FINAL SHOW
hewitt@skyfox
and the appearance of Springsteen overwhelmed us. His high voltage
rendition of "Glory Days" was a fitting conclusion to eleven
wonderful years. Thanks Dave and good luck at CBS!
Norm Gregory
Letterman Throws a ``Late Night'' Going-Away Party for Himself
By FRAZIER MOORE
AP Television Writer
NEW YORK (AP) _ Phone the neighbors! Wake the kids!
David Letterman has exited NBC after 11&1/2 years hosting ``Late
Night!'' Bringing down the curtain and the house Friday was his
surprise guest Bruce Springsteen!
Oh ... you heard already.
``Here I am on probably the show business event of the season,'' said
Tom Hanks, Letterman's next-to-last guest, at a moment so heady such
glorious excess might have seemed to be true.
``I haven't said this more than three times in the last 11 years,''
announcer Bill Wendell told the studio audience before the 5:30 p.m.
taping began, ``but tonight we've got a GREAT show!''
As if they needed to be told.
In a program both riotous and bittersweet, filled with laughs and
memories, a fired-up Letterman went seven minutes over his usual hour.
Famously glib or cranky, he even signed off with an out-of-character
message to his viewers: ``You have my thanks and my friendship.''
Then offering fond wishes to his ``Late Night'' successor, Conan
O'Brien, Letterman offered his services as a guest. ``I would get a
kick out of that,'' he said (O'Brien takes over in late August or
September. Until then, NBC will air Letterman reruns).
``I think the one thing you don't realize when you see the public
David Letterman is, he is an emotional guy,'' said executive producer
Robert Morton after the taping. ``And 11&1/2 years in this studio _ it
means a lot to him that he's leaving.''
So Letterman was gone, with only one question lingering: How will Dave
match Friday's level of excitement and sentiment when, instead of
making a much-hyped transition, he finally calls it quits for real?
After all, Monday will be business as usual for Letterman staffers
when they report for work at their new CBS offices just a few blocks
away. ``Late Show with David Letterman,'' with a weeknight start time
an hour earlier (11:35 p.m. EDT), premieres on CBS Aug. 30, against
NBC's ``Tonight Show with Jay Leno.''
``There's no vacation for us,'' said Morton. ``We'll start booking
guests right away. I was just talking to Springsteen's manager about
doing the first (CBS) show, for God's sake!''
Before bringing on Springsteen 45 minutes into Friday's finale,
Letterman told viewers he had booked every guest on ``Late Night''
that he'd wanted _ except one. At Springsteen's request, only then did
Letterman divulge who that holdout was.
``Better late than never,'' Letterman said, and as the audience
roared, Springsteen tore into a rousing ``Glory Days.''
In a typically self-mocking stroke, the show had begun with a film
clip of TV's ``Cheers'' gang flicking on the bar's television set and,
when ``Late Night'' proved to be the only thing on, turning away in
disgust.
Letterman joked in his signature Top 10 list that among the things he
had to do before leaving NBC were to ``drop off hairpiece at security
desk'' and ``get one more cheap laugh by saying the word
`Buttafuoco.'''
Congratulating himself for finally being named NBC Employee of the
Month, he took a parting shot at corporate parent General Electric,
saying, ``If GE had a sense of humor, they'd send a guy in here right
now to fire me.''
GE didn't. Letterman left on his own.
And as millions of viewers saw for themselves, he didn't go quietly.
NBCeeing You Around, David Letterman Says On `Late Night' Finale
By FRAZIER MOORE
AP Television Writer
NEW YORK (AP) _ No. 1: Goodbye NBC.
David Letterman closed out a Top 11 list Friday night _ or more
precisely 11&1/2 . The gap-toothed maestro of postmodern silliness
ended his 11&1/2 -year tenure as host of NBC's ``Late Night'' and
welcomed as his surprise guest Bruce Springsteen.
He joked in his signature Top 10 list that among the things he had to
do before leaving NBC were to ``drop off hairpiece at security desk''
and ``get one more cheap laugh by saying the word `Buttafuoco.'''
Before bringing on Springsteen 45 minutes into the show, Letterman
said he had had every guest on his show that he'd wanted except one,
and that was the singer. ``Better late than never,'' Letterman said,
moments before Springsteen performed ``Glory Days.''
