David Michael Letterman
(born April 12, 1947) is an American television host and comedian. [1] He is best known as the host of a late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman
broadcast on CBS. He has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman
; only Johnny Carson, one of Letterman's idols, has had a longer late-night hosting career.
Letterman is also a television and film producer; his company Worldwide Pants produces his show as well as The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson
that follows his. Worldwide Pants has also produced several prime-time comedies, the most successful of which was Everybody Loves Raymond
, currently in syndication.
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Early life and career
Letterman was born in
Indianapolis, Indiana. His father, Harry Joseph Letterman, was a florist who died in 1973; his mother
Dorothy Letterman (
née
Hofert, now Dorothy Mengering), a
Presbyterian church secretary of
German descent, is an occasional figure on the show, usually at holidays and birthdays. He has an older sister Janice and a younger sister Gretchen.
Letterman lived near the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway and enjoyed collecting model cars, including racers.
[2] In 2000 he would tell an interviewer for
Esquire
that while he was growing up he admired his father's ability to tell jokes and be the life of the party. Harry Joseph Letterman survived a heart attack when he was only 36 years old and Dave was just a young boy. The fear of losing his dad was constantly with Letterman as he grew up.
[3] Harry Joseph Letterman died of a second heart attack at age 57.
Letterman attended his hometown's
Broad Ripple High School. According to the
Ball State Daily News
, he originally had wanted to attend
Indiana University, but his
grades weren't good enough, so he decided to attend
Ball State University, in
Muncie, Indiana.
[4] He is a member of the
Sigma Chi Fraternity, and he graduated from what was then called the Department of Radio and Television, in 1969. A self-described average student, Lettermen endowed a scholarship for what he called "C Students" at Ball State.
[5]
Letterman began his broadcasting career as an announcer and newscaster at the
college's student-run
radio station,
WBST, a 10-watt campus station that is today part of Indiana public radio.
[6] [7] He was fired for treating classical music with irreverence.
Letterman then became involved with the founding of another campus station, WAGO-AM 570 (now known as
WCRD, 91.3).
[8]
Letterman credits
Paul Dixon, host of the
Paul Dixon Show
, a Cincinnati-based talk show also shown in Indianapolis while Letterman was growing up, for inspiring his choice of career:
[9]
"I was just out of college [in 1969], and I really didn't know what I wanted to do. And then all the sudden I saw him doing it [on TV]. And I thought: That's really what I want to do!"
Weatherman
Letterman began his career as a radio talk show host on WXLW (AM), and on Indianapolis television station WLWI (now called
WTHR) as a local anchor and weatherman. He received some recognition for his unpredictable on-air behavior, which included jokingly calling attention to state borders missing from the weather map, and predicting sizable
hail stones "the size of canned hams." (Because this upset his bosses, to this day he occasionally still does also give out canned hams on his show). One night he reportedly upset his bosses when he congratulated a
tropical storm for being upgraded to a
hurricane. He also hosted a talk show which aired early on Saturday mornings called "Clover Power," in which he interviewed
4-H members about their projects. He would also occasionally report the day's very high and low temps for fictitious cities. In 1971, Letterman appeared as a pit road reporter for ABC's
Wide World of Sports delayed same-day coverage of the
Indianapolis 500.
[10]
Move to Los Angeles
In 1975, encouraged by his then-wife Michelle and several of his Sigma Chi fraternity brothers, Letterman moved to
Los Angeles,
California, with hope of becoming a comedy writer.
[11] He started off by writing material for the TV
sitcom,
Good Times
. He also began performing
stand-up comedy at
The Comedy Store, a famed
Los Angeles comedy club and proving ground for young comics.
Letterman appeared in the summer of 1977 on the short-lived
Starland Vocal Band Show
. He has since joked about how fortunate he was that nobody would ever see his performance on the program (because of its low ratings).
