| Late Show with David Letterman | |
|---|---|
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| Also known as | Late Show (franchise brand) |
| Genre | |
| Created by | David Letterman |
| Written by |
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| Starring | David Letterman |
| Announcer | |
| Music by | Paul Shaffer and theCBS Orchestra (house band) |
| Opening theme | "Late Show Theme" |
| Composer | Paul Shaffer |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 23 |
| No. of episodes | 4,214[1](list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Production locations |
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| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 62 minutes (with commercials) |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | August 30, 1993 (1993-08-30) – May 20, 2015 (2015-05-20) |
| Related | |
Late Show with David Letterman is an Americanlate-night talk show hosted byDavid Letterman onCBS, the first iteration of theLate Show franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993,[2] and was produced by Letterman's production company,Worldwide Pants, andCBS Television Studios. The show'smusic director and leader of the house band, theCBS Orchestra, wasPaul Shaffer. The head writer was Matt Roberts and the announcer was originallyBill Wendell, thenAlan Kalter. In most American markets, the show aired from 11:35 p.m. to 12:37 a.m.Eastern andPacific Time, and recorded Monday to Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m., and Thursdays at 3:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The second Thursday episode usually aired on Friday of that week.[3]
In 2002,Late Show with David Letterman was ranked No. 7 onTV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.[4] As host of bothLate Night andLate Show for more than 30 years, Letterman surpassedJohnny Carson as the longest running late-night talk show host in 2013.[5] That same year,Late Night andLate Show were ranked at No. 41 onTV Guide's 60 Best Series of All Time.[6] The show was nominated for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Series 16 times, winning 6. It was also nominated for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series 15 times, and was nominated for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series 16 times during its run.
In 2014, Letterman announced his retirement; the final episode ofLate Show aired on May 20, 2015.[7] After Letterman's finalLate Show, instead of airing reruns of the show or having guest host episodes ofLate Show, CBS opted to air reruns of scripted dramas in the 11:35 pm time slot over the summer with the brandingCBS Summer Showcase.[8] The show was then succeeded byThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert, hosted byStephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015.[9]
CBS had previously attempted late-night talk shows withThe Merv Griffin Show (1969–1972) andThe Pat Sajak Show (1989–1990), but Griffin clashed with network censors and moved tosyndication while Sajak was unable to compete withNBC'sThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and was canceled due to poor ratings. For most of the 20 years precedingLate Show, CBS's late night fare consisted of movies, reruns and specialty programming packaged under the nameCBS Late Night and broadcast to middling ratings. When David Letterman became available followinga conflict with NBC, CBS was eager to lure him and offered him a three-year, $14 million per year contract,[10] doubling hisLate Night salary. According to their agreement, the show would spend a month in Hollywood at least once a year.[11]
CBS purchased theEd Sullivan Theater for $4 million, spending "several million" to renovate it.[11] The renovation was supervised by architectJames Polshek.[11] CBS' total cost for acquiring the show including renovations, negotiation rights paid to NBC, signing Letterman, announcerBill Wendell, Shaffer, the writers and the band was over $140 million.[12]
A significant issue regarding Letterman's move to CBS was the ownership of long-running comedy bits used onLate Night, as well as the name of the CBS show itself. NBC claimed that much of what he did onLate Night wasintellectual property of the network. Letterman and his attorneys countered that some segments ("Stupid Pet Tricks", for example) pre-datedLate Night and had first aired onThe David Letterman Show, which was owned by Letterman's production company rather than NBC, and others, such as theTop Ten List and Viewer Mail, werenot eligible for intellectual property protection and belonged neither to Letterman nor NBC.[13] Ultimately a compromise was reached in key areas: the "Viewer Mail" segment would be called the "CBS Mailbag"; the actor portraying Larry "Bud" Melman onLate Night would use his real name,Calvert DeForest, on the CBS show; and Paul Shaffer's "World's Most Dangerous Band" would become the "CBS Orchestra".
NBC gave Letterman the choice of at least two options to name his new show,Late Show with David Letterman orNightly with David Letterman. On this matter CBS executives stepped in, rejectingNightly in part because of potential confusion withNightline on ABC, along with theNBC Nightly News. Thus,Late Show with David Letterman quickly became the official name.
