Editing Late Night with David Letterman (section)

==History==
In the wake of his [[The David Letterman Show|NBC morning show]] being cancelled in October 1980 after 18 weeks on the air,<ref name=loryap82f1/> David Letterman was still held in high enough regard by the network brass, especially NBC president [[Fred Silverman]], that upon hearing the 33-year-old comedian was being courted by a [[Broadcast syndication|first-run syndication]] company, NBC gave him a [[United States dollar|US$]]20,000 per week ($1,000,000 for a year) deal to sit out a year and guest-host ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson]]'' on multiple occasions.<ref name="nyt-nov-1981">{{cite news|last=Schwartz|first=Tony|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/10/arts/letterman-replacing-snyder.html|title=Letterman Replacing Snyder|work=The New York Times |agency=[[New York Times]]|date=10 November 1981|access-date=24 September 2021}}</ref> Earlier that year in May, after significant acrimony, NBC and Carson had reached an agreement on a new contract, which—among other concessions to Carson—granted the powerful and influential host the control over the time slot immediately following ''The Tonight Show''.<ref>Bushkin, Henry. [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-johnny-carson-quit-tonight-644508 How Johnny Carson Nearly Quit 'Tonight' and Scored TV's Richest Deal Ever]. ''The Hollywood Reporter''. Retrieved September 4, 2014.</ref>

From late fall 1980 until the end of 1981, in addition to [[List of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson episodes (1980)|guest-hosting]] [[List of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson episodes (1981)|22 episodes]] of the ''Tonight Show'', as outlined in his one-year [[Talent holding deal|holding deal]] with NBC, Letterman also appeared [[List of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson episodes (1980)|five]] [[List of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson episodes (1981)|times]] as Carson's guest on the highly rated program as the network groomed the 34-year-old for a new project.

Finally, on November{{spaces}}9, 1981, NBC and Carson's production company [[Carson Entertainment|Carson Productions]] (as well as Letterman's own newly established production company [[Worldwide Pants|Space Age Meats Productions]], forerunner to today's Worldwide Pants Incorporated) announced the creation of ''Late Night with David Letterman'', set to premiere in early 1982 in the 12:30&nbsp;a.m. time slot Monday through Thursday, with occasional specials every few Fridays, all aimed at young men.<ref name="nyt-nov-1981"/> The network wanted to capitalize on catering to young males, feeling that there was very little late-night programming for that demographic. The newly announced show thus displaced the ''[[The Tomorrow Show|Tomorrow Coast to Coast]]'' program hosted by [[Tom Snyder]] from the 12:30 slot.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rosenberg |first1=Howard |title=A TEPID 'TOM SNYDER' PREMIERES ON KABC |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-02-10-ca-27415-story.html |access-date=October 13, 2021 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=February 10, 1986}}</ref> NBC initially offered Snyder to move his show back an hour, but Snyder, already unhappy with being forced to adopt changes to ''Tomorrow'' that he detested, refused and ended the show instead. The final first-run ''Tomorrow'' episode aired on December{{spaces}}17, 1981.
[[File:Jerry Lewis with David Letterman.jpg|thumb|260px|Actor [[Jerry Lewis]] with Letterman on ''Late Night'', 1982]]

===Debut===
The staff responsible for preparing the launch of ''Late Night'' included [[Merrill Markoe]] in the head writing role, seasoned TV veteran [[Hal Gurnee]] as director, Letterman's manager [[Jack Rollins (producer)|Jack Rollins]] as executive producer, and a group of young writers—most of them in their early twenties, along with the somewhat more experienced 29-year-old [[Jim Downey (comedian)|Jim Downey]], who had previously written for ''Saturday Night Live'', and 27-year-old [[Steve O'Donnell (writer)|Steve O'Donnell]]. Markoe stepped down as head writer after a few months, and was succeeded by Downey who was in turn succeeded by O'Donnell in 1983. O'Donnell would serve as the head writer through most of the rest of the show's run while Downey went back to ''Saturday Night Live'' in 1984. Also on board, initially as a production assistant in charge of the "Stupid Pet Tricks" segment, was 21-year-old [[Chris Elliott]]. Elliott would quickly be promoted to writer and a recurring featured player.

