Confessions of a Letterman Intern
by Chris StigallDavid Letterman inspired my broadcasting career. Twenty years ago, he was an awkward, self-deprecating guy who wore tennis shoes with his blazer and tie. He was edgy, silly, and unconventional compared to the traditions of variety television at that time. He resonated with an awkward high school kid watching at home in Missouri. Carson was still the king of late night, and some guy named Leno filled in for him a lot. But Dave was cool because he didn’t seem to fit in. Yet, when Carson announced his retirement, Letterman was said to be the heir apparent to the Tonight Show.
As a fan, I didn’t want Letterman to move into Carson’s chair. Not because Letterman couldn’t handle it. It just seemed too refined for someone as eccentric and edgy as Letterman. Turned out NBC saw it that way too when they awarded “Tonight” to Leno. It pained Letterman. But it helped to foster that continued edgy, underdog status that led fans like me to follow him to CBS.
Letterman’s historically large deal with CBS was fascinating. He was granted an enormous contract and complete ownership of his own show. A show that could be built from the ground up with no expectations or standards set by a previous host like Carson at NBC. More importantly, Letterman answered to no one. He became his own boss – a dream scenario for an entertainer who always answered to someone else.
For fans at home it was like watching the underdog finally win one. He won by remaining true to his “Late Night” formula. Silly characters, Stupid Pet and Human Tricks, Top Ten Lists all made the trip to the new show. Though Letterman only enjoyed one year atop the ratings heap versus Leno - it mattered not to me and people my age. Ask a high school or college kid at the time who was the “cool” host, or the “funny” host – Letterman won in a landslide.
As a college student in the rural Midwest, I applied to become an intern with my broadcasting hero. I would later discover hundreds of kids a semester applied for one of fifteen spots as interns on the show. Although I presumed I stood little chance, the internship coordinator informed me that Letterman’s show favored Midwesterners. Letterman was a Midwest kid himself, and the show was of the mindset that Midwest kids were generally polite, conscientious, and hard working. It was the most exciting, promising, thrilling moment a young college kid with a broadcasting dream could have.
It took only a few months of my internship to learn a thing about the business of comedy, at least as it relates to Letterman. It was not an epicenter of fun and creativity. Rather, it was an atmosphere of employees who worked for a man many of them never saw and seldom, if ever talked to. Many of his employees seemed to resent his cold distance. He was most certainly guarded and unapproachable. This was not the irreverent showman I came to adore. The wide-eyed enthusiasm I arrived with in New York was quickly dashed.
To be clear, I never witnessed anything inappropriate as it relates to Mr. Letterman. I was not mistreated nor was there any juicy gossip overheard during my stay. The knowledge I came home with regarding Letterman was purely observational. Honest students of “Late Show” and comedy in general have certainly come to the same conclusion. Letterman, we must sadly confess, is seldom funny anymore.
It’s hard to know just when his entertainment value began to decline. It most likely began the day he became his own boss, ironically. Letterman’s personal work ethic he admired in Midwesterners like me seemed to be wanting. He slowly phased out any sketch comedy that featured him. It was a staple of his old shows. The Alka-Seltzer-covered suit he sported before jumping in a tank of water and the Velcro suit that left him stuck to a wall of fabric were no longer. His roving interviews and interaction on the streets of New York became less and less. It was as though the thing that made Letterman so likable – his ability to be silly and laugh at himself – disappeared. He was too important for that now.
Letterman’s personal politics have become so strident and hostile in just the last two years, any conservative feels unwelcome to watch. He would regularly pontificate about the war in Iraq. “George Bush is a dumb guy” jokes were told with such frequency it became rote. When candidate John McCain had the “audacity” to cancel a scheduled appearance in 2008, Letterman blasted McCain with both barrels until Election Day. A tasteless shot aimed at Sarah Palin’s daughter seemed to be the joke that broke the audiences’ back. Letterman, after much public outrage, eventually apologized for the remark. Then, the recent hour-long sit down with Barack Obama. It seemed to be the host’s final admission. Dave’s a pundit, not a comic. He’s not interested in entertaining the masses any longer. Just the partisans.
