The David Letterman Show is <!--MOS: TV shows in present tense-->an American morning talk show that was hosted by David Letterman on NBC. It originally aired from June 23 to October 24, 1980. Originally, the series lasted 90 minutes, then 60 minutes from August 4 onward.

Background

Letterman's 1976-1980 NBC appearances

David Letterman's relationship with NBC began in January 1976, initially via an appearance at a TV run-through in Burbank's NBC Studios for a Ron Greenberg-produced, Jim Lange-hosted game show called Word Grabbers whose eventual pilot would not be picked up. A struggling young nightclub comic based in Los Angeles and performing mostly in The Comedy Store, Letterman was rounded up for the run-through as part of a group of Comedy Store comics that also included George Miller, Tom Dreesen, Johnny Dark, Roberta Ferrill, Heather Harwood, and Alliene Flanery. Over the next two years Letterman returned to the show several times, and occasionally served as guest host in Carson's absence. During early 1980, Letterman took a job emceeing an Anti-Defamation League event presenting the advocacy organization's award to NBC's president Fred Silverman who was so impressed by Letterman's performance at the said event that he decided to offer the 33-year-old comedy performer and writer a morning talk show on the network. Silverman envisioned the new show to be framed along the lines of the 1950s CBS show Arthur Godfrey and His Friends.

In early 1980, NBC's daytime morning lineup consisted of six game shows. The David Letterman Show was made possible by the cancellation of three of them: High Rollers, Chain Reaction, and the long-running daytime version of Hollywood Squares.

The series was a critical success (and won several Daytime Emmys including the 1981

Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Writing) but the edgy comedy did not capture morning television watchers, who were more accustomed at the time to talk shows, soap operas, game shows, and prime time reruns.

Production

The original producer was Bob Stewart, a veteran quiz-show creator who had enlisted Letterman as a panelist on Pyramid from 1978 onward. However, due to creative differences, Stewart left the show four days before its premiere, and production of the first several shows fell to head writer Merrill Markoe, who acted as the show's de facto producer despite having absolutely no prior experience in the role. Much more comfortable as a writer than as producer, Markoe stayed aboard as the show's head writer for the entire run of the series but was succeeded as producer by Barry Sand. Sand joined the show on July 15 and remained at the helm for the rest of its run; Sand would later return to working with Letterman as producer for the first five years of Late Night. Michael McDonald of the Doobie Brothers wrote the opening theme of the show.

After the first month, Hal Gurnee began directing the show; he'd remain Letterman's director through the mid-1990's. Biff Henderson was the stage manager, a role he served for the next 35 years of Letterman's career. The writing staff initially consisted of Merrill Markoe (head writer), Valri Bromfield, Rich Hall, Harold Kimmel, Edie McClurg, Gerard Mulligan, Paul Raley, Wil Shriner, Bob Sarlatte and Ed Subitsky.

For the next year, NBC paid him $1,000,000 ($20,000 a week) to do nothing except not work for someone else without their permission, which included guest-hosting The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on multiple occasions. Letterman's next program, Late Night premiered on February 1, 1982, replacing Tom Snyder's Tomorrow program. In 2022, Letterman started releasing interviews from this program (in addition to his later shows) on his official YouTube channel, after longtime Letterman-archivist Don Giller did this on his own fan channel.

References

  • Opening minutes of the September 30, 1980 show
  • Detailed Episode Guide for The David Letterman Show