The plan from the start was to resurrect the spirit of Letterman's morning show for a late-night audience, one more likely to plug into his offbeat humor. The show also got a house band, hiring NBC staff musician [[Paul Shaffer]] to lead the group. They were informally dubbed "[[Paul Shaffer and the World's Most Dangerous Band|The World's Most Dangerous Band]]" in early episodes, but this was then dropped for several years; through much of the show's run, the band existed without a formal name. The moniker "The World's Most Dangerous Band" was reinstated in 1988, and continued through the rest of the show.

Realizing that NBC executives exhibited very little desire to micromanage various aspects of the show, the staff felt confident they would be allowed to push outside of the mainstream talk-show boundaries and thus set about putting together a quirky, absurdist, and odd program. Snyder's ''Tomorrow'' re-runs continued until Thursday, January{{spaces}}28, 1982, and four days later on Monday, February{{spaces}}1, 1982,<ref name=loryap82f1/> ''Late Night'' premiered with a [[cold open]]ing featuring [[Calvert DeForest|Larry "Bud" Melman]] delivering lines as an homage to the prologue of [[Boris Karloff]]'s ''[[Frankenstein (1931 film)|Frankenstein]]'', followed by Letterman coming out on stage to [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Tchaikovsky]]'s "[[Piano Concerto No. 1 (Tchaikovsky)|Piano Concerto No. 1]]" behind a group of female dancers—the peacock girls who had also opened the finale of ''[[The David Letterman Show]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Calvert DeForest, 85; Gained Fame As Larry 'Bud' Melman of 'Late Night' |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/21/AR2007032102769.html |access-date=October 13, 2021 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |publisher=[[Nash Holdings]] |date=March 22, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=TV VIEW; DAVID LETTERMAN-A TOUGH ACT TO PACKAGE |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/13/arts/tv-view-david-letterman-a-tough-act-to-package.html |access-date=October 13, 2021 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 13, 1982}}</ref> After a brief monologue, the very first comedy segment was a sarcastic tour of the studio. The first guest, 31-year-old comedian and actor [[Bill Murray]], came out in confrontational fashion, throwing jibes and accusations at the host as part of a knowing put-on. He remained for two more similarly sardonic segments in which he first presented footage of a Chinese zoo baby panda as a supposed home video of his recently adopted pet, before expressing newfound love for [[aerobics]] and pulling a crew member onstage, making her do [[jumping jack]]s along with him to [[Olivia Newton-John]]'s "[[Physical (Olivia Newton-John song)|Physical]]". The second comedy piece was a remote titled "The Shame of the City"; taking a general format of a [[local news]] action segment, it featured Letterman touring several New York locations pointing out various civic problems with righteous indignation. The second guest was [[Don Herbert]], TV's "Mr. Wizard", and the show ended with a young comic named Steve Fessler reciting aloud the script of the obscure [[Bela Lugosi]] film ''[[Bowery at Midnight]]''.

The reviews were mixed<ref name=dtbuncon>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lfkaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kUcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6807%2C733440 |newspaper=Daily News |location=Bowling Green, KY |agency=Associated Press |last=Rothenberg |first=Fred |title=Letterman's ''Late Night'' dares to be unconventional |date=February 6, 1982 |page=6B }}</ref>—''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' wrote: "Much of Letterman's first week did not jell"—but more importantly, the show drew 1.5 million viewers, 30% more than had tuned in for Snyder's ''Tomorrow''.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Browne |first1=David |title=How David Letterman Reinvented TV |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/how-david-letterman-reinvented-tv-175056/ |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=29 September 2011 |publisher=[[Penske Media Corporation]] |access-date=October 31, 2021}}</ref>

On the third night, after baseball great [[Hank Aaron]] finished his interview segment with Letterman, a camera followed him backstage, where TV sportscaster [[Al Albert (sportscaster)|Al Albert]] conducted a post-interview chat with Aaron about how it had gone. Eccentric and awkward, the show immediately established a sensibility that was clearly different from ''The Tonight Show''.<ref name=dtbuncon/>

