| Late Night with David Letterman | |
|---|---|
.svg){kind=logo} | |
| Also known as | Late Night (franchise brand) |
| Genre | |
| Created by | David Letterman |
| Written by |
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| Presented by | David Letterman |
| Announcer | Bill Wendell |
| Music by | Paul Shaffer andThe World's Most Dangerous Band |
| Opening theme | "Late Night Theme" |
| Composer | Paul Shaffer |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 11 |
| No. of episodes | 1,819 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Production locations | Studio 6A,NBC Studios, New York, New York |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 42–43 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | February 1, 1982 (1982-02-01) – June 25, 1993 (1993-06-25) |
| Related | |
Late Night with David Letterman is an American television talk show broadcast byNBC. The show is the first installment ofLate Night. Hosted byDavid Letterman, it aired from February 1, 1982[1] to June 25, 1993, and was replaced byLate Night with Conan O'Brien.
In 2013, this series andLate Show with David Letterman were 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 Series 11 times. It was also nominated for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series 14 times, winning 4, and won onePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series out of 7 nominations.
In the wake of hisNBC morning show being cancelled in October 1980 after 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 syndication company, 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 Carson on 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 episodes of theTonight Show, as outlined in his one-yearholding deal with NBC, Letterman also appearedfivetimes as Carson's guest on the highly rated program as the network groomed the 34-year-old for a new project.
Finally, on November 9, 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 Coast program hosted byTom Snyder from 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 toTomorrow that he detested, refused and ended the show instead. The final first-runTomorrow episode aired on December 17, 1981.
The staff responsible for preparing the launch ofLate Night includedMerrill Markoe in the head writing role, seasoned TV veteranHal Gurnee as director, Letterman's managerJack Rollins as 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 Live in 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 Shaffer to 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'sTomorrow re-runs continued until Thursday, January 28, 1982, and four days later on Monday, February 1, 1982,[1]Late Night premiered with acold opening featuringLarry "Bud" Melman delivering 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 foraerobics and pulling a crew member onstage, making her dojumping jacks along 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 news action 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 Lugosi filmBowery at Midnight.
The reviews were mixed[8]—Los Angeles Times wrote: "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 Aaron finished his interview segment with Letterman, a camera followed him backstage, where TV sportscasterAl Albert conducted 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 Night to 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 thatTonight had long moved to Hollywood andLate Night was 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 Carson like "Stump the Band" or "Carnac the Magnificent". Carson also wanted Letterman to minimize the number oftopical jokes in his opening monologue.[10]
Late Night originated from NBC Studio 6A at the RCA (later GE) Building at30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City.[11] The program ran four nights a week, Monday to Thursday, from the show's premiere on February 1, 1982, until June 4, 1987. Friday shows were added on June 12, 1987, although the show still only produced four new episodes a week. Monday's shows were re-runs. NBC previously airedFriday Night Videos in the 12:30 a.m. slot on Saturday morning, with occasionalLate Night specials and reruns.Friday Night Videos was reduced to an hour's length and moved up an hour to 1:30 a.m. on Saturday morning.
Starting on September 2, 1991,The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was 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 Show in the 1980s and early 1990s,Late Night aired annual anniversary specials.[13] They aired on or about February 1, first in its own timeslot (albeit on a Friday, preemptingSCTV). From 1984 to 1987, episodes ofSaturday Night Live were 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 Festival also 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.