Letterman had a stint as a cast member on
Mary Tyler Moore's variety show,
Mary
, a guest appearance on
Mork & Mindy
(as a parody of
est leader
Werner Erhard), and appearances on
game shows such as
The $20,000 Pyramid
,
The Gong Show
,
Password Plus
and The
Liar's Club
. He also hosted a 1977 pilot for a game show entitled
The Riddlers
that was never picked up. His dry, sarcastic humor caught the attention of scouts for
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
, and Letterman was soon a regular guest on the show. Letterman became a favorite of Carson's and was a regular guest host for the show beginning in 1978. Letterman personally credits Carson as the person who influenced his career the most.
[12]
NBC
Morning show
In late June 1980, Letterman was given his own morning comedy show on
NBC,
The David Letterman Show
. It was originally 90 minutes long, but was shortened to 60 minutes in August.
[13] The show was a critical success, winning two
Emmy Awards, but was a ratings disappointment and was canceled in October 1980.
Late Night with David Letterman
NBC kept Letterman under contract to try him in a different time slot, after which
Late Night with David Letterman
debuted in 1982. Letterman's show, which ran weeknights at 12:30 a.m. Eastern Time, immediately following
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
, quickly established a reputation as being edgy and unpredictable, and soon developed a cult following (particularly among college students). Letterman's reputation as an
acerbic interviewer was borne out of moments such as his verbal sparring matches with
Cher,
Shirley MacLaine,
Charles Grodin and
Madonna. The show also featured inventive comedy segments and running characters, in a style heavily influenced by the 1950s and '60s programs of
Steve Allen. Although
Ernie Kovacs is often cited as an influence on the show,
[14] Letterman has denied this.
The show often included quirky, genre-mocking regular features, including "
Stupid Pet Tricks," dropping various objects off the roof of a five story building, demonstrations of unorthodox clothing (such as a
Velcro suit and a suit of
suet), a recurring
Top 10 list, the Monkey-Cam (and the Audience Cam), and a facetious letter-answering segment. The Top 10 list, Stupid Human Tricks, Small Town News, and Stupid Pet Tricks (which had its origins on Letterman's morning show) all eventually moved with Letterman to CBS.
Other memorable moments included Letterman once using a bullhorn to interrupt a live interview on
The Today Show
, announcing that he was the NBC president and not wearing any pants; interrupting
Al Roker on the
Live at Five
local news by walking into their studio (which occupied the same floor of
30 Rockefeller Plaza as Letterman's studio); and staging "elevator races", complete with commentary by NBC Sports'
Bob Costas. In one infamous appearance,
Andy Kaufman (who was already wearing a neck brace) appeared to be slapped and knocked to the ground by professional
wrestler Jerry Lawler (though Lawler and Kaufman's friend
Bob Zmuda later revealed that the event was
staged).
Late Show with David Letterman
Letterman remained with
NBC for eleven years, becoming very successful and enjoying high ratings in the 12:30 A.M. time slot. By the time Johnny Carson retired in 1992, Letterman expected to be considered for the host of The Tonight Show. He did not know that months earlier NBC had signed Jay Leno (then the regular "Tonight" substitute host) to a contract guaranteeing him as the next permanent host.
Following long negotiations with multiple networks, Letterman called his longtime friend Carson for advice. Carson, who had always seen Letterman as his rightful successor , suggested that the host leave NBC. Feeling scorned by NBC, in 1993 Letterman departed the network to host his own late-night show opposite
Tonight
on
CBS at 11:30 p.m., called the
Late Show with David Letterman
. The new show debuted on August 30, 1993 and was filmed at the historic
Ed Sullivan Theater, on which CBS had spent $14 million in renovations for Letterman's arrival. In addition to that cost, CBS also signed Letterman to a lucrative 3-year, $14 million/year contract, doubling his old
Late Night
salary.
