End of an era - A personal perspective
-
Normally I'm not the type who makes long posts but when I'm passionate about a topic, I tend to get a little on the "word"-y side. I hope you'll read this post and check out at least some of the links I've provided. The first time I saw David Letterman on T.V. wasn't on the Late Show, Late Night or even his short lived morning show but it was when he was guest hosting for the late, great, Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show back in 1979. I'll be honest, at first I wasn't all that taken with him. He seemed like a bit of a smart aleck to me but then when I watched another show later on, I started to realize how funny he actually was and I started to get a sense of what he was about. Dave was the type who mocked the phoniness of show business and did it in a pointed and very humourous way. On the other hand he was equally at home interviewing the biggest celebrities as much as he was with regular people from the audience. When he got his morning show, called "The David Letterman Show", back in 1980 I just had to tune in. All the qualities he exhibited from his Tonight Show guest hosting gigs were there, the intelligence, irreverence and humour along with new comedy pieces. There were two pieces that started on that show that made their way into Late Night and the Late Show, Stupid Pet Tricks and Small Town News. Unfortunately even though critics liked the show, the ratings weren't good for his show. It started off being a 90 minute show then it was later taken down to 60 minutes but even that couldn't save it. Even though it later won two Emmy awards, the morning show lasted 4 months and was cancelled in October of 1980. At this time I didn't know that NBC was still paying him on a weekly basis and were actively trying to find a new show for him. I was disappointed when that show ended but two months after the show was cancelled John Lennon was shot and that weighed heavily on me for awhile. Then in February of 1982, Late Night started up with Dave and his new bandleader Paul Shaffer. The first person you saw on the very first show was the late Calvert DeForest (a.k.a. Larry "Bud" Melman) basically warning you that what you were about to see was scary. At the time they weren't showing it on the Buffalo station which was closer to Toronto and had a better signal so for the first few months I caught it on the Rochester station which sometimes would get poor reception. I finally had a VCR at the time so I thought to myself that I'd better tape this show in case they cancel his show again, but I needn't have worried. For the next 11 years a variety of comedians, actors, authors, musicians and even regular people appeared on the show along with some very funny skits featuring the aforementioned Mr. Melman, Chris Elliot and other cast and crew members along with some crazy stunts that are too numerous to mention. I'm sure people here have their favourites. To say this show was very influential to comedians would be an understatement. Comedians like Jimmy Kimmel, Conan O'Brien, Bill Maher, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and many others wouldn't have had a career without Daves innovations. As Johnny Carson was winding down the Tonight Show we viewers thought that Dave was a shoe in for the job and like many people I was disappointed when Dave didn't get it as it seemed like such a given. In interviews he'd always say that he didn't want Johnnys job but he later said he was just saying that to be polite. Johnny wanted Dave to be his successor but NBC wanted Jay Leno. In 1993 Dave moved to CBS and started the Late show. Once again the first person we saw on screen was Calvert DeForest as his face was revealed behind the famous eye logo and yelling out, "THIS is CBS!" Of course I can go on and on about the interviews, comedy segments, Top 10 lists and other things that happened over the course of the show but I'm already getting kind of wordy. What I'll do instead is post some links to websites that have things to say about Dave, the show and the staff. Here's a nice piece that was posted by a fellow late night host who was greatly influenced by Dave, Conan O'Brien:
Jimmy Kimmels emotional tribute: Seth Meyers shot by shot re-creation of the original Late Night with David Letterman opening credits: There's no video from the new host of the Late Late Show yet, James Corden, but if something shows up, I'll edit the post and include it. Edit: Here's James Cordens tribute: And finally A nice tribute from Conan O'Brien, who told his viewers to switch over to Daves show: There are two quotes that come to mind right now, "All good things must come to an end." "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone." (From Joni Mitchells song "Big Yellow Taxi") And so in the words of David Letterman himself, "Good Night and drive safely."
-
I've never paid much attention to him, but I like it when people have passion for something. My opinion is, don't worry about how long a post is. Just say what you have to say.
-
HaileyMcComet:
I've never paid much attention to him, but I like it when people have passion for something. My opinion is, don't worry about how long a post is. Just say what you have to say.
Thanks Hailey, I've added two more videos from James Corden and Conan O'Brien. I probably should have mentioned that May 20th was his last show. I'll miss him.
-
I have watched many of his shows over the years. Johnny...Jay...and Dave...My favorites!
-
Here's a link to some really good anecdotes by a person named Daniel Kellison. He started off being a talent co-ordinator for the "Late Night with David Letterman" show then moved with Dave to CBS and the "Late Show". It's a bit of a read but worth it to peruse his anecdotes about Sammy Davis Jr., Drew Barrymore, Julia Child, Sean Connery, Julia Roberts, Madonna, Peter O'Toole and our own Sir Paul. I especially like the "elevator" anecdote about Paul and some special friends that came out of the elevator with him.
Just a word of warning, there is some profane language used in the article. http://grantland.com/features/my-letterman-years/
