David Letterman
David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman broadcast on CBS. He has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman Only David's friend and mentor Johnny Carson has had a longer late-night hosting career.
David is also a television and film producer. His company Worldwide Pants produces his show as well as its network followup The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson. Worldwide Pants has also produced several prime-time comedies, the most successful of which was Everybody Loves Raymond, currently in syndication.
David was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. His father, Harry Joseph Letterman,was a florist; his mother Dorothy Letterman, a Presbyterian church secretary of German descent, is an occasional figure on the show, usually at holidays and birthdays. He has an older sister Janice and a younger sister Gretchen.
In 2000 he told an interviewer for Esquire that, while growing up, he admired his father's ability to tell jokes and be the life of the party. Harry Joseph Letterman survived a heart attack at age 36, when David was a young boy. The fear of losing his father was constantly with Letterman as he grew up. Harry Joseph Letterman died of a second heart attack at age 57.
David, who graduated from what was the Department of Radio and Television at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, unofficially began his broadcasting career as an announcer and newscaster at the college's student-run radio station, WBST, a 10-watt campus station, which now is part of Indiana public radio. He was fired for treating classical music with irreverence.
He then became involved with the founding of another campus station, WAGO-AM 570 (now WCRD, 91.3).
David credits Paul Dixon, host of the Paul Dixon Show, a Cincinnati-based talk show also shown in Indianapolis while David was growing up, for inspiring his choice of career.
"I was just out of college [in 1969], and I really didn't know what I wanted to do. And then all the sudden I saw him doing it [on TV]. And I thought: That's really what I want to do! "
He began his official career as a radio talk show host on WXLW (AM), and on Indianapolis television station WLWI (now called WTHR) as a local anchor and weatherman. He received some recognition for his unpredictable on-air behavior, which included congratulating a tropical storm for being upgraded to a hurricane, and predicting hail stones "the size of canned hams." (To this day he occasionally gives out canned hams on his show). He also hosted a talk show which aired early on Saturday mornings called "Clover Power," in which he interviewed 4-H members about their projects. He would also occasionally report the day's very high and low temps for fictitious cities.
In 1971, David appeared as a pit road reporter for ABC's Wide World of Sports delayed same-day coverage of the Indianapolis 500.
In 1975, encouraged by his then-wife Michelle and several of his Sigma Chi fraternity brothers, David moved to Los Angeles, California, with hopes of becoming a comedy writer. He started off by writing material for the TV sitcom Good Times. He also began performing stand-up comedy at The Comedy Store, a famed Los Angeles, comedy club and proving ground for young comics.
David had a stint as a cast member on Mary Tyler Moore's variety show, Mary; a guest appearance on Mork & Mindy (as a parody of est leader Werner Erhard); and appearances on game shows such as The $20,000 Pyramid, The Gong Show, Password Plus and The Liar's Club. He also hosted a 1977 pilot for a game show entitled The Riddlers that was never picked up. His dry, sarcastic humor caught the attention of scouts for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and he was soon a regular guest on the show. David became a favorite of Carson's and was a regular guest host for the show beginning in 1978. David credits Carson as the person who influenced his career the most.
In late June 1980, David was given his own morning comedy show on NBC, The David Letterman Show. The show was a critical success, winning two Emmy Awards, but was a ratings disappointment and was canceled in October 1980. NBC kept David under contract to try him in a different time slot, after which Late Night with David Letterman debuted in 1982. David's show, which ran weeknights at 12:30 a.m. Eastern Time, immediately following The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, quickly established a reputation as being edgy and unpredictable, and soon developed a cult following.
David remained with NBC for eleven years, becoming very successful and enjoying high ratings in the 12:30 A.M. time slot. By the time Johnny Carson retired in 1992, David expected to be considered for the host of The Tonight Show. He did not know that months earlier NBC had signed Jay Leno (then the regular Tonight substitute host) to a contract guaranteeing him as the next permanent host. Following long negotiations with multiple networks, David called his longtime friend Carson for advice. Carson, who had always seen David as his rightful successor, suggested that the host leave NBC. Feeling scorned by NBC, in 1993 David departed the network to host his own late-night show opposite Tonight on CBS at 11:30 p.m., called the Late Show with David Letterman.
On January 14, 2000, a routine check-up revealed that an artery in David's heart was severely constricted. He was rushed to emergency surgery for a quintuple bypass.
In 1969, David married Michelle Cook; the marriage ended by divorce in 1977. He also had a long-term relationship with former head writer and producer on Late Night, Merrill Markoe.
David has a son, Harry Joseph (born in 2003), with Regina Lasko. Harry is named after David's father.
David and Regina, who had been together since 1986, wed during a quiet courthouse civil ceremony in Choteau, Montana on March 19, 2009. David announced the marriage during the taping of his March 23 show, shortly after congratulating Bruce Willis for getting married the previous week. The family resides in North Salem, New York, on a 108-acre estate.
On his October 1, 2009 show, David announced that he had been the victim of an extorion attempt by someone threatening to reveal that he had sex with more than one of his female employees. He confirmed the relationships. He opened his October 1 monologue by saying that three weeks earlier (on September 9) someone had left a package in his car with material he said he would write into a screenplay and a book if David didn't pay him $2 million. David said he contacted the Mahannan District Attorney's office, ultimately cooperating with them to conduct a sting operation involving giving the man a phony check. The alleged extortionist was subsequently arrested after trying to cash the check.
On his October 5 show, David devoted a segment to a public apology to his wife and staff.
The only information I found on David's religious beliefs was the following: David Letterman was raised in a devout Presbyterian home. He attended weekly worship services and Sunday School while growing up. Although Letterman consistently expresses sincere respect for religious faith and active church members, Letterman is not known to have been an active churchgoer as an adult. This week take some time and pray the Lord blesses David and draws closer to His heart!