But while the expectation was that Dave would retain his unique style and sense of humor with the move,
Late Show
was not an exact replica of his old NBC program. Recognizing the more formal mood (and wider audience) of his new timeslot and studio, Letterman eschewed his trademark
blazer/
khaki pants/white
sneakers wardrobe combination in favor of expensive shoes and tailored suits. The monologue was lengthened and
Paul Shaffer and the "
World's Most Dangerous Band" followed Dave to CBS, but they added a brass section and were
rebranded the "
CBS Orchestra" as a short monologue and a small band were mandated by Carson while Letterman occupied the 12:30 slot. Additionally, because of
intellectual property disagreements, Letterman was unable to import many of his
Late Night
segments verbatim – but he sidestepped this problem by simply renaming them (the "Top Ten List" became the "Late Show Top Ten", "Viewer Mail" became the "CBS Mailbag", etc.). Finally, Letterman's interview style became less caustic and combative with the change in scenery, leading many to describe the CBS version as a "kinder, gentler David Letterman".
Popularity
The main competitor of
The Late Show
is NBC's
The Tonight Show
, for nearly 16 years
hosted by Jay Leno, but since June 1, 2009 hosted by
Conan O'Brien. In 1993 and 1994,
The Late Show
consistently gained higher ratings than
Tonight
. But in 1995, ratings dipped and Leno's show consistently beat Letterman's in the ratings; Leno typically attracted about 5 million nightly viewers between 1999 and 2009.
The Late Show
lost nearly half its audience during its competition with Leno, attracting 7.1 million viewers nightly in its 1993-94 season and about 3.8 million per night as of Leno's departure in 2009.
[15] In his final months as host of
The Tonight Show
, Leno beat Letterman in the ratings by a 1.3 million viewer margin (5.2 million to 3.9 million), and
Nightline
and
The Late Show
were virtually tied.
[16] Once O'Brien took over
Tonight
, however, Letterman closed the gap in the ratings.
[17] [18] [19] O'Brien initially drove the median age of
Tonight Show
viewers from 55 to 45, with most older viewers opting to watch
The Late Show
instead.
[20]
Letterman's shows have garnered both critical and industry praise, receiving 67
Emmy Award nominations, winning twelve times in his first 20 years in late night television. From 1993-2009 Letterman ranked higher than Leno in the annual
Harris Poll of
Nation's Favorite TV Personality
twelve times.
For example, in 2003 and 2004 Letterman ranked second in that poll, behind only
Oprah Winfrey, a year that Leno was ranked fifth.
[21] Leno was higher than Letterman on that poll three times during the same period, in 1998, 2007, and 2008 (when Leno topped the list).
[22]
Hosting the Academy Awards
On March 27, 1995, Letterman acted as the host for the
67th Academy Awards ceremony. Critics blasted Letterman for what they deemed a poor hosting of the Oscars, noting that his irreverent style undermined the importance and glamor of the event. In a joke about their unusual names, he started off by introducing
Uma Thurman to
Oprah Winfrey, and then the both of them to
Keanu Reeves: "Uma...Oprah! Oprah...Uma! Oprah, Uma...Keanu!" This and many of his other jokes fell flat. Although Letterman attracted the highest ratings to the annual telecast since 1983, many felt that the bad publicity garnered by Letterman's hosting caused a decline in the
Late Show
s ratings.
[23]
Letterman recycled the apparent debacle into a long-running gag. On his first show after the Oscars, he joked, "Looking back, I had no idea that thing was being televised." For years afterward, Letterman recounted his horrible hosting at the Oscars, although the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences still holds Letterman in high regard and has repeatedly asked him to host the Oscars again.
[24]
Heart surgery hiatus
On January 14, 2000, a routine check-up revealed that an artery in Letterman's heart was severely constricted. He was rushed to emergency surgery for a
quintuple bypass.
[25]
During the initial weeks of his recovery, reruns of the
Late Show
were shown and introduced by friends of Letterman including
Drew Barrymore,
Ray Romano,
Robin Williams,
Bonnie Hunt,
Megan Mullally,
Bill Murray,
Regis Philbin,
Charles Grodin,
Nathan Lane,
Julia Roberts,
Bruce Willis,
Jerry Seinfeld,
Martin Short,
Steven Segal,
Hillary Clinton,
Danny DeVito,
Steve Martin, and
Sarah Jessica Parker.