Letterman’s admission of sex with members of his staff and stories of sex in the office dominated his show in the last week. News of his personal life, his humiliated and injured wife, his six year old son, and his beleaguered employees made a once entertaining show of comedy and variety nothing more than a television tabloid. Ratings, while high, weren’t due to the quality of show being produced by the legendary host. America is tuning in to see a famous man’s life crash and burn around him.
David Letterman has, in fact taught this intern something. He is a cautionary tale of the ultimate success story. Success can be achieved through hard work, tenacity, and staying true to your style. Success can also breed complacency. Success can breed arrogance and narcissism that places your personal needs, wants, beliefs, and desires ahead of all others. Success can ultimately be your undoing.
I wish I could have interned for that edgy, Midwestern underdog at NBC.
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104 Comments
I avoided David Letterman because rightly or wrongly I held him accountable for forcing SCTV off the air.
You are right, there was a place back there when Letterman ceased to be funny and cutting edge, to being a mean old man. I have not watched in years.
Great article. Could not agree more about Dave's sad slide from edgy to over the edge. Thanks for sharing. BTW, "rote", not "wrote".
"jokes were told with such frequency it became wrote."
rote.
"It became wrote"? Learn to "rite."
It's "rote." And could it be that he's in his 60s that he doesn't want to throw himself up on walls anymore? God.
I will not mind if Letterman receives the attention of the Attorney pack dogs after they represent Dave's abused interns in claiming their part of Daves $ success. Call it the Letterman Stimulus for NYC!
This is a really sad article. It reminds me of John Cheever's story "Reunion", where a boy has great expectations of a visit with his father (the boy lives with his mother; his parents are divorced). Upon meeting his father at the train station it is written that the boy wishes someone would take a picture of the two of them together, embrancing, to preserve the boy's emotional acme of their meeting. From there on, though, it's a disaster. The father is shown to be a cheap bully, irritating those around him for entertainment. The boy is quickly disillusioned and returns home early on the train alone, having gained a quick understanding of his father, his parents' divorce, and his own emotional maturity.
Sorry you were disappointed, Chris, but here's hoping that will be the worst disappointment you ever face in your life!
Thanks. That made me cringe (as a former journalist myself I get itchy when I see stuff like that) and I hate being the grammar police. I usually sit here dithering over whether I should mention the error or not and then dive in about half the time.
It is a good article though–
A lot of people have mentioned the change of Letterman's work ethic and showmanship over the years. Nice to have the input of someone who was there. I worked for a television show and the atmosphere is never what you think it's going to be. It was fun sometimes, but incredibly stressful wondering if you were going to have a job tomorrow (I saw people get fired on a pretty regular basis). I don't know how people do it long term.
I agree with every word… I much preferred Letterman in the 90s and acquired a taste for Leno in the early 00's…
I don't like the move of Conan to the late show slot… and Craig Ferguson reminds me of 90's Letterman….
Letterman's like that uncle you thought was funny when you were 5. By the time you're a teenager, he's just not funny anymore. And you feel embarrassed to be in his presence when he's doing the same old schtick.
Of course, in Letterman's case, it's more that he's changed than that we've grown up. Now he's actually more like grandpa on the front porch shaking his cane at the neighborhood kids…
Yay, another stickler for proper English!!!!!
The Letterman slide started for me when he had Rush on his show and did nothing but insult and brow beat his GUEST. It hit bottom in '96 with all his "Bob Dole is a mean old man jokes." I worked for the Dole campaign locally and my one meeting with the Senator confirmed what everyone who knew him said, he was a kind gentleman and a hero. All things Letterman will never be.
I agree with your article and appreciate your personal perspective. I used to watch Letterman and think he was hilarious. He lost me with his politics a while back though. Sad story.
you have my permission to correct my errors. I am aware of my typos and dyslexia generally, but some grammatical stuff, still confounds me.
I won't speak for every one but, I like to see the correct way to do things, even if it is at my expense.
