Jump to content

Late Night with David Letterman

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the NBC program. For the later CBS show, seeLate Show with David Letterman.For the morning show, seeThe David Letterman Show.
"Stupid Pet Tricks" redirects here. For the 21st-century television show, seeStupid Pet Tricks (TV series).
Late Night with David Letterman
Also known asLate Night(franchise brand)
Genre
Created byDavid Letterman
Written by
Presented byDavid Letterman
StarringPaul Shaffer
andThe World's Most Dangerous Band
Narrated byBill Wendell
Theme music composerPaul Shaffer
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No.of seasons11
No.of episodes1,819
Production
Executive producers
Production locationsStudio 6A,NBC Studios,New York, New York
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time42–43 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseFebruary 1, 1982(1982-02-01)–
June 25, 1993(1993-06-25)
Related

Late Night with David Lettermanis an Americanlate-night talk showhosted byDavid LettermanonNBC,the first iteration of theLate Nightfranchise.It premiered on February1, 1982,[1]and was produced by Letterman's production company,Space Age Meats,andCarson Productions.Letterman had previously hostedhis own morning talk showon NBC from June to October 1980. The show'shouse band,The World's Most Dangerous Band,was led bymusic directorPaul Shaffer.In 1993, Letterman announced that he would leave NBC to host theLate Show with David LettermanonCBS.The final episode ofLate Nightwas broadcast on June25, 1993. The series has continued asLate Night with Conan O'Brien,Late Night with Jimmy FallonandLate Night with Seth Meyers.

In 2013, this series andLate Show with David Lettermanwere ranked No. 41 onTV Guide's 60 Best Series of All Time.[2]During its run, the show was nominated for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Series11 times. It was also nominated for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series14 times, winning 4, and won onePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Seriesout of 7 nominations.

History[edit]

In the wake of hisshort-lived NBC morning showbeing cancelled in October 1980 after only 18 weeks on the air,[1]David Letterman was still held in high enough regard by the network brass, especially NBC presidentFred Silverman,that upon hearing the 33-year-old comedian was being courted by afirst-run syndicationcompany, NBC gave him aUS$20,000 per week ($1,000,000 for a year) deal to sit out a year and guest-hostThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carsonon multiple occasions.[3]Earlier that year in May, after significant acrimony, NBC and Carson had reached an agreement on a new contract, which—among other concessions to Carson—granted the powerful and influential host the control over the time slot immediately followingThe Tonight Show.[4]

From late fall 1980 until the end of 1981, in addition toguest-hosting22 episodesof theTonight Show,as outlined in his one-yearholding dealwith NBC, Letterman also appearedfivetimesas Carson's guest on the highly rated program as the network groomed the 34-year-old for a new project.

Finally, on November9, 1981, NBC and Carson's production companyCarson Productions(as well as Letterman's own newly established production companySpace Age Meats Productions,forerunner to today's Worldwide Pants Incorporated) announced the creation ofLate Night with David Letterman,set to premiere in early 1982 in the 12:30 a.m. time slot Monday through Thursday, with occasional specials every few Fridays, all aimed at young men.[3]The network wanted to capitalize on catering to young males, feeling that there was very little late-night programming for that demographic. The newly announced show thus displaced theTomorrow Coast to Coastprogram hosted byTom Snyderfrom the 12:30 slot.[5]NBC initially offered Snyder to move his show back an hour, but Snyder, already unhappy with being forced to adopt changes toTomorrowthat he detested, refused and ended the show instead. The final first-runTomorrowepisode aired on December17, 1981.

ActorJerry Lewiswith Letterman onLate Night,1982

Debut[edit]

The staff responsible for preparing the launch ofLate NightincludedMerrill Markoein the head writing role, seasoned TV veteranHal Gurneeas director, Letterman's managerJack Rollinsas executive producer, and a group of young writers—most of them in their early twenties, along with the somewhat more experienced 29-year-oldJim Downey,who had previously written forSaturday Night Live,and 27-year-oldSteve O'Donnell.Markoe stepped down as head writer after a few months, and was succeeded by Downey who was in turn succeeded by O'Donnell in 1983. O'Donnell would serve as the head writer through most of the rest of the show's run while Downey went back toSaturday Night Livein 1984. Also on board, initially as a production assistant in charge of the "Stupid Pet Tricks" segment, was 21-year-oldChris Elliott.Elliott would quickly be promoted to writer and a recurring featured player.