Subsequently, while still recovering from surgery, Letterman revived the late night tradition that had virtually disappeared on network television during the 1990s of 'guest hosts' by allowing
Bill Cosby,
Kathie Lee Gifford (recommended by Regis, who was asked first but had no time in his schedule),
Dana Carvey,
Janeane Garofalo, and others to host new episodes of
The Late Show
. Cosby, the show's first guest host, refused to sit at Letterman's desk out of respect, using the couch instead; Garofalo followed suit, utilizing a set of grade-school desks instead.
Upon his return to the show on February 21, 2000, Letterman brought all of the doctors and nurses on stage who had participated in his surgery and recovery (with extra teasing of a nurse who had given him bed baths—"This woman has seen me naked!"), including Dr. O. Wayne Isom and physician
Louis Aronne, who frequently appears on the show. In an unusual show of emotion, Letterman was nearly in tears as he thanked the health care team with the words "These are the people who
saved my life!
" The episode earned an
Emmy nomination. For a number of episodes, Letterman continued to crack jokes about his bypass, including saying, "Bypass surgery - it's when doctors surgically create new blood flow to your heart. A bypass is what happened to me when I didn't get
The Tonight Show!
It's a whole different thing." In a later running gag he lobbied his home state of Indiana to rename the freeway circling Indianapolis (I-465) "The David Letterman Bypass." He also featured a montage of faux news coverage of his bypass surgery, which included a clip of Dave's heart for sale on the Home Shopping Network. Letterman became friends with his doctors and nurses. In 2008, a Rolling Stone interview stated "he hosted a doctor and nurse who'd helped perform the emergency quintuple-bypass heart surgery that saved his life in 2000. 'These are people who were complete strangers when they opened my chest,' he says. 'And now, eight years later, they're among my best friends.' "
[26]
Additionally, Letterman invited the band
Foo Fighters to play "
Everlong," introducing them as "my favorite band, playing my favorite song." During a later Foo Fighters appearance, Letterman said that the Foo Fighters had been in the middle of a South American tour which they canceled to come play on his comeback episode.
Letterman again handed over the reins of the show to several guest hosts (including
Bill Cosby,
Brad Garrett,
Elvis Costello,
John McEnroe,
Vince Vaughn,
Will Ferrell,
Bonnie Hunt,
Luke Wilson and bandleader
Paul Shaffer) in February 2003, when he was diagnosed with a severe case of
shingles. Later that year, Letterman made regular use of guest hosts, including
Tom Arnold and
Kelsey Grammer, for new shows broadcast on Fridays. In March 2007,
Adam Sandler, who had been scheduled to be the lead guest, served as a guest host while Letterman was ill with a stomach virus.
[27]
Re-signing with CBS
In March 2002, as Letterman's contract with CBS neared expiration,
ABC expressed the intention to offer Letterman the time slot for long-running news program
Nightline
with
Ted Koppel, citing more desirable viewer demographics. This caused a minor flap that ended when Letterman re-signed with CBS. Letterman addressed his decision to re-sign on the air, stating that he was content at CBS and that he had great respect for
Koppel.
On December 4, 2006,
CBS revealed that David Letterman signed a new contract to host
The Late Show with David Letterman
through the fall of 2010.
"I'm thrilled to be continuing on at CBS," said Letterman. "At my age you really don't want to have to learn a new commute." Letterman further joked about the subject by pulling up his right pants leg, revealing a
tattoo, presumably temporary, of the ABC
logo.
"Thirteen years ago, David Letterman put CBS late night on the map and in the process became one of the defining icons of our network," said
Leslie Moonves, president and CEO of CBS Corporation. "His presence on our air is an ongoing source of pride, and the creativity and imagination that the
Late Show
puts forth every night is an ongoing display of the highest quality entertainment. We are truly honored that one of the most revered and talented entertainers of our time will continue to call CBS 'home.' "
According to a 2007 article in
Forbes
magazine, Letterman earned $40 million a year.
