Letterman makin' em laugh for 25 years

By Pete Catapano | amNewYork Managing Editor

January 26, 2007

Joan Rivers. Arsenio Hall. Pat Sajak. Chevy Chase. Magic Johnson. Alan Thicke.

These are just a few of the celebrities who have come and gone from late-night TV since David Letterman began his transformation of after-hours viewing a quarter century ago.

It's a golden job in entertainment where few have succeeded.

Yes, Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien have become late-night staples. But Letterman's influence and innovation are matched by just one man: Johnny Carson.

As Letterman marks his 25th year on late night on Feb. 1, it's easy to forget that the former weatherman from Indiana brought something to television in 1982 that was then hard to come by: insanity and spontaneity.

And late-night TV has never been the same.

Where else could you see someone wearing an Alka-Seltzer suit, dropping watermelons from a five-story building, barging into a live newscast or playing it straight as a chimp goes bananas with a video camera on his back?

The week of Letterman's late-night debut, The Associated Press wrote: "The spontaneity and surprise of 'Late Night with David Letterman' is a welcome liberation from conventional talk shows."

Letterman, whose moods ranged from silly to serious, ruled the late hours on NBC with an anything-can-happen hour of stunts, skits and talk.

Created out of the wreckage of Dave's short-lived NBC morning show, "Late Night With David Letterman" debuted in the 12:30 a.m. slot on that winter night with flashy Vegas showgirls, guest Bill Murray and a decidedly New York City vibe.

The 25th anniversary will come with little fanfare. The only hint of the recognition of the feat is the appearance by Murray on next Thursday's broadcast.

Letterman moved to CBS in 1993 after NBC gave his dream job replacing Carson on "The Tonight Show" to Jay Leno and there he remains.

Now on an hour earlier and competing head-to-head with Leno, the CBS "Late Show" has been a more mainstream version of "Late Night," but with many of the same elements.

The Top-10 lists stayed, as did band leader Paul Shaffer. "Late Night" regular Larry Bud Melman, however, had to replace his alias (which was NBC property) with his real name, Calvert Deforest.

Still, there are the stupid pet tricks, the stunts and the razor sharp wit that gives Letterman an advantage with the all the guests he's grappled with. Some of his more noteworthy victims have been Madonna, Cher and most recently Bill O'Reilly.

"I have the feeling about 60% of what you say is crap," Letterman told the Fox News star in January 2006.

Ironically, despite being a comedian, there was nothing funny about Letterman's greatest moment. A few days after 9/11, the public saw a shaken Letterman it hadn't seen before or since -- an emotional display not even matched by the episodes following his quintuple bypass in 2000.

"We're told that they were zealots fueled by religious fervor, religious fervor," Letterman said of the 9/11 hijackers. "And if you live to be a thousand years old, will that make any sense to you? Will that make any goddamned sense?"

David Yoder, who runs a popular Letterman fan Web site, said the video clip from that monologue is one of the site's the biggest hits.

Yoder, who claims to have seen 99% of Letterman¹s shows, said many fans see a distinct difference between the NBC and CBS Letterman.

"It's more polished on CBS," he said. "Dave has referred to 'Late Nite' as high school with money, just goofing around and dropping stuff out the window."

While rumors have circulated in recent years that Letterman, 59, was leaning towards an early retirement, they were put to rest in December when he extended his contract with CBS through 2010.

Letterman has trailed the "Tonight Show" in the ratings for most of the last 11 years, averaging 4.3 million viewers to Leno's 5.6 million.

Even though he didn't take over the "Tonight Show," it's safe to say most fans probably don't care what network Letterman is on -- as long as it's late in the night.