The plan from the start was to resurrect the spirit of Letterman's morning show for a late-night audience, one more likely to plug into his offbeat humor. The show also got a house band, hiring NBC staff musicianPaul Shafferto lead the group. They were informally dubbed "The World's Most Dangerous Band"in early episodes, but this was then dropped for several years; through much of the show's run, the band existed without a formal name. The moniker" The World's Most Dangerous Band "was reinstated in 1988, and continued through the rest of the show.

Realizing that NBC executives exhibited very little desire to micromanage various aspects of the show, the staff felt confident they would be allowed to push outside of the mainstream talk-show boundaries and thus set about putting together a quirky, absurdist, and odd program. Snyder'sTomorrowre-runs continued until Thursday, January28, 1982, and four days later on Monday, February1, 1982,[1]Late Nightpremiered with acold openingfeaturingLarry "Bud" Melmandelivering lines as an homage to the prologue ofBoris Karloff'sFrankenstein,followed by Letterman coming out on stage toTchaikovsky's "Piano Concerto No. 1"behind a group of female dancers—the peacock girls who had also opened the finale ofThe David Letterman Show.[6][7]After a brief monologue, the very first comedy segment was a sarcastic tour of the studio. The first guest, 31-year-old comedian and actorBill Murray,came out in confrontational fashion, throwing jibes and accusations at the host as part of a knowing put-on. He remained for two more similarly sardonic segments in which he first presented footage of a Chinese zoo baby panda as a supposed home video of his recently adopted pet, before expressing newfound love foraerobicsand pulling a crew member onstage, making her dojumping jacksalong with him toOlivia Newton-John's "Physical".The second comedy piece was a remote titled" The Shame of the City "; taking a general format of alocal newsaction segment, it featured Letterman touring several New York locations pointing out various civic problems with righteous indignation. The second guest wasDon Herbert,TV's "Mr. Wizard", and the show ended with a young comic named Steve Fessler reciting aloud the script of the obscureBela LugosifilmBowery at Midnight.

The reviews were mixed[8]—Los Angeles Timeswrote: "Much of Letterman's first week did not jell" —but more importantly, the show drew 1.5 million viewers, 30% more than had tuned in for Snyder'sTomorrow.[9]

On the third night, after baseball greatHank Aaronfinished his interview segment with Letterman, a camera followed him backstage, where TV sportscasterAl Albertconducted a post-interview chat with Aaron about how it had gone. Eccentric and awkward, the show immediately established a sensibility that was clearly different fromThe Tonight Show.[8]

The show was produced by Johnny Carson's production company, as a result of a clause in Carson's contract with NBC that gave him control of what immediately followedThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.Carson, for his part, wantedLate Nightto have as little overlap with his show as possible. In fact, most ground rules and restrictions on what Letterman could do came not from the network but from the production company itself. Letterman could not have a sidekick likeEd McMahon,and Paul Shaffer's band could not include a horn section likeDoc Severinsen's. Letterman was told he could not book old-school showbiz guests such asJames Stewart,George Burns,orBuddy Hackett,who were fixtures on Johnny's show (the fact thatTonighthad long moved to Hollywood andLate Nightwas taped in New York helped minimize guest overlap). Letterman was also specifically instructed not to replicate any of the signature pieces ofThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carsonlike "Stump the Band" or "Carnac the Magnificent". Carson also wanted Letterman to minimize the number oftopical jokesin his opening monologue.[10]

Production and scheduling[edit]

Letterman interviewingTeri Garrin 1982.
Letterman at the1987Emmy Awards.

Late Nightoriginated from NBC Studio 6A at theRCA (later GE) Buildingat30 Rockefeller Plazain New York City.[11]The program ran four nights a week, Monday to Thursday, from the show's premiere on February1, 1982, until June4, 1987. Friday shows were added on June12, 1987, although the show still only produced four new episodes a week. Monday's shows were re-runs. NBC previously airedFriday Night Videosin the 12:30 a.m. slot on Saturday morning, with occasionalLate Nightspecials and reruns.Friday Night Videoswas reduced to an hour's length and moved up an hour to 1:30 a.m. on Saturday morning.

Starting on September2, 1991,The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carsonwas pushed back from 11:30 p.m. to 11:35 p.m., with Letterman starting at 12:35 a.m., at the request of NBC affiliates who wanted more advertising time for their profitable late newscasts.[12]

LikeThe Tonight Showin the 1980s and early 1990s,Late Nightaired annual anniversary specials.[13]They aired on or about February1, first in its own timeslot (albeit on a Friday, preemptingSCTV). From 1984 to 1987, episodes ofSaturday Night Livewere preempted for the special. Finally, from 1988 to 1990 and in 1992, the special aired in prime time, afterCheers.There were no anniversary specials in 1991 and 1993. (Letterman would leave NBC later in 1993.)David Letterman's Holiday Film Festivalalso aired inSaturday Night Live's timeslot over Thanksgiving weekend in 1985, before a second and final installment aired in prime time the Friday after Thanksgiving in 1986. The festivals were a collection of shorts starring, directed and/or written by celebrities.