After Letterman was introduced onLate Show's very first episode,NBC Nightly News anchorTom Brokaw accompanied him on stage and wished him "reasonably well".[14] As part of a pre-arranged act, Brokaw then proceeded to retrieve a pair ofcue cards while stating that "These last two jokes are the intellectual property of NBC!" After he carried them off stage, Letterman responded, "Who would have thought you would ever hear the words 'intellectual property' and 'NBC' in the same sentence?" In his opening monologue, Letterman said "Legally, I can continue to call myself Dave"[15] but joked that he woke up that morning and next to him in bed was the head of apeacock (while the orchestra played the theme fromThe Godfather).[16]
In ratings, Letterman'sLate Show dominatedJay Leno'sTonight Show for its first two years. Leno pulled ahead on July 10, 1995, starting with aHugh Grant interview, after Grant's much-publicized arrest for picking up a Los Angeles prostitute.[17] Leno also benefited from the lead-in provided by NBC's popularMust See TV prime time programs of the mid-to-late 1990s. Likewise, the CBS network was hindered by a weak prime time lineup, along with several large- and major-marketnetwork affiliation switches in late 1994 relating toFox's acquisition of CBS'sNational Football League rights, stunting theLate Show just as it was beginning to gain traction.
AnnouncerBill Wendell retired in 1995,[18] withAlan Kalter taking his place.
At timesLate Show even came in third in its time slot (behindNightline, most recently in November 2008), once prompting Letterman to arrange for aManhattanbillboard proudly declaring himself and his show to be No. 3 in Late Night, aping an older, nearby billboard which promoted Leno andThe Tonight Show as No. 1. Letterman attempted to respond by making his show more political, aping the approach taken byThe Daily Show underJon Stewart.[19] He acknowledged in 2024 that he believed that theLate Show had lost ground toTonight because Leno was an everyman whose show was "more likable than the show I was doing," and that Letterman had made "certain elemental mistakes" that handicapped theLate Show's performance.[20]
On June 1, 2009,Conan O'Brien (who had succeeded Letterman ashost ofLate Night in 1993) took over as host ofThe Tonight Show—an event Letterman referenced in his own show's Top Ten List on that night—and Letterman's "feud" with Leno temporarily ceased. In 2008 Letterman toldRolling Stone that he would welcome Leno on his show once Leno's tenure ended.[21] Letterman said on competing with O'Brien, "I still find it hard to believe that Jay won't be there."[21] The interview was held prior to Leno announcing his return to NBC forThe Jay Leno Show.[21] In the second week after Letterman and O'Brien began their opposing broadcasts, viewer ratings forTonight began to slip andLate Show was poised to beatTonight for the first time in over ten years,[21][22] a fact pointed out by Letterman's guests on air (Howard Stern andJulia Roberts).[22][23] Letterman quickly tried to change the subject in the interviews and tried to avert a new rivalry.[22][23] In fact, the June 9, 2009 episode ofLate Show featuring Roberts rated better thanTonight with a 3.4 household rating nationally to O'Brien's 2.9.[22][24] The Letterman/Leno feud was revived in the wake of the2010Tonight Show conflict, which saw Letterman side with O'Brien.[25] Despite the rivalry, Leno appeared in aLate Show promo with Letterman andOprah Winfrey which aired on CBS duringSuper Bowl XLIV; it was Leno and Letterman's first joint appearance since Leno took over theTonight Show in 1992. The feud between the hosts ended for good on February 6, 2014, with Leno's second and final retirement andLate Night hostJimmy Fallon, who succeeded Conan O'Brien in 2009, becoming the current host of theTonight Show on February 17, with its subsequent return to New York for the first time since 1972.