Tom Hanks was the first guest Friday night, but Letterman had refused
to divulge who else would be appearing on the show. All he would say
was that it was someone who had never before been booked on ``Late
Night.''
Letterman's Friday night finale and 1,809th outing from Studio 6A in
Rockefeller Center concluded a boisterous few days that recalled a
schoolboy's excitement at the end of the term.
Then, after summer vacation, Letterman graduates to CBS, a $14 million
annual paycheck, and a new talk show. ``Late Show with David
Letterman,'' with a weeknight start time an hour earlier (11:35 p.m.
EDT), premieres Aug. 30.
``This is the kind of stuff CBS is just dying to get their hands on,''
a barely-able-to-contain-himself Letterman cackled during a zany week
when:
_ A man in a green-pea costume raced through the studio, showering
green peas from his basket onto the crowd;
_ Julia Child got Letterman up to his elbows in a cooking session;
_Dave announced former ``Late Night'' writer-player Chris Elliott as a
guest, then, at hour's end, wickedly explained that time had run out
and Elliott had been rescheduled _ for next Wednesday's show that will
never come;
_ Stagehands pried a studio clock off its moorings for Dave to present
to guest Garry Shandling.
``Let Conan O'Brien get his own clock,'' said Letterman, referring to
NBC's replacement who launches a new ``Late Night'' from 6A in late
August or early September.
In the meantime, NBC will air Letterman reruns at 12:35 a.m. EDT.
The network plans to turn the abandoned ``Late Night'' set into a
theme park _ or so the comedian cracked on Thursday night's show.
But if the network really did, fans would probably come.
In the looming art deco lobby of the GE Building that NBC calls home,
eager ``Late Night'' ticket-holders were queuing up by 3 p.m. for
Thursday's 5:30 taping.
At the front of the line was Nanette Russell of Fords, N.J., who
boasted that she has caught every ``Late Night'' since 1985.
``I watch every night,'' she said. ``Even repeats. I hope Letterman
sees this.''
Mary Fuge had taken the bus down from Boston for the day to see the
show. A couple from Atherton, Calif., had included the taping as part
of their Manhattan second honeymoon.
Jonathan Morgenstein had returned home earlier in the week after five
months in Europe. Tongue-in-cheek, the Cornell University senior
reported that, during his travels through a dozen countries, ``I
didn't find a single person as witty as David Letterman _ although I
did meet a kid from Minnesota who was almost as funny.''
After not so much as a glimpse of Dave since mid-January, Morgenstein
said he had been prepping himself to be part of the studio audience.
``I've been training for the last three days, exercising, just so I
can laugh as much as possible,'' he joked.
Other audience members weren't quite such devotees. In fact, Beverly
Ackerby had never laid eyes on Letterman.
``I only heard about him a week ago,'' said the Perth, Australia,
native, in New York visiting her children.
``I hear this is his second-to-last show,'' she said. ``Where's he
going?''
When told Letterman's destination was new CBS digs just a few blocks
away, Ackerby laughed.
``If we go anywhere in Australia we get on a jet and go 10,000
miles,'' she said. ``We wouldn't call a few blocks much of a move.''
APTV-06-25-93 1549PDT
Dave's Last Top 10 List on NBC
By The Associated Press
From the home office in Oneonta, N.Y., the Top 10 list David
Letterman read Friday on his last ``Late Night'' show on NBC:
Top 10 Things I Have To Do Before I Leave NBC:
10. Drop off hairpiece at security desk.
9. Vacuum out (announcer Bill) Wendell and write down his mileage.
8. One final ``turn your head and cough'' visit to NBC nurse.
7. Steal my weight in office supplies.
6. Let my plastic surgeon step out and take a bow _ this has been
his show as much as mine.
5. One last hot-oil rubdown from the knowing hands of Mr. John
Chancellor.
4. Return artificial leg to props department.
3. Get one more cheap laugh by saying the word ``Buttafuoco.''
2. Send change-of-address forms to that woman who breaks into my
house.
1. Untie Willard.
APTV-06-25-93 1620PDT
NBCeeing You Around, David Letterman Says On `Late Night' Finale
By FRAZIER MOORE
AP Television Writer
NEW YORK (AP) _ No. 1: Goodbye NBC.
David Letterman closed out an illustrious Top 11 list Friday night _
or more precisely 11&1/2 . The gap-toothed maestro of postmodern
silliness ended his 11&1/2 -year tenure as host of NBC's ``Late
Night'' and welcomed as his surprise guest Bruce Springsteen.