Syndication[edit]

On September30, 1991,A&E,aU.S. cable channelpartly ownedbyGeneral Electric—then the parent company of NBC—began broadcasting repeats ofLate Nightin an effort of monetizing the show's vast accumulation of old episodes. The repeats aired for less than a year, until July24, 1992. Thesyndicationdeal had been brokered without Letterman's knowledge, and he frequently made his displeasure of the arrangement known on-air, feeling that having reruns broadcast five nights a week, earlier in the evening on cable, diluted the value of the nightly first-run shows on NBC—fearing people would not be willing to stay up late for the first-run if they could watch repeats of the program at an earlier time. Because of Letterman's opposition, the syndication run was ended early and not attempted again until after he had left NBC.[14]

In November 1993,E! Entertainment Televisionpurchased syndication rights toLate Night with David Letterman.[15]The network broadcast repeats of complete shows from various years five days per week from 1993 until 1996. Then,Trio: Popular Arts Television(owned by NBC/Vivendi Universal Entertainment) picked up reruns and showed them from 2002 until the channel went off the air in 2005.

A number of programs were sold byGoodTimes Entertainmentin 1992–93. These episodes were stripped of the series theme, open and close. No DVD release is currently scheduled (GoodTimes went bankrupt in 2005; the company's assets are now owned byGaiam,which does not typically distribute general-interest programming). In February 2022, through a licensing agreement between NBC andWorldwide Pantsand coinciding with the 40th anniversary ofLate Night's premiere, Letterman opened his officialYouTubechannel, which contains clips of Letterman'sLate Nightand his previous morning and subsequentLate Showprograms.[16]

Letterman moves to CBS[edit]

Letterman, who had hoped to get the hosting job ofThe Tonight Showfollowing Johnny Carson's retirement, moved to CBS in 1993 when the job was given toJay Leno.[17]This was done against the wishes of Carson, who had always seen Letterman as his rightful successor, according to CBS senior vice presidentPeter Lassally,a one-time producer for both men.[18]Letterman announced the move on January14, 1993.[19]On April25, 1993,Lorne MichaelschoseConan O'Brien,who was a writer forThe Simpsonsat the time and a former writer for Michaels atSaturday Night Live,to fill Letterman's old seat directly afterThe Tonight Show.[20]O'Brien began hostinga new showin Letterman's old timeslot, taking over theLate Nightname on September13, 1993.

When Letterman left, NBC asserted theirintellectual propertyrights to several of the most popularLate Nightsegments. Letterman easily adapted to these restrictions forhis CBS show:The "Viewer Mail" segment was continued under the name "CBS Mailbag," andLate Nightfixture Larry "Bud" Melman continued his antics under his real name,Calvert DeForest.[21]Similarly, the in-house band (now free to add horns) was unable to use the name "The World's Most Dangerous Band," so the name was changed to "Paul Shafferand theCBS Orchestra".[22]The name "CBS Orchestra", approved by CBS (who retained rights to the name after Letterman retired in 2015), was Shaffer's idea. Notably, however, "Stupid Pet Tricks" originated on Letterman's 1980 early morning showThe David Letterman Show,to which Letterman, not NBC, owned the rights. This meant "Stupid Pet Tricks" was able to cross over to the CBS show with its name and concept unchanged. With Carson retired, Letterman was also granted free use of some of Carson's sketches, and in due time, "Stump the Band" and "Carnac the Magnificent" (with Shaffer as Carnac) entered theLate Showrotation.

Format[edit]

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

Letterman frequently used crew members in his comedy bits, so viewers got to know the writers and crew members of the show. Common contributors includedbandleaderPaul Shaffer,Chris Elliott,Calvert DeForestas "Larry 'Bud' Melman,"announcerBill Wendell,writerAdam Resnick,scenic designerKathleen Ankers,stage managerBiff Henderson,producerRobert Morton,directorHal Gurnee,associate director Peter Fatovich,stage handAl Maher, camera operator Baily Stortz, production manager Elmer Gorry as NBC PresidentGrant Tinker,[23]and the "production twins,"Barbara Gainesand Jude Brennan. The cramped quarters of 30 Rockefeller Plaza also often played into the humor of the show.