I went to a taping of the Late Show with David Letterman years ago. The staff seemed hell bent on getting the audience to respond to every dumb, unfunny thing Letterman said. Applause breaks were completely contrived. It seems Letterman was to some degree shielded by his staff from an awareness of what worked and didn't. He is now crotchety and lacking in self-awareness. And his political shots come across as just uninformed and reactive. I too loved Dave years ago. He was a hero. Now I never watch him anymore. A shame really.
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Dave was good- real good- once upon a time…
If one remembers correctly he had his 'Holiday' specials back in the early 90's- in one he 'ran' a boarding house and had Tom Brokaw and others living there. It was bizarre, unique- and hilarious. Or when he had the Pakistani deli owner go into McDonalds with a remote camera and demand to see 'Mayor McCheese'…
The years rolled by. He became (sigh) a New Yawker, lost his Indiana roots, was surrounded by fawning acolytes (see above story!) lost his benign sweetness and gathered the left wing edge that comes from being the center of the humanistic universe.
HE became a god.
Nothing good ever comes from this as all of our feet are made of clay. Now a bitter and angry old man, having numerous sex trysts with subordinates who in any other context wouldn't give him the time of day, he is simply pathetic.
Sad…
During the time I watched Letterman I found myself waiting for him to be funny, but after a while bitchy, rude and insulting gets old and boring, much like Letterman himself.
I watched letterman loyally throughout the NBC years and then every night, recording it when I couldn't watch it (and before DVRs). I was able to go to a taping in 1999, was lucky enough to sit on the aisle, front row, right in front of the desk. Lucked out that it was a Jack Hanna appearance, and later my dad and I (both alumns of Ohio State in Columbus) met and got pictures with Hanna outside the studio. Also met Biff on the street before the show. How cool. But sometime his hatred of Bush and the Republicans got so obvious that he ceased to be funny anymore. He did the lame Great Presidential Speeches thing every night – but where is that now when Obama has teleprompter problems?
I hope he enjoyed the big bump in ratings Thursday and Monday – I admit I DVRed it to see what I hope is the beginning of his retirement, or at least the beginning of the fall to Conan (who is much better, still liberal, but more balanced and nice about it). It was some classic Dave on Monday with Steve Martin and Martin Short – I am glad I saw those two. But that's it for me.
I knew that was about the only funny thing he did. Too bad he got old and couldn't throw himself into walls any more. No wonder he became a bitter, partisan hack.
People in authority who sexually exploit their subordinates are no better than child molesters. Letterman is a sick, sadistic old pervert who would be shown the door if c-BS had any class. But hey, it's the entertainment industry, a place where rape isn't really rape and child molesters and perverts thrive.
Apparently he doesn't want to be funny anymore in his 60's either….
:cries: SCTV was AWESOME TV!
"his personal politics have become so strident and hostile, a conservative feels unwelcome to watch." Beautifully said. It is what I find so objectionable about so many liberal entertainers.
Letterman's demise seemed to me to coincide with hist hosting of the oscars and the ill-fated "Oprah-Uma" joke which had the effect on the audience of passing gas in a crowded elevator. It seemed like his way of finally gaining favor with the Hollywood crowd on whom he depends was to become hostile and strident politically.
Don't worry, you right just fine is.
Thanks. I prefer if someone lets me know too. It's better than have the comment sit there with a glaring error. At least, that's how I feel.
Edgy? Eccentric? These are just euphemisms for unfunny. Letterman was never funny. He is just another one of the these no talent hacks who mysteriously rise to the top of the pablum heap dished out by the mainstream media. Lettermean is the Madonna of late night tv shows – Never has someone come so far on so little talent. If the writer's inspiration was Letterman I would't be advertising it.
It's not an issue of age. I watched Letterman during the late '90s and early '00s (when he would have been in his late 40s and 50s), and many of the skits mentioned above I never witnessed. Furthermore, a number of sketches in which he played a less-than-active role were gradually phased out over time as well. It does definitely feel like he's distancing himself from all that 'bit' humor.
