Late Show with David Letterman

▪ American television program

      American late-night talk show hosted by comedian David Letterman (Letterman, David) that began airing on the Columbia Broadcasting System ( CBS Corporation) in 1993 and won numerous Emmy Awards for its innovative, frequently off-the-wall approach to the talk show format.

      Letterman rose to popularity as the host of Late Night with David Letterman (1982–93), which followed The Tonight Show (Tonight Show, The) in the late-night lineup of the National Broadcasting Company (NBC). Despite Letterman's long career with NBC, in 1993 the network chose comedian Jay Leno (Leno, Jay) over Letterman to succeed Johnny Carson (Carson, Johnny) as host of The Tonight Show. Letterman subsequently moved to CBS and launched Late Show with David Letterman.

      An hour-long program broadcast weeknights opposite The Tonight Show, Late Show has become a cornerstone of CBS's programming. It is shot live on tape before a studio audience in the theatre in New York City that was the home of The Ed Sullivan Show. Like other late-night talk shows, Late Show features interviews with celebrity guests interspersed with comedic segments, skits, and musical performances.

      The program begins with a humorous monologue by Letterman that is often punctuated by banter with the show's diminutive bandleader, Paul Shaffer, an accomplished musician who affects a glitzy show-biz persona that typifies the Late Show's winking tongue-in-cheek sensibility. Like Late Night, the Late Show has a hip cachet that has much to do with the audience's being in on the joke, whether it involves the nightly Top Ten list, Letterman's interaction with one of his quirkier guests (from flamboyant fitness advocate Richard Simmons to caustic comic book author Harvey Pekar), or the bizarre conceptual bits that are a staple of the program. These frequently involve an ensemble of sidemen drawn from the production staff (e.g., stage manager Biff Henderson) and the theatre's Manhattan neighbourhood (delicatessen owner Rupert Jee) or simply recruited off the street. Influenced by the avant-garde approach of television comedy pioneer Ernie Kovacs, Letterman and his team routinely go behind and beyond the stage, calling out of windows with a bullhorn, telephoning office workers in nearby buildings, and mounting cameras on just about anything that moves. “Stupid Pet Tricks,” “Stupid Human Tricks,” “Know Your Cuts of Meat,” and “Is This Anything?” are just a few of the show's regular segments.

      Most of Letterman's interviews are good natured and funny; however, he can also be probing or antagonistic, which has resulted in long-running feuds with a number of celebrities, including Cher and Madonna. Yet underlying Letterman's often biting and sardonic humour is a sincerity and genuineness that more than a few observers have attributed to his Midwestern roots. The Late Show has also been lauded for showcasing both high-profile and up-and-coming recording artists, almost all of whom perform with the show's skillful house band. After initially topping the late-night talk show viewer ratings, the Late Show has more recently failed to reach as broad an audience as The Tonight Show, but its influence on a generation of viewers and comedians is undeniable.

* * *