On May 23, 1991, at theNBC affiliates managers gathering in New York City'sCarnegie Hall,Johnny Carson made a surprise announcement of ending his hugely successfulThe Tonight Show tenure in a year, upon completion of the show's 30th season.[14] Having developed one of the most recognizable and lucrative brands on American television (on the air since 1962 and controlled by Carson since 1980), the two sides—Carson and NBC—reportedly still had a fraught relationship; and in delivering hisresignation the way he did—telling the public without prior informing the network—the aging host was seen to be making yet another public display of his displeasure with the network.[15] Several hours after the announcement, he made a surprise appearance onLate Night with David Letterman for a friendly chat that some saw as passing of the torch.[16]
Two weeks later, however, NBC released a statement thatJay Leno (Carson's guest-host since 1987) would become Carson's replacement, not David Letterman.[17] Though revealed two weeks after Carson's retirement announcement, the network's decision to go with Leno rather than Letterman had reportedly already been made for a long time, primarily by two of the top executives in NBC'sEntertainment division: its presidentWarren Littlefield and his close collaboratorJohn Agoglia, president ofNBC Enterprises.[17] In fact, Leno and his managerHelen Kushnick had even struck a deal with the network—signed on May 16, 1991 in NBC'sBurbank headquarters—that guaranteed themThe Tonight Show as soon as Carson stepped down.[15] The two-week delay in announcing Leno as Carson's replacement reportedly took place due to Littlefield's and Agoglia's desire to fly to New York City in order to personally inform Letterman as the network sought to put its relationship with their 12:30 a.m. host into some sort of order before making the decision public via a press release.[17] Considerations such as Leno's 4.6 million households ratings on the nights he filled in for Carson over the previous six months being virtually identical to the show's overall viewership numbers during that period (but with a younger and moreethnically diverse audience than Carson's) as well as the fact that Letterman's show was a solid hit at 12:30 a.m. making the network some $20 million to $30 million in annual revenue reportedly all contributed to NBC naming Leno as Carson's successor while making Letterman stay put.[18][19]
On September 30, 1991,A&E, anAmerican cable channelpartly owned byGeneral Electric—also NBC's parent company—began broadcasting repeats ofLate Night Monday-through-Friday at 7 p.m. in an effort of monetizing the show's vast accumulation of old episodes. The repeats aired for less than a year, until July 24, 1992. Thesyndication deal 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.[20]
Letterman, who had hoped to get the hosting job ofThe Tonight Show following Johnny Carson's retirement, moved to CBS in 1993 when the job was given toJay Leno.[21] 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.[22] Letterman announced the move on January 14, 1993.[23] On April 25, 1993,Lorne Michaels choseConan O'Brien, who was a writer forThe Simpsons at the time and a former writer for Michaels atSaturday Night Live, to fill Letterman's old seat directly afterThe Tonight Show.[24] O'Brien began hostinga new show in Letterman's old timeslot, taking over theLate Night name on September 13, 1993.
When Letterman left, NBC asserted theirintellectual property rights to several of the most popularLate Night segments. Letterman easily adapted to these restrictions forhis CBS show: The "Viewer Mail" segment was continued under the name "CBS Mailbag," andLate Night fixture Larry "Bud" Melman continued his antics under his real name,Calvert DeForest.[25] 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 Shaffer and theCBS Orchestra".[26] 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 Show rotation.
In November 1993,E! Entertainment Television purchased syndication rights toLate Night with David Letterman.[27] 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 Entertainment in 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 Pants and coinciding with the 40th anniversary ofLate Night's premiere, Letterman opened his officialYouTube channel, which contains clips of Letterman'sLate Night and his previous morning and subsequentLate Show programs.[28]
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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 DeForest as "Larry 'Bud' Melman,"announcerBill Wendell, writerAdam Resnick,scenic designerKathleen Ankers,stage managerBiff Henderson,producerRobert Morton, directorHal Gurnee, associate director Peter Fatovich,stage hand Al Maher, camera operator Baily Stortz, production manager Elmer Gorry as NBC PresidentGrant Tinker,[29] and the "production twins,"Barbara Gaines and 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 MacLaine andHarvey Pekar.
The show had its frequent favorite guests includingPee-wee Herman,Steve Martin,Charles Grodin,George Carlin andJay Leno.Ruth Westheimer,Teri Garr andSandra Bernhard were also frequently booked, with Garr appearing 32 times, Bernhard appearing 28 times and Westheimer, 15 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 Kovacs andSteve Allen. Among the highlights were:
Other show format innovations related to the way individual episodes or segments were presented:
The show was nominated asOutstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series for 10 consecutive seasons, from its second full season in 1983–84 through its final season in 1992–93. Including the nominations for the CBSLate Show variant, the Letterman team was nominated 26 consecutive times in this category.
In 1991, the show's three production companies—Carson Productions,Worldwide Pants, and NBC Productions—were awarded aPeabody Award, which cited the following:[32]
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'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, fromYour Show of Shows, toThe Steve Allen Show, andThe Ernie Kovacs Show, a Peabody toLate Night with David Letterman.
| Media offices | ||
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| Preceded by none | Late Night era by host 1 February 1982 – 25 June 1993 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | David Letterman talk show 1 February 1982 – 25 June 1993 | Succeeded by |