For me, Letterman ceased being funny in the 90's. I did love his show in the 1980's though, it was a totally different show then.
Once again, A liberal (Letterman) projects his foibles ("mean old man") onto others (Bob Dole).
I liked Letterman when he was on NBC. It was a great show. Once he went to CBS it was like the fire went out of him and he just did schtick without any passion. I think losing that Tonight Show job made him stop caring and then he grew increasingly bitter over the years. Especially since Leno kept beating him.
I know a couple people who worked for Letterman as writers. There's some stories…
I much prefer the entertainer Rush Limbaugh. His comedy is never mean. He is cutting edge, while at the same time he is Christlike in his personal life. Just because he marries and divorces with frequency, it does not mean that he takes his marriage vows lightly. God bless Andrew Breitbart!
When Rush compared Chelsea Clinton to a dog, now that was funny> Jesus would have liked that "joke". Too bad Chelsea couldn't be the positive inspiration to teenagers all over the world that Bristol Palin is. Of course, we are all waiting with anticipation for that marriage her mother promised!
I was a huge Letterman fan throughout college and into my young adult years. I began following him when he was a standup then went to NBC with a mid-morning show that bombed after the first summer – and it was truly great comedy, just the wrong time slot.
I think you’re right that his downward trend began when he became his own boss but not because he inherited the additional responsibility. He wanted Carson’s spot. He and Carson were kindred spirits and Middle America played well to the nation. When he didn’t get it, he became bitter. He got the millions but Letterman was driven to “wear the pinstripes in Yankee Stadium,” not play in the LA blue. (Yes, I know the analogy puts him in opposite cities but illustrates my point.) I truly believe he would be as legendary as Carson if he had succeeded him. I stopped watching the Late Show after that. Leno was a poor choice to follow comic genius.
He just a dirty ol' pervert now. I found him disgusting when he made the joke about Sarah Palin's underage daughter. This just confirms what I thought about him. He's a sicko.
I can never forget the golden years of Late Night, when it was really good, especially those years when Chris Elliot was writing and performing. Memorialized in my mind is his Brando imitation, doing the banana dance.
If 'tragicomic" is defined as a tragedy that has a comical ending, then Letterman must be a definition of "comi-tragic".
A mean-spirited p*ick…
Media Matters much?
Tell me about it. I proofread for a living at the moment, and I see enough things that would make you cringe that when it comes to internet forums, I just think that discretion is the better part of valor. For one thing, I'm not interested in maintaining perfection in my own comments (especially not after 8 hours of proofreading), and for another, I view commentary as an informal means of communication. I won't bug someone about grammatically incorrent comments unless they've somehow "asked" for it, usually by pretending to intellect that is superior from the rest of the posters.
In a formal post like Stigall's, I think it's fine to point out the flaws because that is a more formal address.
Btw, I regularly get thing like the following mispelling: ordirves. Sometimes, my eyes bleed.
Tell me about it. I proofread for a living at the moment, and I see enough things that would make you cringe that when it comes to internet forums, I just think that discretion is the better part of valor. For one thing, I'm not interested in maintaining perfection in my own comments (especially not after 8 hours of proofreading), and for another, I view commentary as an informal means of communication. I won't bug someone about grammatically incorrent comments unless they've somehow "asked" for it, usually by pretending to intellect that is superior from the rest of the posters.
In a formal post like Stigall's, I think it's fine to point out the flaws because that is a more formal address.
Btw, I regularly get things like the following mispelling: ordirves. Sometimes, my eyes bleed.
I used to enjoy Letterman, but I missed his best years. I think Dave is just getting old and increasingly crotchety and set in his ways. As time goes on, he's less inclined to experiment and more inclined to play partisan politics to try to keep his base.
I thought Lecherman was pretty funny back in the day, but NO ONE comes close to the absolute genius that was Carson. He wasnt a nice man. He had affairs, marital issues, leaned left, but he kept it all separate from his show. He presented us with comedy and class. If they cant measure up to those standards, then cancel those silly shows. I do think Ferguson has the best chance of being a decent host, he just needs out from under Dave and feel free from the H'wood restraints.