On April 3, 2012, CBS reached an agreement with Worldwide Pants and CBS Television Studios to continue the show through 2014. The parties reached another agreement in October 2013 to extend the show an additional year, continuing the series into 2015.[26] Including his 11 years on NBC, Letterman is the longest tenured late-night talk show host, having surpassedJohnny Carson.[5]
On April 10, 2014, one week after Letterman announced that he would retire as host ofLate Show in 2015, CBS announced that his successor as the host of the program would beStephen Colbert, then host of competing late-night seriesThe Colbert Report onComedy Central.[27] Letterman's lastLate Show aired May 20, 2015. In February 2022, David Letterman's officialYouTube channel opened, and contains clips from Letterman'sLate Show and his previous morning and late night shows on NBC.[28]
AnnouncerBill Wendell retired and left the show on August 18, 1995.[29] He was replaced byAlan Kalter on the show's next episode, September 5, 1995, which came after a two-week hiatus.
In 1996, long-time producerRobert Morton left, and head writerRob Burnett was promoted to executive producer.
In 1997,Justin Stangel andEric Stangel were hired as writers;[30] by March 2000, the Stangel brothers became the show'shead writers, taking over the job held byRodney Rothman.[30][31]
DirectorHal Gurnee and producerPeter Lassally left the show soon after to pursue other interests. Gurnee was replaced by Jerry Foley. Burnett was absent from the day-to-day operations from 2000 to 2004, and was replaced byBarbara Gaines and Maria Pope, both of whom served as executive producers, with Gaines acting as on-air producer.[citation needed] In 2003, producer Jude Brennan was added to the team of executive producers.[32]
Lassally, who had served as an executive producer for Johnny Carson onThe Tonight Show, was invited back toLate Show in January 2005 as a guest to discuss the recent death of Carson. Lassally served as executive producer for Worldwide Pants'The Late Late Show from late 1994 to February 2015, encompassing the tenures of hostsTom Snyder,Craig Kilborn andCraig Ferguson. Lassally also served as Executive Producer of theTony Mendez Show, an onlinewebcast featuringLate Show's "cue card boy", Tony Mendez (c.1945–July 29, 2021).[33] Mendez served in that capacity until 2014, when after a long-running dispute with writer Bill Scheft over Scheft micromanaging Mendez's job, he attacked Scheft and was fired.[34]
Matt Roberts, a long-time writer and producer for the show, became the show'shead writer in January 2013, replacing brothers and co-head writersJustin Stangel andEric Stangel.[31][35]
Sheila Rogers, theproducer responsible for booking guests on the show, worked for Letterman since hisLate Night days.[36]
Biff Henderson served as the show'sstage manager, carrying over fromLate Night. Henderson had a prominent on-camera role with the show.[37]
The show was taped at theEd Sullivan Theater at the corner ofBroadway and53rd Street in midtown Manhattan during its entire run. Formerly called CBS Studio 50, it had been home to several TV programs over the years, most notablyThe Ed Sullivan Show. Letterman made use of the immediate neighborhood surrounding the theater for his show on occasion, closing off the portion of 53rd Street that goes past his studio for various stunts. Nearby merchants gained fame after making frequent appearances on the program, includingRupert Jee, owner of theHello Deli at 213 W. 53rd St., andMujibur and Sirajul, Bengali immigrants who worked at a souvenir shop close to the studio.
The stage layout followed the same basic structure Letterman employed onLate Night: the house band appeared on the far left, followed by the performance area and then the interview set.
In May 2015, days before Letterman retired,Seth Stevenson described what it was like to attend a taping ofLate Show:
It felt almost regal to enter the Ed Sullivan Theater beneath a lit marquee on 53rd and Broadway instead of through some unmarked, dented metal door on an industrial block of Hell's Kitchen. The theater forLate Show with David Letterman seats 450 people instead of 100, and its rococo balcony offers a glorious vista over the sprawling stage where theBeatles first performed in America. Instead of bathing us in washed-out, piped-in music, or a half-hearted pop quintet, Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra rocked us with a wall of sound, including a horn section that blasted riffs clear to the theater rafters ...It was hard not to sit in thatLate Show studio audience and feel—for the first time—indispensable. Letterman puts on a show. He presents fully-rounded entertainment, and he feeds off the energy in the room. This is a big, brassy venue with a live orchestra, instead of a cramped black-box studio with somebody'siPod plugged into ceiling speakers. And Letterman needed us there.[38]
Pieces of the set were later acquired for use onThe Chris Gethard Show.[39][40]
When Letterman was not on vacation (which he took roughly ten weeks per year[41]), he and his crew worked four days per week, taping Friday's show earlier in the week.[3] From October 2001 until May 2004, Friday's show was taped on Thursdays. From 2004 to 2010, Friday's show was taped on Mondays.[3] During this time, the Friday's show's monologue topics,sketches, and other segments were chosen for their lack of topicality, with few if any references to current events or any subject which would run the risk of seeming dated. However, in late 2011Late Show reverted to the practice of taping the Friday show on Thursdays, helping the Friday shows become more topical and relevant.