[28] A 2009 article in
The New York Times
, however, said his salary was estimated at $32 million per year.
[29]
In June 2009, Letterman and CBS reached agreement to extend his contract to host "The Late Show" until August 2012. His previous contract had been set to expire in 2010.
2007–2008 Writers' strike
The Late Show went off air for eight weeks during the months of November and December because of the
Writers Guild of America strike. David Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants, was the first company to make an individual agreement with the WGA,
[30] thus allowing his show to come back on air on January 2, 2008. On his first episode since being off air, he surprised the viewing audience with his newly grown
beard. His beard was shaved off during the show on January 7, 2008.
Letterman and Carson
NBC's decision to select
Jay Leno and not Letterman to succeed
Johnny Carson as host of
The Tonight Show
was an embarrassment to Carson, who had all but promised the succession to Letterman.
[31] Letterman maintained a close relationship with Carson through his break with NBC. Three years after he left for CBS,
HBO produced a made-for-television movie called
The Late Shift
, based on a book by
New York Times
reporter Bill Carter, chronicling the battle between Letterman and Leno for the coveted
Tonight Show
hosting spot. Letterman would mock the film for months afterward, specifically on how the actor playing him,
John Michael Higgins, did not resemble him in the least. ("They took a guy who looked nothing like me and with make-up and special camera angles, turned him into a guy who looked nothing like me, with red hair.")
Carson later made a few cameo appearances as a guest on Letterman's show. Carson's final television appearance came May 13, 1994 on a
Late Show
episode taped in Los Angeles, when he made a surprise appearance during a '
Top 10 list' segment. The audience went wild as Letterman stood up and proudly invited Carson to sit at his desk. The applause was so protracted that Carson was unable to say anything, and he finally returned backstage as the applause continued (it was later explained that Carson had
laryngitis, though Carson can be heard talking to Letterman during his appearance).
[32]
In early 2005, it was revealed that Carson still kept up with current events and late-night TV right up to his death that year, and that he occasionally sent jokes to Letterman, who used these jokes in his monologue; according to CBS senior vice president
Peter Lassally (a onetime producer for both men), Carson got "a big kick out of it." Letterman would do a characteristic Johnny Carson golf swing after delivering one of Carson's jokes. In a tribute to Carson, all of the opening monologue jokes during the first show following Carson's death were written by Carson.
Lassally also claimed that Carson had always believed Letterman, not Leno, to be his "rightful successor."
[33] Letterman also frequently employs some of Carson's trademark bits on his show, including "Carnac the Magnificent" (with
Paul Shaffer as Carnac), "Stump the Band" and the "Week in Review."
Letterman and Oprah Winfrey
On September 10, 2007, Letterman made his first appearance on
The Oprah Winfrey Show
at
Madison Square Garden in
New York. He shared pictures of his son and live-in girlfriend. The so-called feud between Letterman and Winfrey ended in 2005 when Winfrey appeared on CBS's
Late Show with David Letterman
on December 2, in an event Letterman jokingly referred to as "the
Super Bowl of Love".
[34] Oprah had previously appeared on Letterman's show when he was hosting NBC's
Late Night
on May 2, 1989.
Winfrey and Letterman also appeared together in a Late Show promo that aired during CBS's coverage of
Super Bowl XLI in February 2007, with the two sitting next to each other on the couch watching the game. Since the game was played between the
Indianapolis Colts and
Chicago Bears, the Indianapolis-born Letterman wears a
Peyton Manning jersey, while Winfrey, who tapes her show in Chicago, is in a
Brian Urlacher jersey.