Yep, you couldn't beat Guy Caballero, Johnny LaRue, Bill Needle, Edith Prickly. Great stuff, always funny.
Save some Kool-Aid for the MSNBC anchors, willya?!?
wtf?
Let's see……an article from a former intern of Letterman. Comments from various readers about the subject of the article. Seems like a rational chain of events.
And then a idiotic comment from the above that may as well have been "I know you are but what am I?"
Excellent ability to stay on point, Tonya. I'm impressed. I'll have to remember this crushing debate tactic for future use.
The next time a past intern writes an article critical of, say, Ann Coulter, I'll respond with a "ya, but what about Jane Fonda's comments in Vietnam?"
I usually get a little crazy if there are multiple glaring errors in a comment and will have to say something to the commenter. So, if I am being critical, PLEASE, everyone, feel free to correct my errors in turn!
Yeah, and the "promiscuity" paintjob he intended to brush Bristol with, that's Letterman too.
None of this would've happened if Larry "Bud" Melman was still around….
My kids call me the grammar cop because not only do I check their writing assignments for proper grammar and punctuation, but also I am quick to correct their speech. I don't mind slang or idiomatic speech most of the time, but sometimes I like to check that they really do know the correct way to express their thoughts. Three things that make me want to scream:
Could care less as opposed to couldn't care less. If one could care less about some thing, that implies that that person actually does care about whatever it is.
Then instead of than. Then indicates time; than is for comparison.
Definately instead of definitely. The former is a misspelling. 'Nuff said.
So Chris….. did you ever get to see Letterman's secret bedroom? : )
Agree with all of you. SCTV was one of the best shows of all time.
"Gordon Lightfoot sings every song ever written!"
Sorry for your disappointment. I never ever thought he was funy. I just didn't get it. Carson was FUNNY! After him, I quit that time slot all together.____As for this current events about him– that's normal result for when a man becomes too big for his breeches!
Letterman has become the "Joan Crawford" of late-night TV talk-show hosts – bizarre, unpleasant, and more than a little scary (I wonder if he yells "No wire hangers!" at his wife when he's home?)
the confessions of a lecherous moron.
not worth my money or time.
May I wax nostalgic?__I remember when I loved David Letterman. I had just started college and he had a short-lived show on in the mornings that all of us college kids thought was quirky and off the wall. We scheduled our in-between class-time around it. Then when he went late night, he was part of the normal routine of viewing after Carson. It was a truly funny and creative show with: Larrry "Bud" Melman, The Guy Under the Stairs (Chris Elliott), Dave's Mail Bag, elevator races, Arnie calling in, Fran Leibowitz, Marlon Brando doing the Banana Dance (Chris Elliott again), Jay Leno's Latest Beef, Stupid Human and Pet Tricks ("Ladies and gentlemen, this is just an exhibition. So please, no wagering."), Jerry Lawler cold-cocking Andy Kaufman…I could go on and on. ____Little did I ever dream I would end up despising this man. Where he was once off-beat, a little edgy, and downright silly, now he is bitter, twisted, and contemptible.
You hit the nail on the head. I worshipped the Letterman of "Late Night with David Letterman" on NBC, but he hasn't really made me laugh in years. While he used to be the funniest man alive, his act has grown tired. Perhaps the callow humor that worked when he was a young smart alec just doesn't work for an older man, but I think he's just gotten bored and complacent. It seems like bored and complacent entertainers inevitably become left-wing partisan hacks.
I also remember when he got a bullhorn and yelled at the Today Show gang (Bryant Gumble and Jane Pauley) while they were taping a piece out on the street. It really ticked Gumbel off at the time. Now Dave just kisses the butt he used to kick.
Letterman is a pervert. Fire him now!
Didn't Letterman's production company also own his tv show when he was at NBC?
Yeah, I think Letterman has gotten bored with some of his routine, but he's still a kick-ass interviewer, much better than Leno. And, he's always been really, really distant from his staff. This was all covered in the book "The Late Shift," and Letterman was the "inspiration" for the character Larry Sanders on 'The Larry Sanders Show,' which showed the host distant, as well.