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The show's opening credits featured a series of shots of New York City as the CBS Orchestra performed theLate Show theme (a livelier variation of the more jazzyLate Night theme). The announcer presented the names of that night's guests, as well as Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra, then introduced Letterman. On rare episodes, the show began with acold open as Letterman, dressed casually, briefly interacted with a celebrity or performed a short sketch backstage before the traditional opening sequence began. As with his previous shows, the copy for the open includednon sequiturs about New York and Letterman, though the former would change after theSeptember 11 attacks to simply "the greatest city in the world".
In the last few years, Alan Kalter included himself in the introduction. In addition, Letterman took to dashing across the stage either just before, while, or just after Kalter introduced him. In years prior, Letterman would be greeted by two female models, sometimes in costume. For an extended stretch of episodes, one of the models would be performing with severalhula hoops, while the other would be wearing a metal suit and operating agrinding machine against her abdomen, a carry-over from their first appearance on the sketch, "Is This Anything?"
Letterman would then walk out on the show stage to perform his stand-upmonologue, which occasionally began with a reference to something an audience member said to him during the pre-show question-and-answer session. The jokes were based on pop culture, current events, and politics. He then introduced one or two video jokes such as a running gag or fake commercial/public service announcement. The monologue was followed by Letterman's introduction of Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra. Beginning in 2009, a commercial break replaced Letterman's trademark 'crossing to the desk', which he had done since the early years. Letterman then chatted with the audience and Shaffer, sometimes relating an anecdote from his personal life, sometimes discussing his anticipation of a particular guest; arunning gag may have been featured.
In 2005, after the death of Johnny Carson, it was revealed that Carson had made a habit of sometimes sending jokes to Letterman which Letterman would then incorporate into his monologues. The January 31, 2005, episode of theLate Show, which featured a tribute to Carson, began with a monologue made up entirely of jokes written by Carson since his retirement.[42][43]
Letterman read theTop Ten List at this point before turning to guest interviews with a celebrity, politician, or other public figure. On most episodes, the first guest stayed on through the commercial break and continued the interview.
Following the first guest was a short segment to bridge two commercial breaks sequentially. In earlier episodes, Letterman would return to his running gag during this break, or retry a failed stunt from earlier in the show. Later episodes included a brief comedy announcement from announcer Alan Kalter while showing the audience cheering.
The final segment consisted of a live musical performance, a comedian performing astand-up routine, or another guest interview. Musical guests included artists fromDavid Bowie,U2,Neil Young,Coldplay to indie bands likeGrizzly Bear,Gorillaz,MENEW, andAnimal Collective. TheCBS Orchestra frequently accompanied musical guests in performing their songs. Episodes occasionally concluded with Letterman recommending viewers stay tuned forTom Snyder,Craig Kilborn,Craig Ferguson (James Corden in 2015), but usually he simply waved to the camera, saying, "Good night everybody!" In the latter part of the run, the admonishment to watch Craig Ferguson and James Corden was delivered by Alan Kalter, viavoiceover.
Late Show had various repeatedabsurdist segments, including those involving cast members' and audience participation. The show will also take a camera crew into theHello Deli to show games such as "What's on theiPod?" and "Beat the Clock", or onto 53rd Street or the roof to record various stunts there.
