For the past 32 years if you turned on the television at night, David Letterman was there. First at Late Night for 11 years and then on his own show on CBS for the past 21 years. He created the Top 10 list; Stupid Pet Tricks and Stupid Human Tricks. If you think about it, the latter two are basically half of You Tube's content. When Late Night started it was a one of a kind show. Nothing like it had ever been seen. I think he realized early on that if he wanted people to stay up really late he was going to have to get their attention. There was the feud with Bryant Gumbel and the people he would talk to in other buildings that he could see from the windows at 30 Rock.
When Letterman moved to CBS he realized a dream of having his own show at the coveted 1130pm slot and then created an empire. He not only owns his show he also owns the Late Late Show and has had a lot of hits with his production company including Everybody Loves Raymond and Strangers With Candy. The thing about Dave is that he always shared everything that was going on his life whether it was good or bad. I remember that first night he came back on the air after 9/11 and how it seemed to give everyone permission to laugh again. Although his ratings have slipped the past few years he did manage to win six Emmy Awards for his show and Leno won only once.
With his retirement there is a definite changing of the guard and I think it is great that he is going out on his own terms on his own date and will have a farewell year that will be a great time to reminisce. He will be missed.
Possible replacement choices include Craig Ferguson and Neil Patrick Harris.
Never was a fan.
ReplyDeleteJust hope Leno stays gone.
ReplyDeleteNeil Patrick Harris is great, but isn't it time to have a woman or person of color as a late night host? And no, I don't mean Arsenio Hall again.
ReplyDeleteNutty, why? Is there a Late Night Diversity Calendar we're meant to adhere to?
Delete"It's 2014, bring on the Mauritian Intersex Host!"
I said last night he wanted to outlast Leno just to stick it up his butt. I never found him to be funny but he could do good interviews. I hope they don't replace him with Chelsea Handler but either Colbert or Stewart would probably work.
ReplyDelete"Nothing like it had ever been seen."
ReplyDeleteHorseshit. I guess Enty has no clue who Steve Allen was or what he did.
Late night talk shows are really turning into relics. It's not the days before the Internet and most be people just wait for the highlights.
ReplyDeleteI love Dave couldn't stand Jay. Now since I rarely am awake at 11:30 I don't get to watch much.
ReplyDeleteI wish him well and pray that he's healthy and gets to enjoy his son and wife and all that money.
Craig Ferguson is hands down the best late night host. Idk if he should take Dave's spot because I don't want him to change for the corporate suits.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with you. Don't change a thing, Craig!
DeleteTeam Coco
ReplyDeleteJohn stewart would be great. Good interviewer and probably reay for a change
ReplyDeleteOr Steve Colbert !
DeleteIt would be a trip if Conan took the spot. I love Craig and don't want him to change his antics for an early slot.
ReplyDelete@Cassandra
ReplyDeleteWas thinking the same thing.
Nah, I think Conan failed once at 1130 and would fail again. He's a niche player, not a generalist. I find him bitter and angry.
ReplyDeleteTina Fey should replace him.
ReplyDeleteI always love Conan for producing the best seasons of The Simpsons.
ReplyDeleteThere's always George Lopez.
I adore Dave, warts and all. He's hilarious, grumpy, and honest - basically, all I've ever asked for in a man (yes, Mr. F is also hilarious, grumpy, and honest). The only think that makes his retirement exciting is the thought of NPH taking over behind the desk. That would be - I'm gonna say it and get it out of the way - legendary!
ReplyDeleteYou know Leno and Regis are probably slugging it out for that slot now. Neither one of them wanted to leave their shows except in coffins.
ReplyDeleteI think Tina Fey would be Awesome as a replacement, Ray Nicolet. She has proven she knows guy humor, girl humor and is as insider as it gets.
ReplyDelete@Henriette - ha! I've got a great mental image of those two going fisticuffs!
ReplyDeleteMy two cents: Leno - not funny
Conan - I just don't get him, agree with whoever said he's bitter
Tina Fey - love her, don't know if late night talk is her jam - think 30 minute comedies are her medium
Craig F - awesome, comes across as incredibly sincere, think he could fill Dave's shoes
Craig is the man! He and Geoff are a trip.
ReplyDeleteI love Craig, but I think he likes it where he is. Whoopi Goldberg is a good choice.
ReplyDeleteWhoopie already bombed in late night.
ReplyDeleteIt can't be another show set in NYC, since they are all there now, except for Craig.
Good luck to Dave! Hopefully he will write a memoir. He brought laughter to the ends of many people's days.
ReplyDeletePlease not NPH, but a female would be great! I don't know if Chelsea is PC enough for network late night though. Jon Stewart would be great, he's got my vote!!!
ReplyDeleteCraig is awesome but much of his humor comes from his underdog/subversive nose thumbing to the corporate suits. To Become the suit by having to follow their procedures would kill him. He would either go down in flames warring with them or lose his way trying to please everybody.
ReplyDeleteHe deserves the shot but if offered, I hope he would turn it down.
Just for me. :-D
I watched Dave for years....and then one night he went on some rant and that was the end of him. I watched Jay Leno for a while, but when you have to get up really early in the morning after working three jobs, late night talk shows cease to matter too much. I do have a PVR but time is short and there isn't enough time in a day to care about what is happening on late night TV.