[35]
Other projects
Worldwide Pants
Letterman started his own production company,
Worldwide Pants Incorporated, which produces his show and several others, including
Everybody Loves Raymond
,
The Late Late Show
, and several critically acclaimed, but short-lived television series for
Bonnie Hunt. Worldwide Pants also produced the
dramedy program
Ed
, starring
Tom Cavanagh, which aired on
NBC from 2000–2004. It was Letterman's first association with NBC since he left the network in 1993. During
Ed's
run, Cavanagh appeared as a guest on
The Late Show
several times.
In 2005, Worldwide Pants produced its first feature film,
Strangers with Candy
, which was a prequel to the
Comedy Central TV series
of the same title. In 2007, Worldwide Pants produced the
ABC comedy series,
The Knights Of Prosperity
.
Worldwide Pants made significant news in December 2007 when it was announced that Letterman's company had independently negotiated its own contract with the
Writers Guild of America, East, thus allowing Letterman,
Craig Ferguson, and their writers to return to work, while the union continued its strike against production companies, networks and studios who had not reached an agreement.
Rahal Letterman Racing
Rahal Letterman Racing (RLR) is an auto racing team that currently races in the
Indy Racing League. It is co-owned by
1986 Indianapolis 500 winner
Bobby Rahal and Letterman himself, and is based in
Hilliard, Ohio. The team won the
2004 Indianapolis 500 with driver
Buddy Rice. Letterman was a pit reporter for
ABC in the
1971 Indianapolis 500.
American Foundation for Courtesy and Grooming
American Foundation for Courtesy and Grooming is Letterman's private foundation. Through it, Letterman has donated millions of dollars to charities and other non-profits in Indiana and Montana, celebrity-affiliated organizations such as
Paul Newman's
Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, universities such as
Ball State, and other organizations such as the
American Cancer Society,
Salvation Army and
Doctors without Borders.
David Letterman Communication and Media Building
On September 7, 2007, Letterman visited his
alma mater
,
Ball State University in
Muncie,
Indiana, for the dedication of a communications facility named in his honor.
[36] The $21 million, David Letterman Communication and Media Building opened for the 2007 Fall semester. It features state-of-the-art recording equipment and facilities. Thousands of Ball State students, faculty, and local residents welcomed Letterman back to Indiana.
[37] Letterman's emotional speech touched on his struggles as a college student and his late father, and also included the "top ten good things about having your name on a building."
[38]
Letterman received the honor for his dedication to the university throughout his career as a comedian. Letterman finished with, "If reasonable people can put my name on a $21 million building, anything is possible."
Letterman also received a
Sagamore of the Wabash from Governor
Mitch Daniels.
Appearances in other media
Letterman appeared in issue 239 of the
Marvel comic book
The Avengers
, in which the title characters are guests on
Late Night
.
[39] A parody of Letterman, called "David Endocrine", is gassed to death along with his bandleader named "Paul" and their audience in
Frank Miller's
The Dark Knight Returns
.
[40]
Letterman provided vocals for the
Warren Zevon song "Hit Somebody" from
My Ride's Here
,
[41] and provided the voice for Butt-head's father in the 1996 animated film,
Beavis and Butt-head Do America
. He also had a cameo in the feature film
Cabin Boy
, with
Chris Elliott, who worked as a writer on Letterman's show. In this and other appearances, Letterman is listed in the credits as "Earl Hofert", the name of Letterman's maternal grandfather. He also appeared as himself in the
1999 Andy Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon
, in a few episodes of
Garry Shandling's
1990s TV series
The Larry Sanders Show
and in '
The Abstinence', a
1996 episode of the
sitcom Seinfeld
.
Personal life
In 1969, Letterman married Michelle Cook; the marriage ended by divorce in 1977.
[42] He also had a long-term relationship with former head writer and producer on
Late Night
,
Merrill Markoe. In fact, Markoe was the mind behind several
Late Night
staples, such as "Stupid Pet/Human Tricks".
Beginning in May 1988, Letterman was
stalked by
Margaret Mary Ray, a woman suffering from
schizophrenia. Letterman occasionally referenced her in his show, although not by name.
