David Letterman

I liked him too, though I hardly have watched him. I’ve seen fewer than 100 shows, I would guess. But I saw enough to think more highly of him than any other late night host, including Carson, who was great.

Letterman had a knack for pointing out that the mundane and facile could be entertaining if you just had enough sense of humor yourself. That combined with the acerbic wit you point out…he covered the gamut. He was amused, and he amused us.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 7 months ago by wv.

canadaram wrote:

Love the old clips of Dave. I never watched his appearances on Carson. I’m glad that somebody saw him and recognized Letterman’s potential to be a great host himself.

Letterman was a good stand-up comedian
back in the day.

The thing i respect about these late-night
celebrity-guys is…they have to be funny
night, after night, after night…etc.

Granted they have tons of writers, but still
it aint easy to be funny on a daily basis,
year after year.

I used to like all the old ‘talk-show’ hosts.
Steve Allen was very good. Dick Cavett. Carson, of course.
I used to come home from school and watch
The Mike Douglas show in the afternoons. Douglas
wasn’t the least bit funny, couldnt sing worth
a damn — but the guy was so palpably NICE
that everyone like him. You couldnt help but
like him.

w
v

canadaram wrote:

I’m feeling very sentimental about Letterman retiring next week. The first time I ever saw him was on his short lived morning show. I began watching him religiously on Late Night in 1984. At the time I’d never seen anyone like him. His vocabulary made his humour seem almost refined at times, and his acerbic wit ensured that I never found him dull.

To me he was the master of the bit, especially the remotes. Crushing stuff with a steamroller, dropping stuff from the top of a five storey tower, working drive through windows at fast food joints, on the street stuff, how many guys in a bunny suit can fit into an H & R Block…the list is endless.

The studio bits with his staff were great too. Chris Elliot as Marv Albert, or the Fugitive Guy, or the Guy Under the Seats. Larry Bud Melman never disappointed either.

I loved the old show for the odd guests he would have on. Guys like Harvey Pekar, or the champion grocery store bag boys.

I haven’t watched the show as much in the past few years, but I still tune for his monologue, or Top Ten list if I’m still up. I’ll record the show if a guest that I like is on. However, I’ve been watching every night the last few weeks though, mostly because of nostalgia I think. Anyway, I’m going to miss him.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HOGAKY-RqGw

I haven’t really watched much of him in years … because I’m old and unable to stay up anymore. But, yeah, those old shows, I’d watch them religiously, for all the reasons you mentioned. I had an old Top Ten List book that I kept in the john for years for a few laughs. Sometimes I remember one randomly. Like in Top Ten Least Impressive Superpowers, one of them was: Ability to always shake out exactly two aspirin. Who thinks of this stuff? The writers were great, but that’s partly because they worked for a host who let them be creative with the mundane. His interviews are the best, too, because he always set up the guest perfectly and let them be funny. His laugh always added to the interview.

The guy replacing him? He’s probably the funniest host on TV these days, so at least there’s that.