Latest Shocking Entertainment News: TV Icon! David Letterman Through the Years: Late-Night Host and Beyond
Take a seat! David Letterman has made his name as a popular comedian and late-night TV host.
“I knew exactly what I wanted to be. My sophomore year in high school they offered a public speaking class. So I signed right up,” the Indiana native recalled during a May 2015 appearance on CBS Sunday Morning. “First day of class, everybody has to stand up and give an impromptu speech about themselves. And I got up when it was my turn and I gave the speech, it had to be, like, two minutes or something. And I sat down and I said, ‘Wow that was easy,’ to myself. And I had never said that about any other class in my academic career prior or after. …I couldn’t do it in any other class.”
The Mark Twain Prize winner, who got his start on TV as a local weatherman in Indianapolis, rose to fame in the 1970s when he started pursuing a career in stand-up comedy. By 1978, Letterman landed recurring gigs on Mary Tyler Moore’s Mary variety show and on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show.
“It’s white-hot adrenaline. That’s all it is. Then you go and you sit down and you talk to Johnny,” Letterman told CBS anchor Jane Pauley in 2015. “And it’s like you’re sitting on the knee of the Lincoln Memorial and Lincoln is talking to you. You know, it’s like, ‘Holy God, it’s the guy on the $5 bill is talking to me.’”
After a string of popular comedy appearances, the Mork & Mindy alum landed his first morning show. The David Letterman Show premiered in 1980, nearly two years before Letterman was entrusted to lead NBC’s Late Night. (Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers have since succeeded Letterman.)
“[Johnny] Carson was my model,” Letterman told New York Magazine in March 2017, explaining his early hesitation to make political jokes. “All of that changed because of Jon Stewart … he made it so that not doing political stuff got to be the elephant in the room. And also it was having [the news story of] Monica Lewinsky and President Clinton. It was hard to ignore that.”
He added at the time: “We’re always looking for the easiest path, the most obvious joke. … We changed our attitude to make it easier on ourselves. And again, what defense do you have for ignoring these topics? None, really.”
The Indiana native eventually made the move over to The Late Show With David Letterman, which aired on CBS, in 1992. Letterman hosted the show for nearly 23 years before retiring, in which Stephen Colbert took over the time slot. Two years later, the Peabody Award winner returned to TV for his My Next Guest Needs No Introduction series on Netflix. He has since interviewed the likes of Will Smith, Kim Kardashian and activist Malala Yousafzai for the streaming giant.
“Everybody would come to me and say, ‘What do you want to do?’ And I kept saying, ‘Well, jeez, I did what I wanted to do,’” Letterman told The New York Times in August 2017. “[This new show] feels like exactly what I want at this stage of my life.”
In his personal life, the Worldwide Pants founder has been with now-wife Regina Lasko for more than two decades. Letterman and Lasko — who share son Harry, born in 2003— wed in March 2009. The Emmy Award winner, who was previously married to Michelle Cook for seven years, admitted six months after their nuptials that he had been unfaithful, having affairs with several women who worked for him on The Late Show.
“I have no one to blame but myself,” Letterman explained during a January 2013 OWN interview. “I think if you’re going to have a flow chart of the responsibility for this circumstance, this sex scandal, my name is at the top. I’m not sure what it means, but I’m taking responsibility for it, trying to atone for it.”
The Late Show Fun Facts author and Lasko eventually worked through their struggles and stayed together. “I can’t forgive that behavior,” he said during the 2013 sit-down. “I’m still trying to fix it. It hasn’t gone away. It will never go away.”
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Scroll down to see Letterman’s life in photos:
After graduating from Indiana’s Ball State University, Letterman stayed local when he booked his first TV gig as a weatherman. Adam Scull/Shutterstock
Nearly six years later, the former CBS star relocated to Los Angeles to pursue stand-up comedy. “It was like being at the ophthalmologist,” Letterman joked to Variety in April 2022 of getting his start at an open mic night at The Comedy Store venue. “My first vision of [the stage] was this white light. And that’s all I could see, like, I’m having my retina checked now on stage. And I did my silly little jokes for five minutes and got off.” Glasshouse Images/Shutterstock
Letterman married his first wife, Cook, in 1969. They called it quits nearly eight years later. Everett/Shutterstock
After breaking through on the stand-up scene, the comedy icon got his big break as a featured cast member on Mary and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Nbc Tv/Kobal/Shutterstock
The David Letterman Show, Letterman’s morning show on NBC, only aired for six months before its cancellation. Nbc Tv/Kobal/Shutterstock
In the wake of his morning show’s abrupt end, NBC enlisted the legendary broadcaster to host their debut Late Night chat show, where he would interview two or three guests per night. Letterman hosted Late Night With David Letterman until June 1993 when he made the move to CBS. AP/Shutterstock
After leaving NBC, Letterman launched his The Late Show With David Letterman via CBS, which ran for 22 seasons. Alex Brandon/AP/Shutterstock
Letterman and Lasko welcomed their only child, son Harry, on November 3. Greg Allen/Shutterstock
The 30 for 30 alum started dating Lasko in 1986, though they never felt pressure to tie the knot. After 23 years together, they finally walked down the aisle. However, six months later, Letterman admitted to cheating on the production manager, who has since stuck by her man’s side. Invision/AP/Shutterstoc
During an interview with Charlie Rose on CBS’ This Morning, Letterman opened up about his longtime battle with depression and his initial reluctance to seek treatment. “Part of the concoction of drugs they give you to fight that pain are pretty serious, and I just got tired of taking them,” the Netflix personality said, noting he was worried the meds would make him hallucinate or feel drowsy before being diagnosed with anxiety. “Then I was really screwed.” He added at the time: “So that's when I said to Louis [Aronne, my friend and doctor], 'OK, OK, I'll try anything just to get rid of this depression.’ Because it's different than, 'Oh, I don't feel good today.' It's different than feeling sad. It's different than feeling blue. It's really, like a friend of mine says, ‘It's the world with 20/20 vision.’” Everett/Shutterstock
After 31 years on late-night television, Letterman retired from The Late Show. “For 21 years, David Letterman has graced our network’s air in late night with wit, gravitas and brilliance unique in the history of our medium,” CBS president Les Moonves said in a statement at the time. “During that time, Dave has given television audiences thousands of hours of comedic entertainment, the sharpest interviews in late night, and brilliant moments of candor and perspective around national events. He’s also managed to keep many celebrities, politicians and executives on their toes — including me.” Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
Two years later, the comedian returned with his My Next Guest Needs No Introduction series. The Netflix series invited various celebrities — from President Barack Obama to Lizzo — to talk with Letterman about their experiences. Joe Pugliese/Netflix
by Miranda Siwak
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