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Late Night with David Letterman

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Late Night with David Letterman
From New York, it's Late Night with David Letterman
StarringDavid Letterman, Paul Shaffer
Country of originUSA
No. of episodes1810
Production
Running time60 minutes
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseFebruary 1, 1982 –
June 25, 1993

Late Night with David Letterman was a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 and went off the air in 1993.

In 1991, the show's three production companies — Carson Productions, Worldwide Pants, and NBC Productions — were awarded a Peabody Award, which cited the following:

In the past ten years, one show has moved to the position of the leader in late night television in creativity, humor, and innovation. That program is Late Night With David Letterman. As one member of the Peabody Board remarked, "David Letterman is a born broadcaster." He is also a savvy co-executive producer. Along with co-executive producer Jack Rollins, producer Robert Morton, director Hal Gurnee, and musical director Paul Shaffer, Mr. Letterman has surrounded himself with exceptional talent and given them the go-ahead to experiment with the television medium. Particularly noteworthy is the work of head writer Steve O`Donnell and his talented staff. Together, the "Late Night" team manages to take one of TV`s most conventional and least inventive forms — the talk show — and infuse it with freshness and imagination. For television programming which, at its best, is evocative of the greats, from Your Show of Shows, to The Steve Allen Show, and The Ernie Kovacs Show, a Peabody to Late Night With David Letterman.

David Letterman left both the show and NBC for what became The Late Show with David Letterman. Reruns of the show air nightly on cable channel Trio.

History

The first show was on February 1, 1982 with the final show on June 25, 1993, although NBC would air repeats until September 10, 1993. A total of 1,810 shows were broadcast during its eleven and a half year run.

The program ran four nights a week, Monday to Thursday, beginning in February 1982 until May 1987 from 12:30am to 1:30am. Friday shows were added in June 1987. Starting in September 1991, the show began five minutes later, at the request of NBC affiliates (though Letterman had a different reason for the delay: "With the extra five minutes, I will make certain that my make-up is absolutely perfect").

Letterman, who had hoped to take over The Tonight Show, left NBC in 1993 for a better financial deal with CBS where he started The Late Show with David Letterman. The Late Night time slot was taken over by the show Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

When Letterman left, NBC asserted their intellectual property rights to many of the most popular Late Night segments. Letterman easily adapted to these restrictions: the Viewer Mail segment was continued on the new show under the name CBS Mailbag, and the actor playing Larry "Bud" Melman continued his antics under his real name, Calvert DeForest.

Format

Like other talk shows, the show featured at least two or three guests each night, usually including a comedian or musical guest.

File:Lnpaul.jpg
Paul Shaffer singing the theme to "Supermarket Finds."

Letterman frequently used crew members in his comedy bits, so viewers got to know the writers and crew members of the show. Common contributors included bandleader Paul Shaffer, Chris Elliott, Calvert DeForest as Larry "Bud" Melman, announcer Bill Wendell, writer Adam Resnick, scenic designer Kathleen Ankers, stage manager Biff Henderson, producer Robert Morton, director Hal Gurnee, associate director Peter Fatovich, stage hand Al Maher, camera operator Baily Stortz and Jude Brennan.

Letterman's show established a reputation for being unpredictable. A number of celebrities had even stated that they were afraid of appearing on the show. This reputation was born out of moments like Letterman's verbal sparring matches with Cher, Madonna (described by comedian Robin Williams as a "battle of wits with an unarmed woman"), and Shirley MacLaine.

Memorable moments

File:Johnnylatenight2.jpg
Johnny Carson as a guest, bringing his own desk.
  • A visit from Johnny Carson, with Carson bringing his own desk.
  • Letterman uses a bullhorn to interrupt The Today Show with the announcement that he was not wearing any pants.
  • Letterman interrupted the WNBC-TV's newscasts by walking into their studio which was across the hall from Letterman's. Letterman often complained that Live at Five got better guests than he did.
  • Cher had two memorable moments on the show. In one segment, she called Letterman an "asshole" on air. They patched up differences for a 1987 show that had Cher and former husband Sonny Bono reuniting to sing "I Got You, Babe."
  • Letterman would often perform stuns such as donning a suit covered in Alka-Seltzer tablets and being lowered in water and wearing a suit of velcro and running into a velcro wall.
  • Another recurring gag was Letterman destroying items, from throwing watermelons off the roof of the studio to running dozens of hot dogs through a compressor to demolishing the Energizer Bunny with a baseball bat.
  • A Sandra Bernhard appearance in a leotard. After sitting on Letterman's lap, both reacted as if Letterman had become sexually excited.
  • The outrageous appearances by comedian Andy Kaufman.
  • Arguments between Letterman and the cantankerous comic book creator Harvey Pekar.
  • Eccentric actor Crispin Glover's bizarre behavior, including an attempt to kick Letterman in the head.
  • Various technology experiments, including visits to the control room, mounting of mini-cams in unexpected places (such as the "monkey cam"), and the "thrill cam" which flew across the audience every night.
  • Bruce Springsteen appeared as a surprise musical guest on the final show. He performed "Glory Days."

Recurring Late Night segments

File:Lnbumper.jpg
A Classic Late Night with David Letterman commercial bumper.
  • The Top Ten List, from various "home offices"
  • Stupid Pet Tricks
  • Stupid Human Tricks
  • Viewer Mail
  • Supermarket Finds
  • Velcro Suit
  • Suit of Rice Krispies
  • Dumb Ads
  • Small Town News
  • Ask Mr. Melman
  • Dave's Record Collection
  • Crushing Things With A Steamroller
  • Throwing Things Off A Five-Story Building
  • Crushing Things With An 80-Ton Hydraulic Press
  • Dog Poetry
  • Visits with Meg Parsont in the Simon and Schuster Building
  • Elevator Races
  • NBC Bookmobile

List of Guests

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