On grateful goodbye mode for David Letterman
LETTERMAN. Gets ready to hang up his trusty but still not rusty microphone. AP
After many years, even decades on the tube, late-night talk-show host, David Letterman, has decided to hang up his trusty but still not rusty microphone—before, as he goonily put it, “they barge their way in and drag me out!”
Before the month ends, Letterman will finally become a free agent, no longer required to keep viewers up with his still mordant and “gonzo” humor.
He may have wanted to quietly slip away into the good night, but his fans and loyalists won’t let him. Now on emotional and grateful goodbye mode, they have all been dropping by his set for the last time—led by President Barack Obama, no less!
The Prez has a soft spot for old Dave, because he’s become quite a proficient (political) punchline-hitting comic himself!
Another recent guest of note was Martin Short, who really put up one heck of a crazy goodbye show, which culminated in a song that (said he) was originally intended to be sung at Letterman’s funeral! Now overtaken by events, the anthem left everyone loopily laughing, including old Dave himself!
Juicy offers
For his part, Ray Romano shared that his career really took off only when he guested for the first time on “Letterman.” He was as poor as a mouse, but right after that national exposure, juicy offers started coming his way.
Romano’s explanation for Letterman’s “magic” touch: The comedy industry thinks so highly of Dave’s unerring eye for genuine talent that his simple decision to give somebody a break on his show is a huge endorsement worth its weight in gold.
Fact is, aside from being the first to beam the stellar spotlight on Romano, Letterman instructed his production team to whip up a new sitcom for him—and the long-running success of “Everybody Loves Raymond” was the hit result.
What about the younger comics? Tina Fey also made it a point to say goodbye to Dave on-cam, and did so in a most indelible way—by taking off her clothes! Actually, she just stripped down to her skivvies, which were emblazoned all over with emotional messages of ardent thanks! —Even Martin Short couldn’t top that one.
Why is the TV comedy industry so grateful to David Letterman? Because he set the tone for irrascible and irreverent talk-show humor and features from the ’60s onwards and consistently held onto that quirky standard, which young viewers loved.
Even when they had become old goats themselves like Letterman, he never wavered in being caustically unpredictable, and a host of younger talk-show hosts goonily followed!