Stick a fork in him………………………..he's done.
I know you're not really interested in the truth, but in case some other person who never heard this story is, here is what really happened.
http://lyingliar.com/?p=17
Now, go find more gullible people to tell your lies to.
I too, fear for the native tongue. I work with some people that butcher our language on a regular basis. The worst thing is, the things butchered are common phrases. In a world where words mean things, it pains me.
Dave should start a club reserved for bitter old rejected superstars. Dan Rather would probably join. I think Oprah will eventually be in there. If he opens it to his leftist political buddies he will fill it up after next year's election. Imagine what conversation would be like in such a place.
By the way, several of you posted that Letterman was never funny. That's not true. He was the funniest weatherman of all time.
http://bethemob.com
When he first moved to the new station, my mother and I went. It's best to stay and watch it at home. He came out and introduced himself as if he were selling straw mattresses. then sat at his desk.
When the "On the Air" sign comes on, a team of cameras zoom to the desk, and that's the last you see of him. You watch the show on a monitor over your head.
The music during the commercials is better than the show itself.
Stay at home, you won't have to entertain the poor girls that run up and down the aisles asking if everyone is happy.
britches
signed, the spelling police
I honestly don't know why people watch Letterman. Forget about him not being funny – I don't watch Letterman because he's mean. Guests (like Cindy Crawford) refuse to come on his show because he's so mean. And this cruelty was visible years ago before Palin – which makes it confusing as to why people watch him now. It's Schadenfreude to see a cruel person get it – but it's also confusing. Why on earth do people watch him? He's mean.
That certainly was a good show I must say!
No way hoser!
*groan*
Muphry's Law?
It became unfunny when they got rid of Larry Bud Melman. Never recovered.
Egad. I couldn't do it. Ordirves?
Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.
Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.
As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rarely ever wrong.
Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect in it’s weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.
– Sauce unknown
Every time I say, "get back to bed!" to my kids I think, Ed Grimley. (And the kid who couldn't wait for Christmas.)
And now you've all got me remembering the show.
"YOUR PET FISH MOBY ON A CRACKER!"
"He blowed up REAL good."
3-D House of Beef
Really Scarey! (I loved Count Floyd.)
Sorry, I tried as hard as I could to think up a sentence with a dangling participle, and I just drew a blank.
He did that with a bullhorn, didn't he? Letterman was very much a part of my late night viewing throughout high school and college. Every "bit" you mentioned was amusing and different. I don't know what happened to the guy. I can only think that Leno getting Carson's spot got under his skin enough that he lost his desire to be the goofy and self deprecating oddball that made him so popular. I quit watching about the time he moved to CBS. I will remember fondly staying up later than I should to watch him toss watermelons off the roof or talk by phone to the lady in the office building across the street, his infatuation with Connie Chung, or any number of the things you mentioned. But now… you couldn't pay me his salary to get me to watch.
What a jagoff…
This Letterman fiasco finally revealed what many of us have known for years – he's just a dick.
I'm just waiting for him to resort to "pull my finger' pranks like my grandpa did. But my grandpa was funny! Letterman is history.
Did they get rid of Larry Bud or did he just die?
Bring back the Late Show so we can see good old movies again.
It's like a up dated version of that 50s movie (with Andy Griffiths, Patrica Neal and Lee Remick) A Face in The Crowd.
I think you're giving him too much credit.
Spot on observation. In this age when you can earn hundreds of millions, I'm sure many guys like Letterman start to take themselves too seriously, think they are above the very work that made them a success, and start believing the endless stream of compliments they get from their naturally syncophantic employees and even fans. "I must be great, they paid me $20M last year" becomes the attitude. It breeds laziness, complacency, and most of all, arrogance.
Leno got nastier as he got richer.
Howard Stern got a little lazier (participates in zero stunts himself), more PC (needs to fit in with other multi-millionaires in his social circle now), and more prone to trying to tell the rest of us how to live (in the past he did it, but as comedic schtick)
Oprah feels she is the moral compass for the nation, the arbiter of what is good in the arts, and even sees herself as a political "kingmaker" who we should listen to on politics because she is…..rich.