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 withCher,Shirley MacLaineandHarvey Pekar.

The show had its frequent favorite guests includingPee Wee Herman,Steve Martin,Charles Grodin,George CarlinandJay Leno.Female guestsTeri GarrandSandra Bernhardwere frequently booked, with Garr appearing 32 times and Bernhard appearing 28 times.

Because of the creativity of staff writers likeMerrill Markoe,Letterman's NBC show, in its first few years especially, had innovative segments and theme shows that were new and different from other talk shows of the time. Some were visual gags that owed a debt to pioneers likeErnie KovacsandSteve Allen.Among the highlights were:

  • One early episode showed everything from Dave's eye view with Markoe and others coming at Dave to pitch ideas as he walked onto the stage, and the audience was shown from Dave's view during the monologue and the opening segments.[citation needed]
  • In another show, the picture turned like a clock, eventually being seen upside down halfway through.
  • There were segments where Letterman was dressed in a suit of Velcro and stuck (thrown) to a Velcro wall, a suit of chips and dunked into a vat of chip dip, a suit of Rice Krispies and doused with gallons of milk while lying in a huge bowl, a suit ofAlka Seltzertablets and dunked in water, a suit ofsuetand placed in a cage with farm animals, etc.[citation needed]
  • Visual segments showing things being crushed by a hydraulic press, thrown through fluorescent lights or dropped off an office building to smash on the ground, were also common.
  • Letterman's desk featured a control panel where he could operate a bubble machine, a confetti cannon, "radioactive" steam, a belch of New York soot or strange lighting.
  • When he threw his pencils through the fake window scene behind him, a sound effect of breaking glass was always heard. Occasionally, if sound effects technician Howard Vinitisky was slow in triggering the appropriate breaking glass sound effect, Letterman would mockingly chide Vinitisky for the error (he would also occasionally congratulate Vinitisky when the sound effect was especially well-timed).
  • A robotic arm for a while delivered the Top Ten List, and for another week or so, a complicated series of tubes would produce swirling coffee to eventually land in his cup on the desk.
  • Cameras mounted on a chimpanzee's back (Late Night Monkey Cam) or on the roof (Roof Cam) would show odd viewpoints of the set and its participants.

Other show format innovations related to the way individual episodes or segments were presented:

  • The Custom Made Shows allowed the audience to vote on each part of the hour, what they wanted to see, and the resulting shows had guests talking in high-pitched voices like they had inhaled helium (Jane Pauleyrefused to say a word during this, and answered his questions by writing answers on cards and showing them), sitting in dentist chairs or lawn furniture, the theme music replaced by the theme fromGilligan's Island,and an opening montage of the director's vacation photos.
  • Reruns were oftenscoffedat by Letterman, telling the audience not to waste their time watching next Monday. Sometimes the entire rerun would be dubbed into a foreign language for rebroadcast, baffling viewers.
  • Letterman once had a member of the audience host the show and interview guests while he left the studio (ostensibly to search for a missing tooth).
  • Letterman hosted the show from his home while waiting for his cable TV to be installed; another episode was done from the production offices upstairs, as the cast claimed they were "too tired" to go downstairs to the studio.
  • Crispin GloverandOliver Reedfrightened Dave with their nearly violent, confrontational behaviour in their appearances.[citation needed]

Awards[edit]

Primetime Emmy Awards[edit]

  • 1982–83Outstanding Writing in a Variety, Comedy or Music Program
  • 1983–84Outstanding Writing in a Variety, Comedy or Music Program
  • 1984–85Outstanding Writing in a Variety, Comedy or Music Program
  • 1985–86Outstanding Writing in a Variety, Comedy or Music Program
  • 1989–90Outstanding Directing in a Variety, Comedy or Music Program

The show was nominated asOutstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Seriesfor 10 consecutive seasons, from its second full season in 1983–84 through its final season in 1992–93. Including the nominations for the CBSLate Showvariant, the Letterman team was nominated 26 consecutive times in this category.