[43] She committed suicide in 1998. Letterman publicly expressed sympathy upon her death.
|TV late night show host David Letterman marries girlfriend of 23 years}}
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Letterman has a son, Harry Joseph (born in 2003), with Regina Lasko. Harry is named after Letterman's father.
[44] In 2005, police discovered a plot to kidnap Harry Letterman and ransom him for $5 million. Kelly Frank, a house painter who had worked for Letterman, was charged in the conspiracy.
[45]
Letterman and Lasko, who had been together since 1986, wed during a quiet
courthouse civil ceremony in
Choteau, Montana on March 19, 2009.
[46] Letterman announced the marriage during the taping of his March 23 show, shortly after congratulating
Bruce Willis for getting married the previous week. Letterman told the audience he nearly missed the ceremony because his truck became stuck in mud two miles from their house.
[47] The family resides in
North Salem, New York, on a estate.
[48]
References
- David Letterman Biography
- Gary Graves. "Letterman Gets Moment in Hot Seat." ''USA Today'', May 23, 2005, p. 1C.
- Daveheart, a profile of Letterman by Bill Zehme from the May 2000 issue of ''Esquire''
- Gail Koch. "After Two Decades, Letterman Wit Shows No Signs of Stopping." Ball State Daily News, February 23, 2002.
- http://www.finaid.org/scholarships/average.phtml
- The Ball State University website
- Indiana Public Radio - About Us from the Indiana Public Radio website
- David Letterman, WAGO Muncie Indiana April 1, 1969
- Local show inspired young Letterman
- Title Unavailable
- Gail Koch. "Letterman Evolved from Struggling Radio Host to Star." Ball State Daily News, February 1, 2002.
- An interview with David Letterman
- Peter Kerr. "David Letterman's Off-Center Humor Finds a Home." New York Times, February 19, 1984, p. H27
- TV View: Ernie Kovacs: A comic to the medium born
- 11:35pm — Conan O'Brien's time has come. Will the Leno faithful follow?
- TV By The Numbers "Jay Leno And Jimmy Fallon Win the Late-Night Week of April 27 - May 1" May 7, 2009
- David Letterman: Julia Roberts helps him beat Conan O'Brien for first time; Denzel Washington, Jonas Brothers visit Thursday
- Roberts sides with Letterman
- Who's loyal to Leno, O'Brien, and Letterman?
- 'Tonight Show' Audience a Decade Younger
- For Third Year in a Row Oprah Retains Her Position as America's Favorite TV Personality
- America’s Favorite Television Personality
- Dave vs. Dave: Forget Leno & Koppel - Letterman May Be His Own Worst Enemy
- The 411 about David Letterman & Oscar
- Artery Blocked, Letterman Has Heart Bypass Surgery
- "Dave at Peace: The Rolling Stone Interview"
- Letterman is Ill, so Guest Takes Over Late Show
- Title Unavailable
- Letterman Reaches a Deal With CBS to Extend ‘Late Show’
- Title Unavailable
- The Independent
- YouTube
- New York Post
- Title Unavailable
- Title Unavailable
- Thousands Cheer Letterman During BSU Building Dedication - Education News Story
- http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070907/LOCAL/709070486
- Title Unavailable
- The Avengers meet David Letterman reviewed at misterkitty.org
- Review of ''The Dark Knight Returns'' at Batman-on-film.com
- Warren Zevon : Hit Somebody (The Hockey Song) from Artistdirect
- David Letterman bio on IMDb
- For Letterman Stalker, Mental Illness Was Family Curse and Scarring Legacy
- Letterman: It's A Boy!, 'Late Show' Host, Girlfriend Have 9 Pound, 11 Ounce Son
- Montana man charged with Letterman plot
- David Letterman Weds!
- David Letterman (finally) gets hitched to Regina Lasko
- Dave's domain from the March 22, 2007 "Gimme Shelter" column in the ''New York Post''