The show was produced by Johnny Carson's production company, as a result of a clause in Carson's contract with NBC that gave him control of what immediately followed ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson''. Carson, for his part, wanted ''Late Night'' to have as little overlap with his show as possible. In fact, most ground rules and restrictions on what Letterman could do came not from the network but from the production company itself.  Letterman could not have a sidekick like [[Ed McMahon]], and Paul Shaffer's band could not include a horn section like [[Doc Severinsen]]'s. Letterman was told he could not book old-school showbiz guests such as [[James Stewart]], [[George Burns]], or [[Buddy Hackett]], who were fixtures on Johnny's show (the fact that ''Tonight'' had long moved to Hollywood and ''Late Night'' was taped in New York helped minimize guest overlap). Letterman was also specifically instructed not to replicate any of the signature pieces of ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' like "Stump the Band" or "Carnac the Magnificent". Carson also wanted Letterman to minimize the number of [[Topical humor|topical jokes]] in his opening monologue.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sims |first1=David |title=David Letterman's Long Shadow |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/05/david-lettermans-long-shadow/393707/ |access-date=October 27, 2021 |work=[[The Atlantic]] |publisher=[[Emerson Collective]] |date=May 20, 2015}}</ref>

===Production and scheduling===
[[File:Teri Garr with David Letterman.jpg|thumb|right|Letterman interviewing [[Teri Garr]] in 1982.]]
[[File:David Letterman Emmy 1987.jpg|thumb|Letterman at the [[39th Primetime Emmy Awards|1987]] [[Emmy Awards]].]] 
''Late Night'' originated from NBC Studio 6A at the RCA (later GE) Building at [[30 Rockefeller Plaza]] in New York City.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Carter |first1=Bill |title=Changing Channels: Letterman Prepares For Last NBC Show |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/24/arts/changing-channels-letterman-prepares-for-last-nbc-show.html |access-date=October 17, 2021 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 24, 1993}}</ref> The program ran four nights a week, Monday to Thursday, from the show's premiere on February{{spaces}}1, 1982, until June{{spaces}}4, 1987. Friday shows were added on June{{spaces}}12, 1987, although the show still only produced four new episodes a week. Monday's shows were re-runs. NBC previously aired ''[[Friday Night Videos]]'' in the 12:30&nbsp;a.m. slot on Saturday morning, with occasional ''Late Night'' specials and reruns. ''Friday Night Videos'' was reduced to an hour's length and moved up an hour to 1:30&nbsp;a.m. on Saturday morning.

Starting on September{{spaces}}2, 1991, ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson]]'' was pushed back from 11:30&nbsp;p.m. to 11:35&nbsp;p.m., with Letterman starting at 12:35&nbsp;a.m., at the request of NBC affiliates who wanted more advertising time for their profitable late newscasts.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/22/news/nbc-moves-johnny-carson-starting-time-by-5-minutes.html|title=NBC Moves Johnny Carson Starting Time by 5 Minutes|first=Bill|last=Carter|newspaper=The New York Times |date=May 22, 1991}}</ref>

Like ''The Tonight Show'' in the 1980s and early 1990s, ''Late Night'' aired annual anniversary specials.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Du Brow |first1=Rick |title=Life After 'Late Night' : Television: On the eighth anniversary of his ground-breaking series, David Letterman says he'll do it for another two years and then review his options. |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-02-01-ca-1466-story.html |access-date=October 31, 2021 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=February 1, 1990}}</ref> They aired on or about February{{spaces}}1, first in its own timeslot (albeit on a Friday, preempting ''[[Second City Television|SCTV]]''). From 1984 to 1987, episodes of ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' were preempted for the special. Finally, from 1988 to 1990 and in 1992, the special aired in prime time, after ''[[Cheers]]''. There were no anniversary specials in 1991 and 1993. (Letterman would leave NBC later in 1993.) ''David Letterman's Holiday Film Festival'' also aired in ''Saturday Night Live''{{'}}s timeslot over Thanksgiving weekend in 1985, before a second and final installment aired in prime time the Friday after Thanksgiving in 1986. The festivals were a collection of shorts starring, directed and/or written by celebrities.

===Syndication===
On September{{spaces}}30, 1991, [[A&E (TV channel)|A&E]], a [[Cable television in the United States|U.S. cable channel]] [[A&E Networks|partly owned]] by [[General Electric]]—then the parent company of NBC—began broadcasting  repeats of ''Late Night'' in an effort of monetizing the show's vast accumulation of old episodes. The repeats aired for less than a year, until July{{spaces}}24, 1992. The [[Broadcast syndication|syndication]] deal had been brokered without Letterman's knowledge, and he frequently made his displeasure of the arrangement known on-air, feeling that having reruns broadcast five nights a week, earlier in the evening on cable, diluted the value of the nightly first-run shows on NBC—fearing people would not be willing to stay up late for the first-run if they could watch repeats of the program at an earlier time. Because of Letterman's opposition, the syndication run was ended early and not attempted again until after he had left NBC.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.courant.com/1991/09/01/cronkite-crystal-and-coppola-on-cable-networks/|work=The Hartford Courant|title=CRONKITE, CRYSTAL AND COPPOLA ON CABLE NETWORKS|date=September 1991 }}</ref>