Get your chip off your shoulder. Sounds like someone has daddy issues. Everyone is entitled to an opinion. If expressing an opinion is "lecturing" then this website (and many others) wouldn't even exist.
Gee, what a surprise- a dhimmicrat lies! I'm shocked, shocked to find that there is gambling in this establishment!
Yikes! I don't see any reference to the piece so let's not waste time or take this out of context. (My father is a good man. Please don't be disrespectful.) The point is to walk a mile in a man's moccasins before you judge him and Letterman's shoes are dirty. He faced a moral and ethical challenge and failed. Whatever the consequences are, he can't cheat his way out of it.
Notice I asked a question for clarity and offered an opinion as to a presumed answer. A hypothesis which, obviously, upset you very much. And to be honest, I'd like to offer opinions respectfully and not be lectured at either.
I was a fan of Letterman and thought he was hilarious right from the beginning when he was on that summer show with the Starland Vocal Band and his short-lived daytime show. For at least a dozen years, I would tape his late night show and watch it the next day. But as the former intern here said, eventually I discovered he was getting tired and lazy. He wouldn't do any of the funny remote bits itself and it seemed that when he would have his staff do them instead, the point often seemed to be to insult the "real" people they encountered, rather than have a laugh with them. So I quit.
Letterman should have learned from one of his heroes, Steve Allen, the first host of the Tonight Show. Allen never lost his respect for the audience and was never afraid to make himself look foolish to get a laugh. Also, Allen was just as liberal as Letterman was, but he never used his entertainment shows to force his views on the audience. Allen was a class act all the way, Letterman stopped being one at least ten years ago.
Since Madonna's return (she looked great) and his admission of guilt has anyone observed that Dave has had at least one gorgeous, young wanna-be-actress on each night? Wouldn't it be the last character you want walking out on stage? Each young woman is a continous reminder that since the mid-80's Dave has exchanged bodily fluids with his team of young co-ed assistants (allegedly) in his "creepy," secret lair. What are his producers thinking?
I like this one best: "It's a doggy dog world out there!"
He can still throw himself on underlings.
Forget the Velcro suit, Letterman's career peaked with throwing a pair of pantyhose full of lard off of a 5 story building and playing the splatter back in slow motion. That stunt is also analogous with his talent as a comedian.
You did so wrongly, I'm afraid.
Letterman did not run on Friday nights while SCTV was on the air.
SCTV was replaced by Friday Night Videos. MTV was huge and music videos were the rage. I cried when they took SCTV off the air. It is easily my favorite show of all time!
How appropriate that as I write, this article also contains an advertisement on the right sidebar for Leno's show. Not that I watch him either, but the irony is amusing to me.
Tonya is using a tactic called moral equivalency. It is often employed by liberal nit-wits when their guy is besmirched.
"To be clear, I never witnessed anything inappropriate as it relates to Mr. Letterman. I was not mistreated nor was there any juicy gossip overheard during my stay. " Oh, do tell. But for all that, Stigall's ideology obliges him to try some sort of Judas act on Letterman. Very nice, Chris. Especially since Big Hollywood won't pay you anything near thirty pieces of silver.
I was a huge fan of Letterman's NBC show. When he went to CBS it was instantly evident to me what a miserable man he was. I could no longer watch him. I have often said that it was like watching someone go slowly insane.
There's a story (it was in the book/film the Late Shift) that while going into a commercial break on his NBC show, Letterman leaned over to his guest, Sandra Bernhard and said, "I hate myself." Nothing more, just, "I hate myself." Even Sandra Bernhard who it would seem is a little weird was creeped out by this.
Well. All I know is that we used to tape SCTV every Friday. And all of a sudden it was David Letterman instead of SCTV. Now I lived on the west coast. So maybe Friday Night Videos was on where you lived, but where I lived SCTV was replaced by David Letterman. And I resented it.
