60 Fun Facts About David Letterman

In which city was David Letterman born?

He worked as a stock boy at the local Atlas Supermarket and went to Broad Ripple High School there.

Letterman graduated in 1969 from which university, where he later endowed a scholarship for 'C students'?

He studied in what was then the Department of Radio and Television in Muncie, Indiana.

As a young Indiana TV weatherman, Letterman drew attention for doing what on air?

His offbeat delivery on station WLWI hinted at the ironic style that later defined his talk shows.

In 1975 Letterman moved to Los Angeles and began performing stand-up at which Los Angeles club?

His then-wife Michelle and several Sigma Chi fraternity brothers encouraged the move.

Letterman's first NBC show, The David Letterman Show, aired in 1980 in what time slot?

It won two Emmys but flopped in the ratings and was cancelled after four months.

On what date did Late Night with David Letterman premiere on NBC?

It ran Monday through Thursday at 12:30 a.m., directly after Johnny Carson's Tonight Show.

Who was the very first guest on Late Night in 1982, and also the last guest on Late Show in 2015?

The symmetry spanned 33 years of late-night television.

Late Night was broadcast from Studio 6A in which New York building?

Conan O'Brien inherited the studio and the time slot when Letterman left for CBS in 1993.

What was the name of Paul Shaffer's musical group on Late Night?

Carson Productions would not let the band include a horn section, to keep it distinct from Doc Severinsen's group.

What was the topic of the very first Top Ten List, on September 18, 1985?

NBC later claimed the segment as its intellectual property when Letterman jumped to CBS.

Which restriction did Carson Productions impose on Late Night to protect The Tonight Show?

Shaffer's band was also barred from having a horn section.

Actor Calvert DeForest played which oddball recurring character on Late Night?

NBC asserted rights to the character when Letterman left, so at CBS DeForest appeared under his own name.

Chris Elliott started on Late Night as a production assistant in charge of which segment?

He was promoted to writer and became one of the show's most memorable on-camera weirdos.

Which former partner of Letterman's created many Late Night staples, including the viewers' animals segment?

She and Letterman lived together from 1978 to 1988.

Which guest's Late Night appearances frightened Letterman with nearly violent, confrontational behaviour?

The 1987 visit, complete with platform shoes and a near-kick at the host's head, remains a late-night legend.

When Johnny Carson retired in 1992, NBC gave The Tonight Show to whom instead of Letterman?

Carson himself had expected Letterman to get the job; Letterman left for CBS instead.

Late Show with David Letterman was taped in which historic Manhattan theatre?

CBS bought the building for $4 million and spent millions more renovating it before the 1993 debut.

What was the annual salary in Letterman's first three-year CBS contract in 1993?

By 2007 Forbes estimated his earnings at $40 million a year.

Who performed the first musical act on Late Show's 1993 debut episode?

The premiere drew about 23 million viewers.

Which announcer took over from Bill Wendell in 1995 and stayed until Late Show ended?

Wendell had announced Late Night at NBC and followed Letterman to CBS for two years.

Rupert Jee, a frequent Late Show foil, owned what business next door to the theatre?

The Hello Deli sat at 213 W. 53rd Street, steps from the stage door.

What was Biff Henderson's job on the Letterman shows?

He carried the role over from Late Night and became an on-camera regular in the process.

Which pop star's profanity-laced 1994 Late Show appearance became one of its most notorious?

Her visit is still cited whenever late-night hosts talk about guests going off the rails.

Which actress climbed onto Letterman's desk and flashed him on his birthday in April 1995?

It aired on April 12, 1995, Letterman's 48th birthday.

Letterman hosted the Academy Awards once, in March 1995. What was the Best Picture winner that night?

Critics savaged his hosting, but 48 million viewers made it the most-watched Oscars since 1983.

What emergency surgery did Letterman undergo in January 2000?

When he returned in February he brought the doctors and nurses who treated him on stage.

Which singer-songwriter, dying of cancer, was the sole guest for a whole October 2002 episode?

His advice to viewers that night, 'enjoy every sandwich', became his epitaph.

Which news anchor appeared on Letterman's emotional first show back after the September 11 attacks?

The September 17, 2001 broadcast, also featuring Regis Philbin, was hailed as one of the most honest moments in TV history.

In 2009 a CBS News producer tried to blackmail Letterman over staff affairs for how much?

Joe Halderman of 48 Hours pleaded guilty and got six months in jail; Letterman disclosed the plot on air.

The 2009 extortionist, Joe Halderman, was a producer on which CBS programme?

