've got an egomaniacal dictator surrounded by sniveling yes-men, and, of course, on the other side of the table you've got Fidel Castro."

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Letterman's relationship with Moonves has improved; a segment titled "More with Les" features jocular phone calls between Letterman and Moonves.

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He also has a knack for consuming food products and drinks that appear on his show. Among some of the items that he consumed was wine from a bottle used for a cooking demonstration, various kinds of liquor (while quipping "We're gonna lose our liquor license"), Popeye's "Full Flavor Green Beans," Red Bull, liquid from a bottle that supposedly partially contains Wite-Out, pills from boxes named lipitor and cialis, and even cosmetic products.

Related Topics:
Popeye's - Red Bull - Wite-Out - Lipitor - Cialis - Cosmetic

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The following is a partial list of other recurring or notable comedy bits:

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• Week In Review
• Stupid Pet Tricks/Stupid Human Tricks (both holdovers from the NBC show)
• Telemundo Highlight of the Night
• Dumb Ads
• Small Town News
• How Many Men in a Bear Suit (etc.) Will Fit in a Donut Shop (etc.)?
• Pat & Kenny Read Oprah Transcripts
• Pat Farmer's Movie Gaffes
• Celebrity X-Ray Challenge
• Dave's Record Collection
• Throwing items off the roof (usually done by Pat Farmer)
• Fun with Rupert, a Candid Camera-style bit
• George W. Bush Joke That's Not Really a Joke
• Dr. Phil's Words of Wisdom
• A Moment With George W. Bush
• Trump or Monkey? (Briefly "Trump or Wookie" during release of )
• Paul Shaffer does James Brown's cape routine (with various celebrities, including James Brown himself on one occasion, caping Shaffer)
• Dick Assman, who made several appearances in 1995
• Dwight the Troubled Teen
• "Late Show Unfair Edit," later "Late Show Fun with Editing," later "Late Show Editing Fun"
• Guess the Puddle
• Rejected FDA Items
• Biff Henderson's Fun with a Bullhorn
• Biff Henderson's Fun with a Stopwatch
• Alan Kalter's "Are You F*cking Kidding Me?" segment, which questions the sanity behind major news stories (for example, after the Michael Jackson verdict, Kalter's response: "Are You F*cking Kidding Me?!!")
• George Bush's Spanish is better than his English
• Ape Or Artist (Letterman and Shaffer are shown a painting and they discuss whether an ape or an artist painted it - always an ape)
• Ape or Artist or Elephant (nearly identical to Ape or Artist, except with the possibility that an elephant painted it)
• Putting away the Late Show Bear
• Alan Kalter's "Oh No You Didn't!" in which Alan mentions a recent news story (such as the 5-week working vacation George W. Bush announced) and then says "Oh No You Di-int!"