The David Letterman Show

Did You Know?

• After cancellation, NBC paid Letterman $1,000,000 ($20,000 a week) for one year to not work for another network without permission.
• In 2022, Letterman began releasing interviews from this program on his official YouTube channel.
• Approximately 83 of the 90 episodes are held in the archives of Worldwide Pants.

Background

David Letterman's association with NBC began in January 1976 when he appeared in a run-through for a game show pilot called Word Grabbers. At the time, he was a struggling nightclub comic based in Los Angeles, performing mostly at The Comedy Store. In July 1977, he served as a celebrity judge on NBC's The Gong Show. He later starred as a mock newscaster in the primetime special Peeping Times, a spoof of news magazines, but the pilot was not picked up.

Letterman debuted on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in November 1978, performing stand-up; Carson signaled approval by inviting him for an interview. Over the next two years, Letterman guest-hosted The Tonight Show several times. In early 1980, he emceed an Anti-Defamation League event honoring NBC president Fred Silverman, who was impressed enough to offer Letterman a morning talk show. Silverman envisioned the show along the lines of Arthur Godfrey and His Friends.

The David Letterman Show replaced three cancelled NBC game shows: High Rollers, Chain Reaction, and the daytime version of Hollywood Squares. The series was a critical success and won several Daytime Emmys, including the 1981 award.

Production

The original producer was Bob Stewart, a veteran quiz-show creator who had used Letterman as a panelist on Pyramid. Stewart left four days before the premiere due to creative differences. Head writer Merrill Markoe then acted as de facto producer despite having no prior experience in that role; she remained head writer for the entire run. Barry Sand succeeded Markoe as producer on July 15 and stayed for the rest of the series; he later produced the first five years of Late Night.

Michael McDonald of the Doobie Brothers composed the opening theme. Hal Gurnee began directing after the first month and remained Letterman's director through the mid-1990s. Biff Henderson served as stage manager for the next 35 years of Letterman's career. The initial writing staff included Merrill Markoe, Valri Bromfield, Rich Hall, Harold Kimmel, Edie McClurg, Gerard Mulligan, Paul Raley, Wil Shriner, Bob Sarlatte, and Ed Subitsky.

Several writers appeared on camera in recurring characters, such as Edie McClurg as Mrs. Marv Mendenhall and Valri Bromfield as Debbie Smith.

Guests

The show's guest list included Steve Allen, Andy Kaufman, Tom Snyder, Steve Martin, Robert Klein, Bill Murray, Dr. Isaac Asimov, Allen Ludden, and Jeff Greenfield, who critiqued the debut episode live. Musical performers ranged from Loudon Wainwright III and The Drifters to Janis Ian, Irene Cara, Maria Muldaur, Nell Carter, Judy Collins, John Sebastian, Tom Rush, Lionel Hampton, Charles Aznavour, Tracy Nelson, Linda Hopkins, Esther Satterfield, Lacy J. Dalton, Michael Franks, Rusty Draper, Mickey Gilley, Gerard Kenny, John Hartford, Johnny Paycheck, Al DiMeola, Sippie Wallace, and Harve Mann. A young Bill Maher sat in the audience for that first episode, while Conan O'Brien later said he thumbed a ride to New York just to catch a broadcast from Studio 6A.

Show timeline

The first show aired June 23, with announcer Bob Sarlette, writer/performers Edie McClurg and Valri Bromfield, newsreader Edwin Newman, and bandleader Frank Owens. On June 27, the first Stupid Pet Tricks segment appeared. July 10 saw the debut of Small Town News, and July 11 the first Viewer Mail segment. Barry Sand became producer on July 15, and Hal Gurnee replaced Bruce Burmester as director on July 28. The show was cut to 60 minutes on August 4; Bill Wendell became permanent announcer on August 11. Valri Bromfield's last on-air appearance was August 21; Edie McClurg's was September 19. Cancellation was announced September 10, and the show ran four more weeks. October 10 was devoted to Floyd Stiles of Collins, Missouri. October 22 featured winners of a contest in Cresco, Iowa. The final show aired October 24, with crew members' resumes shown as bumpers.