Comedian David Letterman's quirky topical humor and sophisticated style has earned him a dedicated following since the Late Show with David Letterman debuted in 1982, but before he was the Dave we came to know and love, he appeared in dozens of other shows. He began his career as a wacky weatherman for WTHR in Indianapolis. During an appearance on the Late Show in 1994, Diane Sawyer brought a tape of Dave doing the weather - the weather spot is at the end of the interview. He also did a stint as an anchorman on the evening news for the same station, hosted a news talk radio show, but he was too funny to play it straight. He hosted a local children's show for a while, then worked as the comedic host of "Freeze-Dried Movies" on late night TV before finally packing up to strike out and find fame in Hollywood.

After the move to Los Angeles, Dave worked as a writer and landed many movie and TV guest spots. One of his first big acting breaks came in the form of a TV appearance as a new age guru on popular sitcom Mork and Mindy. He was a regular at The Comedy Store, a venue where the list of alumni includes the most popular comics on stage and screen since 1972. Another young comic on the road to success with Dave was Jay Leno, and a friendship began that would eventually end in bitter rivalry.

Dave's career as a talk show host began with guest host appearances on The Tonight Show. Johnny Carson recognized Dave's talent after a few standup appearances and helped him get his start by sponsoring The David Letterman Show, launched on NBC in 1980. It was a quirky talk/variety show, but proved to be too edgy for its 10AM time slot and did not win an audience. It lasted just three months, but still managed to earn several Daytime Emmy Awards. It was enough for the network to take another chance on Dave, giving him the 12:30AM slot following the Tonight Show. Late Night with David Letterman debuted on NBC on February 1, 1982.

Dave's comedic genius is grounded in everyday humor. For the first time in television history, the quirky nature of the public was exposed for its humor potential, and the insular sanctity of the Hollywood elite was opened to ordinary people. Dave invited such random guests as a lady who likes to dress her parrot up like Cyndi Lauper, which led to the beloved "Stupid Pet Tricks" segment and then in natural progression to "Stupid Human Tricks". His on the street forays to meet ordinary people often meet with hilarious result.

When Johnny Carson retired in 1992, it was widely assumed that Dave would get the famous seat. After twelve years at NBC and fifty appearances as a guest host on the show, it came as quite an unpleasant surprise when they offered the job to Jay Leno instead. Letterman was sufficiently incensed to take his entire road show to a competing slot on CBS. Some segment names change to avoid copyright infringements, but in essence, the show retained its traditional lineup with most of the content intact.

One of Dave's most famous comedy shticks is "The Late Show Top Ten". Dave has interviewed many influential people on his show, and President Barack Obama is no exception. Here's President Obama as a candidate delivering Top Ten Barack Obama Campaign Promises. Everyone is invited to contribute to The Late Show Top Ten's weekly topic contest. Other popular features include the "CBS Mailbag" and a lighthearted mocking of Oprah Winfrey – which does not always go over all that well. His somewhat disastrous appearance at the 67th Annual Academy Awards in 1995 began a ratings slide that the show would never fully recover from.

Dave was born David Michael Letterman on April 12, 1947 in Indianapolis, Indiana to Harry Joseph Letterman and Dorothy Mengering Letterman. His father died in 1974 of a heart attack, and his mother is not only still alive and going strong, but occasionally appears on the show as a "special corespondent", doing live segments or just chatting with Dave, playing the perfect straight man to his hometown humor. During a 2008 show, Dave tries to guess what pies his mother has made for Thanksgiving dinner. Dave also has two sisters, Janice Shelton and Gretchen Letterman, an ex-wife, Michelle Cook (divorced in 1977), and a longtime girl friend, Regina Lasko, with whom he has a son, Harry Joseph Letterman, born in 2003. To learn more, visit NNDB.com for a comprehensive look at David Letterman's life.

Dave's style has mellowed a bit over the years, and his humor may not have quite the bite it once had, but he retains his quirky, self-deprecating essence, regardless of circumstance. It was never so evident as when he campaigned to have a stretch of Indiana highway renamed the "David Letterman Bypass" following heart surgery in 2000.


Our Most Popular Pages