The missing ingredient to Letterman always was class. Johnny Carson was classy, you never knew which way he swung politically or otherwise. Letterman lacked class even way back when. I personally never found him funny, always acted like a weatherman trying to do comedy.
You did so wrongly, I'm afraid.
Letterman did not run on Friday nights while SCTV was on the air. Letterman was on Monday through Thursday and SCTV was on Friday after Carson.
SCTV was replaced by Friday Night Videos. MTV was huge and music videos were the rage. I cried when they took SCTV off the air. It is easily my favorite show of all time!
SCTV did their last season on Cinemax in the US and another pay channel in Canada. The Cinemax episodes are also excellent!
Great points. One more from that timeframe was the first time O'Reilly was on Letterman. It seemed like a surprisingly explicit tipping point; it wasn't that obvious before that Letterman was slipping. Then all of the sudden, it's like some kind of leftist Letterman frankenstein came out of the closet. Letterman was just absurdly rude to O'Reilly—but the key was that the rudeness wasn't the surprise, it was the blatantness and shamelessness of it, as if Letterman was doing his bit in that tiredest, most moronic of all the lefty orthodoxies, 'speaking truth to power.' Watching Letterman embarrass himself that night was just shocking and sad. It was like he just went "poof" right before your eyes.
"…Allen was just as liberal as Letterman was, but he never used his entertainment shows to force his views on the audience."
Several commenters have made this very sound point. But I'm fascinated by the amazing duplicity inside this point:
- a leftist is enraged if anyone else—especially a convervative—mentions faith openly, even for a moment.
- but the leftist never passes up one moment to push their orthodoxy of politics.
The leftist insists on keeping church and state separate—but to the leftist, the state is the church, and their religion, with a whole bushel of different denominations: wealth redistribution masquerading as care for the poor; anti-capitalism masquerading as global warming-ism and environmental correctness , etc., etc., etc.
I guess Orwell had it right when he described double-think: apparently the prerequisite to being a leftist/liberal is a robust schizophrenia.
Rite on! He's a tired, old has been. Figures the only way a woman gets to do anything creatively funny on his show is when they're blowing the boss.
I don't think it did… initially. If I'm not mistaken, Carson productions owned Late Night.
According to my parents, I was a fan of Letterman's since 1982. However, I was only two at the time, so that may not be completely accurate.
Anyway, I have had very good memories of watching Letterman whenever I could when I was younger. I couldn't watch a lot because I needed to get up for school. However, I did have a very high interest in the shifting that was happening in Late Night in 1992-1993. Carson's retirement, the ascension of Leno, Letterman's big breakaway, and some guy named Conan doing his first TV show. I watched the CBS Letterman almost every night (or as many as I possibly could). Things, however, started to change over the course of Letterman's stay on CBS…
1) Heart surgery that truly saved his life, and probably caused him to want to make a difference with his new-found lease on life
2) September 11, where he began to have true concerns on how the country protected its citizens
3) The birth of his son, which caused him to look toward the future and wonder what he can do to make his son's world better.
As a result, his own personal politics went to the forefront of his performance. Simply making jokes about President Bush's policies wasn't enough, he had to be seen as an incompetent bumbling fool. When Obama took over, Letterman and his staff all of the sudden couldn't find anything to joke about "the new guy", so they did more Bush jokes. Even after the low-flying Air Force One debacle several months ago, Letterman said that BHO was "Bushing it up".
When the Bush jokes became more vitriolic than jabbing during the last 8 years, I couldn't watch him much anymore. I still considered him a better host than Leno, but it just became more and more frustrating to hear a President I supported be lambasted consistently. When Conan took over Tonight, I made the full switch- watching Letterman for when he had big guests like Sir Paul McCartney or Martin Short, but my first priority was Conan (I even went to LA to see his first show).
However, I began to watch on Youtube clips of the NBC Letterman show that I missed over the years due to school. They are still hilarious, witty, and edgy even though they're over 25 years old. Something definitely changed over time. And it wasn't for the better, I'm afraid.
I think the actor died. (another very belated comment . . . but that's the last one!)
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