ReplyDeleteI used to love his "Dr Phil's Words of Wisdom"...short 5 second snippets of strange quotes from Dr Phil completely out of context. I loved his humour
ReplyDeleteI never laughed at anything he did. His idea of humor is to make fools of people, and then laugh at them. Lousy interviewer. So many inane inside inside"jokes"-not funny. He came off as a nasty, ill humored, mean man. Goes without saying I dont care he's leaving. Also dont care who replaces him. Goodbye and good ridenence, nasty man.
ReplyDeleteBwahahahahaha - awesome! Where's the "LIKE" button?
DeleteThe thing to consider with Ferguson is that, talented as the guy is, Fallon got much better ratings when their shows were at the same time. So, the network may not be fine with him repeating the same at 11:35pm.
ReplyDeleteDavid wants Amy Sedaris to replace him, but right now she's saying no.
ReplyDeleteI missed reading your comment!
DeleteComments
DeleteEnjoyed many of his shows, especially early ones. Both these dinosaurs should have been off the air 10 years ago. Greed trumped honor for both.
ReplyDeleteI <3 Craig Ferguson.
ReplyDeleteEven though I don't watch late night TV except for snippets the next day, the Letterman/Leno war was an eye-opener. I don't care for either of them.
Amy Sedaris would be absolutely perfect. Now that would be a late night show that I would watch. Craig could do either show and I'd still love it.
ReplyDeleteAmy Sedaris would be absolutely perfect. Now that would be a late night show that I would watch. Craig could do either show and I'd still love it.
ReplyDeleteI love Colbert and Jon Stewart but I think their shows need to be on cable so their content doesn't get watered down. I would love to see Tina Fey or NPH.
ReplyDeleteAmy Sedaris is my jam. But I somehow don't know if a late night talk show is her medium. I'd give it a watch just to support her though.
ReplyDeleteAmy Sedaris is never someone I thought about taking over until now. That sounds awesome.
ReplyDeleteI loved Dave. His acerbic wit was funny to me. Guess he's not everyone's cuppa.
good riddance.....he has become a bitter nasty man
ReplyDeletelove Craig Ferguson so can't wait
I enjoyed the pranks he pulled on Richard Simmons. I remember when the two of them went door to door in the suburbs talking to people. Then they ended up at a hunting shop where Dave bought Richard some cargo pants--it was hilarious.
ReplyDeletewhat was this writtten by kneepads? or someone aspiring to an internship at kneepads? "Shared aeverything"? oh, except for cheating on his wife for years with eveyone with a pulse he could give a job to. how does that get left out of this little tribute? and i like the guy.
ReplyDeleteI love Dave! He reminds me of my dad with his sense of humor. I love the idea of Tina Fey or Amy Poehler. Please no Chelsea Handler. Ick. You KNOW Chen is gonna put in some extra effort in the bedroom to be considered!
ReplyDeleteNPH would be, wait for it...legend....dary.
ReplyDeleteI tried so hard to get tickets and finally through a friend of the family I got VIP letter to see Dave. To be in the old Ed Sullivan theater was something I will never forget. Meg Ryan was a guest and Diana Krall was the musical guest. One guy in the band gave me a look and head nod. I'll always love Dave and I'm glad he's going out on his own.
ReplyDeleteNo to Whoopie! She supports a cop killer.
ReplyDelete@Lydia, I'd forgotten his pranks on Richard Simmons. So funny!
ReplyDeleteI think Neil Patrick Harris would be an interesting choice, he might surprise everyone much like Ellen did.
ReplyDeleteCraig Ferguson just isn't what he used to be since Geoff Peterson came on board. I loved his show because since he didn't have a sidekick or band, he interacted so much with his audience--both in-studio and at home--but now his conversations are exclusively with the robot skeleton, who has become less a "thing" and more a co-host. I suspect that if Craig takes Dave's slot, he'll just bring Geoff with him.
Your last paragraph was so true. I will miss him. Recently my favorite parts of his shows are when he is with celebrity guests, some unexpected things happen or come up and he seems to bring out the best in his guests (except Julia R who has no best).
ReplyDeleteReally, the end of an era. Glad it was his decision & he outlasted Leno.
Roger Friedman said in his blog that Dave was on Howard Stern last month, and he had no intention of retiring THEN...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.showbiz411.com/2014/04/03/letterman-had-no-intention-of-retiring-two-months-ago-watch-video
Not a fan but we stayed in an apartment above the Ed Sullivan theatre when we were in NY so we went in the ticket draw and got to see the show which was pretty cool!
ReplyDeleteHe's phenomenal. The comment about 9/11 is especially on point.
ReplyDeleteI like that his company is called 'Worldwide Pants.'
ReplyDeleteGood to see you, hollywood dime :)
Thank goodness. Whenever I've watched him he's appeared very bored and stale. The weird music guy gets up my nose, and the guy who holds the cards (manual autocue) needs to be told to stay out of sight. It seems like a low budget production, but I bet it's not.
ReplyDeleteOh, PS:
ReplyDeleteNeil Patrick Harris would be incredible! Yes please!!!
His partner, David Burtka, could make regular appearances too ... he'd need to be a lot more relaxed than he was when he presented E! News and A List Listings though.
My agent thinks Dana Carvey is going to be the replacement
ReplyDeleteLove Cobert but I wonder how he'd be out of character?
ReplyDeleteMeh. Haven't watched Letterman in probably 20 years. But I do love CraigyFerg, so I hope he wins!
ReplyDeleteAmy Sedaris in Strangers With Candy mode?
ReplyDeleteA boozer a user and a Loser!!
I would like to see someone that is as politically neutral as possible. I want a person that will pick on any and everybody and not be a talking head for the Liberal wackos like Letterman.
ReplyDelete