The show began broadcasting inhigh-definition television (HDTV) on August 29, 2005.[44] About two weeks later, Tim Kennedy, the show's Technical Director, commented on the transition in the show's official newsletter:
The biggest challenge in the HD conversion was to renovate and upgrade our old control room, audio room, videotape room, and edit room while still doing five shows a week. ... This entailed putting a remoteproduction truck on 53rd Street running somewhere in the neighborhood of 50,000 feet of video and audio cable just to tie the truck to the existing technical plant ...The coolest piece of equipment is our new control room Virtual Wall. We have done away with the conventional monitor for every video source and replaced it with four 70-inchrear projection screens and within those screens we can "virtually" place as many video images as we want, anywhere we want them, and when we want it.[citation needed]
Kennedy and his crew won anEmmy Award for "Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video for a Series" during the nearly four-month-long transition to HDTV.
The guests with the most appearances wereRegis Philbin (150 appearances),Marv Albert (126 appearances, 73 fromLate Night[45]), andJack Hanna (102).
Among the show's highlights:[46]
The person who appeared the most on theLate Show was media personalityRegis Philbin, with 150 total appearances over the show's 22-season run.Jack Hanna was in second place with 103 appearances, followed byTony Randall with 70,Marv Albert with 52, andTom Brokaw with 49.
Darlene Love appeared with a musical number 21 times, most notably for a 19-year-long annual tradition of her performing "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" (18 live plus one video clip) on the show's last episode before Christmas. This continued a tradition that started in 1986 on Letterman'sNBC showLate Night with David Letterman, performing the song as Letterman's Christmas finale 28 times across hisLate Show andLate Night run.[61] Love's final Christmas appearance was on December 19, 2014, nine days after the announcement that the show's finale would be in May 2015.[62] Letterman has stated that the annual performance is his favorite part of Christmas. Due to the2007 Writers Guild of America strike, Love was unable to perform on the Letterman show in 2007;[63] instead, a repeat of her 2006 performance was shown. Love was also the musical guest on May 7, 2007, performing "River Deep – Mountain High", while also appearing as a background choral singer on October 15, 2008. Love had a 22nd appearance, appearing as an interview guest on June 12, 2013, to talk about the documentary20 Feet from Stardom.
Blues Traveler holds the record for most appearances on the show by a band.[64]
In 2000, after Letterman had quintuple bypass surgery, theLate Show Backstage was aired. This featured many celebrities reminiscing about their experiences as guests on his show.Charles Grodin (February 7),Regis Philbin (February 8 and 10), BandleaderPaul Shaffer (February 9 and 11),Drew Barrymore (February 14),David Brenner (February 15),Tom Snyder (February 16 and 17) (Snyder hostedThe Late Late Show from 1995 to 1999), andTom Arnold (February 18) were among those who hosted. These interviews were interspersed with past footage. Previously, only reruns without any special introductions had been aired since Letterman's temporary leave from the show began on January 15.[65]
Letterman returned on a limited basis on February 18, in a show which premiered three days later. To ease his transition back to air, temporary guest hosts carried the show.Bill Cosby (February 22),Kathie Lee Gifford (February 24),David Brenner (February 29),Nathan Lane (March 2),Janeane Garofalo (March 7),[66][67] filled in on the first week.[68]
In February and March 2003, Letterman missed 14 shows due toshingles. Letterman had various guest hosts during his illness-inflicted absence:Bruce Willis (February 26),John McEnroe (February 27),Regis Philbin (February 28),Whoopi Goldberg (March 10),Vince Vaughn (March 11),Elvis Costello (March 12),Will Ferrell (March 13),Megan Mullally (March 14),Brad Garrett (March 17),Tom Dreesen (March 18),Bonnie Hunt (March 19),Paul Shaffer (March 24),Bill Cosby (March 25), andLuke Wilson (March 26).[69]
In June 2003, Letterman had guest hosts on Fridays. They includedTom Arnold (June 6),Tom Green (June 13),Kelsey Grammer (June 20), andJimmy Fallon (June 27).[70][71] Letterman's weekly absence caused the ratings deficit between his show and Leno's to increase, so Letterman ended this experiment a month after it began.[70]
Paul Shaffer hosted January 19, 2005, when Letterman went to receive an award for his racing team's victory in the2004 Indianapolis 500.[72][circular reference]
On March 20, 2007, Letterman fell ill less than an hour before the show started, and scheduled guestAdam Sandler took his place as host. ActorDon Cheadle, Sandler's co-star in the filmReign Over Me, appeared as a guest on a moment's notice.[73]
Late Show with David Letterman was nominated asOutstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series for 16 seasons in a row, from the1993–94 season through the2008–09 season. Including the nominations for its NBCLate Night predecessor, the Letterman cast and crew had been nominated 26 consecutive times in this category.[74]
Late Show with David Letterman won the award six times:
The show's highest rated episode was on February 23, 1994, after the1994 Winter Olympics (78.8 million) with 15 million viewers. Its second-highest-rated show aired two days later with 11.1 million viewers. Both were preceded by theladies' figure skating competition which had high interest due to theassault of Nancy Kerrigan at the1994 United States Figure Skating Championships by Tonya Harding's ex-husband and due to both women competing in the event.