Peabody[edit]

In 1991, the show's three production companies—Carson Productions,Worldwide Pants,and NBC Productions—were awarded aPeabody Award,which cited the following:[24]

Once a television wasteland, late night has become a daypart of increased interest to programmers, performers, and viewers. 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 isLate 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 producerJack Rollins,producerRobert Morton,directorHal Gurnee,and musical directorPaul 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 writerSteve O'Donnelland 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, fromYour Show of Shows,toThe Steve Allen Show,andThe Ernie Kovacs Show,a Peabody toLate Night with David Letterman.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^abcJory, Tom (February 1, 1982)."Letterman's going to stay up late".Spokesman-Review.(Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. p. 11.
  2. ^Bruce Fretts (23 December 2013)."TV Guide Magazine's 60 Best Series of All Time".TVGuide.com.
  3. ^abSchwartz, Tony (10 November 1981)."Letterman Replacing Snyder".The New York Times.New York Times.Retrieved24 September2021.
  4. ^Bushkin, Henry.How Johnny Carson Nearly Quit 'Tonight' and Scored TV's Richest Deal Ever.The Hollywood Reporter.Retrieved September 4, 2014.
  5. ^Rosenberg, Howard (February 10, 1986)."A TEPID 'TOM SNYDER' PREMIERES ON KABC".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedOctober 13,2021.
  6. ^"Calvert DeForest, 85; Gained Fame As Larry 'Bud' Melman of 'Late Night'".The Washington Post.Nash Holdings.March 22, 2007.RetrievedOctober 13,2021.
  7. ^"TV VIEW; DAVID LETTERMAN-A TOUGH ACT TO PACKAGE".The New York Times.June 13, 1982.RetrievedOctober 13,2021.
  8. ^abRothenberg, Fred (February 6, 1982)."Letterman'sLate Nightdares to be unconventional ".Daily News.Bowling Green, KY. Associated Press. p. 6B.
  9. ^Browne, David (29 September 2011)."How David Letterman Reinvented TV".Rolling Stone.Penske Media Corporation.RetrievedOctober 31,2021.
  10. ^Sims, David (May 20, 2015)."David Letterman's Long Shadow".The Atlantic.Emerson Collective.RetrievedOctober 27,2021.
  11. ^Carter, Bill (June 24, 1993)."Changing Channels: Letterman Prepares For Last NBC Show".The New York Times.RetrievedOctober 17,2021.
  12. ^Carter, Bill (May 22, 1991)."NBC Moves Johnny Carson Starting Time by 5 Minutes".The New York Times.
  13. ^Du Brow, Rick (February 1, 1990)."Life After 'Late Night': Television: On the eighth anniversary of his ground-breaking series, David Letterman says he'll do it for another two years and then review his options".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedOctober 31,2021.
  14. ^"CRONKITE, CRYSTAL AND COPPOLA ON CABLE NETWORKS".The Hartford Courant.
  15. ^"CABLE CHANNEL BUYS RIGHTS TO OLD LETTERMAN SHOWS".Orlando Sentinel.Tribune Publishing.November 8, 1993.RetrievedOctober 13,2021.
  16. ^Tapp, Tom (2 February 2022)."Watch David Letterman's Return to 'Late Night' For Show's 40th Anniversary As Trove Of Classic Clips Drops On YouTube".
  17. ^Lippman, John (January 13, 1993)."Letterman Reported Going to CBS After NBC Bid Fails: Entertainment: Late-night talk show host expected to move to new network opposite Leno in $14-million deal".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedOctober 13,2021.
  18. ^Carson Feeds Letterman LinesArchived2011-07-14 at theWayback Machine.New York Post (Post Wire Services). p. 102. January 20, 2005.
  19. ^Carter, Bill (January 14, 1993)."Letterman Appears Certain To Move to CBS From NBC".The New York Times.RetrievedAugust 29,2021.
  20. ^Hall, Jane (April 27, 1993)."Letterman's NBC Spot Goes to Unknown: Television: The network's late-night choice is Conan O'Brien, a former writer and sketch actor on 'Saturday Night Live.'".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedOctober 17,2021.
  21. ^Lee, Jennifer (March 22, 2007)."Calvert DeForest, 85, Larry (Bud) Melman on 'Letterman,' Dies".The New York Times.RetrievedOctober 13,2021.
  22. ^Henerson, Evan (June 21, 2017)."Paul Shaffer strikes up the band, hits the road".The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles.TRIBE Media Corp.RetrievedOctober 17,2021.
  23. ^Collins, Glenn (1986-07-27)."Can David Letterman Survive Success?".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2019-02-25.
  24. ^Late Night with David Letterman – 1991Archived2009-06-24 at theWayback Machine.Peabody Awards.

External links[edit]

Media offices
Preceded by
none
 Late Nightera by host
1 February 1982 – 25 June 1993 		Succeeded by
Preceded by David Lettermantalk show
1 February 1982 – 25 June 1993 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Late_Night_with_David_Letterman&oldid=1232688966"