Springsteen thus became the last of an estimated 6,000 guests.
Letterman joked in his signature Top 10 list that among the things he
had to do before leaving NBC were to ``drop off hairpiece at security
desk'' and ``get one more cheap laugh by saying the word
`Buttafuoco.'''
Congratulating himself for finally being named NBC Employee of the
Month, he took a parting shot at corporate parent General Electric,
saying, ``If GE had a sense of humor, they'd send a guy in here right
now to fire me.''
GE didn't. Letterman, promising ``surprises and free balloons for the
kids,'' went seven minutes over his usual hour with high spirits and
nostalgia _ all the more remarkable since most of the Letterman camp
will be reporting for work Monday morning at new CBS offices just a
few blocks away.
Early on, there was a salute to ``Late Night'' stalwart Larry ``Bud''
Melman (the actor, Calvert DeForest), who appeared in a tux to the
strains of ``Shangri-La.''
Clips from old shows included Bill Murray, guest No. 1, bellowing
``Let's Get Physical'' from the show's Feb. 2, 1982, premiere, and the
rude welcome Letterman got when he delivered a fruit basket to GE
headquarters just after the company bought NBC's parent, RCA.
Friday's show concluded with a warm and sincere farewell from
Letterman, who told his viewers, ``You have my thanks and my
friendship.''
Then wishing good luck to his ``Late Night'' successor, Conan O'Brien,
Letterman said he hoped to be invited back as a guest. ``I would get a
kick out of that,'' he said. O'Brien takes over in late August or
September.
Before bringing on Springsteen 45 minutes into the show, Letterman
said he had had every guest on his show that he'd wanted except one,
and that was the singer. ``Better late than never,'' Letterman said,
moments before Springsteen tore into a rousing ``Glory Days'' from
atop bandleader Paul Shaffer's keyboards.
Tom Hanks was the evening's first guest, but, at Springsteen's
request, Letterman had refused to divulge who else would be appearing.
All he would say was that it was someone who had never before been
booked on ``Late Night.''
Taped as usual at 5:30 p.m. in Studio 6A at 30 Rockefeller Plaza,
Letterman's 1,809th outing concluded a boisterous few days that
recalled a schoolboy's excitement at the end of the term.
Now Letterman graduates to CBS, a $14 million annual paycheck, and a
new talk show. ``Late Show with David Letterman,'' with a weeknight
start time an hour earlier (11:35 p.m. EDT), premieres Aug. 30.
Until O'Brien is ready to pick up the torch, NBC will air Letterman
reruns at 12:35 a.m. EDT. And the network plans to turn the abandoned
``Late Night'' set into a theme park _ or so Letterman cracked on
Thursday night's show.
Wrong, Dave. A crew was scheduled to begin dismantling his set
Saturday morning. Security was to be posted outside 6A to make sure no
one tried to steal pieces as souvenirs.
APTV-06-25-93 1749PDT
Gwynn Severt
Could someone please tell me why Dave said Bruce had such a meaning in his
life? Are they close friends or something? Don't get me wrong - Bruce was
great - but I didn't understand why Dave said all that about Bruce.
Thanks in advance!
*****************************************************************
Gwynn Severt - NASA Lewis Research Center
"There's a fine line between love and hate and I'm walking with
Wesson on my shoes."
e-mail: gse...@lims01.lerc.nasa.gov
*****************************************************************
Darren Bruce Boucher
>In article <26JUN93.06315555@skyfox>, hewitt@skyfox writes...
>>I thought tonight's finale was wonderful! Tom Hanks was hilarious
>>and the appearance of Springsteen overwhelmed us. His high voltage
>>rendition of "Glory Days" was a fitting conclusion to eleven
>>wonderful years. Thanks Dave and good luck at CBS!
>Could someone please tell me why Dave said Bruce had such a meaning in his
>life? Are they close friends or something? Don't get me wrong - Bruce was
>great - but I didn't understand why Dave said all that about Bruce.
>Thanks in advance!
Bruce is considered to be the greatest rocker in the world by a generation,
not necessarily yours. I admit, his older stuff was great but his last
three albums, he's gone soft. He likes his stuff but from what I noticed
the public doesn't like it as much.