In February 2013,TV by the Numbers reported thatLate Show averaged about 3.1 million per show in season-to-date live-plus-seven-day ratings (i.e., from February 4).[75] A year later, average viewership was down to 2.8 million.[76]
In 2009, the show led other late night shows in ad revenue with $271 million.[77] In February 2014,Advertising Age citedKantar Media andNielsen in reporting that for January to October 2013,Late Show attracted $179.6 million in advertising for CBS, higher than its seven late-night competitors on NBC, ABC, Comedy Central, and E!.[76]Late Show also had the oldest median audience among those same peer broadcasts,[76] at 58.9.
The final episode ofLate Show with David Letterman on May 20, 2015, was watched by 13.76 million viewers with an audience share of 9.3/24, earning the show its second-highest ratings (following the 1994 Olympics on February 25, 1994); further, it saw the show's highest demo numbers (4.1 in adults 25-54 and 3.1 in adults 18–49) since Oprah Winfrey's firstLate Show appearance following the ending of her feud with Letterman on December 1, 2005. In a rarity for a late-night show, it was also the highest-rated program across all network television that night, beating out allprime time shows.[78] In Canada, the final episode was watched by 784,000 viewers, representing 516,000 more viewers than the show's closest competitor.[79]
Late Show with David Letterman has a 100% Average Tomatometer and 78% Popcorn meter on Rotten Tomatoes.[80]
In the UK the show was aired onSky One,The Paramount Comedy Channel,ITV2,ITV4 andDiva TV. In Australia the show aired on Network 10 only hours after US broadcast. It was also shown for a week onBBC2 during Letterman's London shows in 1995.
In Italy the show aired onRai5, in English with Italian subtitles.
In France the show aired onComédie+ the day after the US broadcast, in English with French subtitles.
The twosome have had an unusually long and successful 14-year run as Letterman's head writers and now will turn a lot of their attention to coming up with TV shows in any format for Worldwide Pants.
A huge 'Letterman shakeup' is taking place on the hit CBS talk show. According to reports, writers working on the show are all getting moved around, as widespread changes are being prepared. It has been rumored that long-time writer and producer at the show, Matt Roberts, has been moved to be the new head writer for the show. Up until now theLate Show With David Letterman has had two head writers, ... Justin and Eric Stangel, [who] will ... continue to work with the production company Worldwide Pants.
The High-Definition, Wide-Screen broadcasting of the Late Show is exciting for everyone, especially those equipped with the High-Definition, Wide-Screen TV sets.
This week onThe Late Show With David Letterman, Letterman paid tribute to Robin Williams, recalling their early days as stand-up comics and their thirty-eight year friendship. This video has received over 3.3 million views, making it this week's most watched late night talk show video.
Season-to-date figures are averages of 'live plus seven day' data except for the two most recent weeks, which are 'live plus same day.' ... Season to date/Total viewers ... 11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. ET: NBC "Tonight," 3.6 million viewers, CBS "Late Show," 3.1 million viewers, ABC "Kimmel," 2.8 million viewers**
Late Show with David Letterman: $271m; The Tonight Show: $175.9m; Jimmy Kimmel Live:– $138.1m; The Daily Show: $52.4m; The Colbert Report: $41.8m; Chelsea Lately: $40.7m; Lopez Tonight: $9.1m
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