He threatened to expose Letterman's affairs in the form of a screenplay and a book.

What is the name of Letterman's production company, founded in 1991?

It also produced The Late Late Show and several prime-time comedies.

Which hit CBS sitcom was the most successful prime-time show produced by Letterman's company?

The company also produced The Late Late Show.

Letterman co-owns an IndyCar team that has won the Indy 500 twice. Who won for the team in 2004?

Takuma Sato brought the team its second victory in 2020.

Letterman bought a minority stake in Bobby Rahal's racing team in what year?

Danica Patrick drove for the team as a rookie in 2005, finishing fourth in the 500.

On what date did Letterman announce on air that he would retire from Late Show?

CBS quickly named Stephen Colbert as his successor.

How many of the then-living US presidents appeared in Letterman's final episode?

George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama each delivered the line 'Our long national nightmare is over.'

Which band closed Letterman's final show by playing his favourite song, 'Everlong'?

The finale ran 17 minutes over time and drew about 13.7 million viewers.

Roughly how many US viewers watched Letterman's last Late Show on May 20, 2015?

It was his biggest audience in more than two decades.

For how many years did Letterman host late-night talk shows, a record that surpassed Johnny Carson?

Between Late Night and Late Show he hosted more than 6,000 episodes.

How many times was Late Show nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Variety Series?

It won six of them.

Letterman received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2012 alongside which rock band?

Dustin Hoffman, Buddy Guy and ballerina Natalia Makarova rounded out that year's class.

In what year did Letterman receive the Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Prize for American Humor?

Julia Louis-Dreyfus received it the following year.

Letterman's 2018 Netflix interview series is titled what?

Barack Obama was the first guest when it premiered on January 12, 2018.

Where did Letterman and Regina Lasko marry in a quiet courthouse ceremony in 2009?

They had been together since 1986 and their son Harry was born in 2003.

Paul Shaffer, Letterman's bandleader for 33 years, co-wrote which disco anthem in 1982?

He wrote it with Paul Jabara; before Letterman he was in the Saturday Night Live house band.

Paul Shaffer was raised in which Canadian city?

He was born in Toronto and grew up in Fort William, now part of Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Which network offered Letterman the Nightline slot in 2002 as his CBS contract neared its end?

He turned it down and stayed at CBS for another 13 years.

Who was the first guest on Letterman's Netflix series My Next Guest Needs No Introduction in 2018?

In October 2022 he flew to Kyiv to interview Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a standalone episode.

Which world leader did Letterman interview in India for the climate series Years of Living Dangerously?

He was investigating India's push to bring electricity to 300 million citizens for the first time.

Which band did Letterman induct into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2017?

That same year he co-hosted TCM's The Essentials with Alec Baldwin, introducing seven films.

How long did Letterman's feud with Oprah Winfrey last after her uncomfortable 1989 Late Night interview?

It ended on December 2, 2005 with what Letterman called 'the Super Bowl of Love'.

For the 2010 Super Bowl promo with Oprah and Leno, whose retired No. 70 Colts jersey did Letterman wear?

Leno flew in on an NBC jet and sneaked into the Ed Sullivan Theater in disguise for the taping.

What did Letterman sport on his first show back after the 2007-08 writers' strike?

Worldwide Pants was the first company to cut its own deal with the WGA; the beard came off on air five days later.

Which baseball player did Letterman's controversial 2009 Sarah Palin joke reference?

He apologised to Bristol and Willow Palin but never specifically to Rodriguez, who had demanded one.

How did Letterman respond on air to a 2011 al-Qaeda death threat?

The threat followed his joke about the drone-strike death of al-Qaeda leader Ilyas Kashmiri.

Which car did Paul Newman have built for Letterman, later featured on Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee?

His collection in 2012 held ten Ferraris and eight Porsches, though he often drives a Tesla Model S.

What did stalker Margaret Mary Ray famously steal from Letterman in 1988?

She also camped on his tennis court; after her 1998 death he told The New York Times he had great compassion for her.

How much did the David Letterman Communication and Media Building at Ball State cost?

His 2007 dedication speech ended a Top Ten with 'if reasonable people can put my name on a $21 million building, anything is possible'.

From 2011 his private charity was named the Letterman Foundation for Courtesy and what?

Run by his accountant Fred Nigro, it gave over $9.2 million between 2001 and 2011.

How many Emmy nominations has Letterman received, among the most in the awards' history?

He has won two Daytime and ten Primetime Emmys and was the first Johnny Carson Award recipient in 2011.