--
"Wonderful Girl! Either I'm going to kill her
or I'm beginning to like her."
-Han Solo
Gwynn Severt
know was what prompted Dave to say that the mystery guest was someone who
had a big meaning in his life (or something to that effect). I can't see
what impact a rock star would have on a rising comedian's life. Could
someone please enlighten me?
sean german
>I know who Bruce Springsteen is - I wasn't asking that. What I wanted to
>know was what prompted Dave to say that the mystery guest was someone who
>had a big meaning in his life (or something to that effect). I can't see
>what impact a rock star would have on a rising comedian's life. Could
>someone please enlighten me?
Yeah, I'd like to enlighten you...upside the head with a baseball bat!
Ever think maybe Dave was a Springsteen fan? NOO!!! Dave's a comedian....
Bruse is a rock star....let me guess, your only roll models are the great village idiots of history. *sigh*
I know we all have an extra hour of free time these days, but about spending it thinking a little rather than asking droll questions?
sean...
Ron Burek
>From: sge...@andy.bgsu.edu (sean german)
>Subject: Re: FINAL SHOW
>Summary: *sheesh!*
>Date: Thu, 1 Jul 1993 00:12:46 GMT
>In article <30JUN199...@lims02.lerc.nasa.gov> gse...@lims02.lerc.nasa.gov (Gwynn Severt) writes:
>>I know who Bruce Springsteen is - I wasn't asking that. What I wanted to
>>know was what prompted Dave to say that the mystery guest was someone who
>>had a big meaning in his life (or something to that effect). I can't see
>>what impact a rock star would have on a rising comedian's life. Could
>>someone please enlighten me?
>
take a shot at being a comedian. You pack up everthing you own and head
west with $5500 dirving to California. What do you listen to during the
long drive but your favorite tapes of music. It is in the mid 70's and if
you are a young man into rock Springsteen is the favorite of many rockers.
Some of this comes from making broad assumptions and some from the NBC
interview with Tom B. Dave talked about heading west with $5500 and
completly unknown. He didn't start out making $14,000,000 a year. After
all do you listen to music? Are there not some muscians that you admire. Is
your life one dimensional, don't you enjoy things outside your career.
You can't just be a student of slappy white.
ˇWPC•
Gwynn Severt
I just thought maybe someone could tell me why Dave said what he said.
I really think you were out of line. You could have answered in a little
bit kinder way. Maybe in your hour of free time, you should look up the
word couth in the dictionary, and while you're at it, look up the word
"roll". It's _ROLE_, my friend.
Gwynn Severt
I was just asking. I wasn't in any way ripping on the show, Bruce
Springsteen, or David Letterman. It was a honest question on my part. You
people need to lighten up!
Darren Bruce Boucher
>e-mail: gse...@lims01.lerc.nasa.gov
>*****************************************************************
Hello? That is what I was saying, Bruce Springsteen was the greatest afor
a generation, Dave's generation obviously. Ever hear of the affect the
Beatles or Elvis ad on their generations? Bruce was the same for many, and
most midwestern people. The first of the Heartland Rockers.
Charles Lindy
>From: bou...@ug.cs.dal.ca (Darren Bruce Boucher)
>Subject: Re: FINAL SHOW
>Date: Fri, 2 Jul 1993 12:27:53 GMT
Bruce a Heartland Rocker...???!!! ...this kid from New Jersey...???!!! ...
uh, try John Mellencamp for a Heartland Rocker. I like Bruce and all, but,
heartland...naw...jersey to the core.
>--
>"Wonderful Girl! Either I'm going to kill her
> or I'm beginning to like her."
> -Han Solo
Charles Lindy Phone: (217) 333-0850
Director of Ag Programming FAX: (217) 333-7151
WILL-AM-580 Internet: c-l...@uiuc.edu
University of Illinois "I wanna say the loud funny words."
sean german
>
>>In article <C9FoD...@cs.dal.ca>, bou...@ug.cs.dal.ca (Darren Bruce Boucher) writes...
>>>In <28JUN199...@lims02.lerc.nasa.gov> gse...@lims02.lerc.nasa.gov (Gwynn Severt) writes:
>>>
>>>>In article <26JUN93.06315555@skyfox>, hewitt@skyfox writes...
>most midwestern people. The first of the Heartland Rockers.
since when is new jersey 'Heartland'??
sean...