In November 1993, [[E! Entertainment Television]] purchased syndication rights to ''Late Night with David Letterman''.<ref>{{cite news |title=CABLE CHANNEL BUYS RIGHTS TO OLD LETTERMAN SHOWS |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1993-11-08-9311080261-story.html |access-date=October 13, 2021 |work=[[Orlando Sentinel]] |publisher=[[Tribune Publishing]] |date=November 8, 1993}}</ref> The network broadcast repeats of complete shows from various years five days per week from 1993 until 1996. Then, [[Trio (TV network)|Trio: Popular Arts Television]] (owned by NBC/Vivendi Universal Entertainment) picked up reruns and showed them from 2002 until the channel went off the air in 2005.

A number of programs were sold by [[GoodTimes Entertainment]] in 1992–93. These episodes were stripped of the series theme, open and close. No DVD release is currently scheduled (GoodTimes went bankrupt in 2005; the company's assets are now owned by [[Gaiam]], which does not typically distribute general-interest programming). In February 2022, through a licensing agreement between NBC and [[Worldwide Pants]] and coinciding with the 40th anniversary of ''Late Night'''s premiere, Letterman opened his official [[YouTube]] channel, which contains clips of Letterman's ''Late Night'' and his previous morning and subsequent ''Late Show'' programs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2022/02/david-letterman-late-night-anniversary-youtube-channel-1234925070/|title=Watch David Letterman's Return to 'Late Night' For Show's 40th Anniversary As Trove Of Classic Clips Drops On YouTube|first=Tom|last=Tapp|date=2 February 2022}}</ref>

===Letterman moves to CBS===
Letterman, who had hoped to get the hosting job of ''[[The Tonight Show]]'' following Johnny Carson's retirement, moved to CBS in 1993 when the job was given to [[Jay Leno]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lippman |first1=John |title=Letterman Reported Going to CBS After NBC Bid Fails : Entertainment: Late-night talk show host expected to move to new network opposite Leno in $14-million deal |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-01-13-mn-1357-story.html |access-date=October 13, 2021 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=January 13, 1993}}</ref> This was done against the wishes of Carson, who had always seen Letterman as his rightful successor, according to CBS senior vice president [[Peter Lassally]], a one-time producer for both men.<ref>[http://pqarchiver.nypost.com/nypost/access/781543221.html?dids=781543221:781543221&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Jan+20%2C+2005&author=Post+Wire+Services&pub=New+York+Post&edition=&startpage=102&desc=CARSON+FEEDS+LETTERMAN+LINES Carson Feeds Letterman Lines] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714223159/http://pqarchiver.nypost.com/nypost/access/781543221.html?dids=781543221:781543221&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Jan+20,+2005&author=Post+Wire+Services&pub=New+York+Post&edition=&startpage=102&desc=CARSON+FEEDS+LETTERMAN+LINES |date=2011-07-14 }}. New York Post (Post Wire Services). p. 102. January 20, 2005.</ref> Letterman announced the move on January{{spaces}}14, 1993.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Carter |first1=Bill |title=Letterman Appears Certain To Move to CBS From NBC |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/14/us/letterman-appears-certain-to-move-to-cbs-from-nbc.html |access-date=August 29, 2021 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 14, 1993}}</ref> On April{{spaces}}25, 1993, [[Lorne Michaels]] chose [[Conan O'Brien]], who was a writer for ''[[The Simpsons]]'' at the time and a former writer for Michaels at ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'', to fill Letterman's old seat directly after ''The Tonight Show''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hall |first1=Jane |title=Letterman's NBC Spot Goes to Unknown : Television: The network's late-night choice is Conan O'Brien, a former writer and sketch actor on 'Saturday Night Live.' |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-04-27-fi-27763-story.html |access-date=October 17, 2021 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=April 27, 1993}}</ref> O'Brien began hosting [[Late Night with Conan O'Brien|a new show]] in Letterman's old timeslot, taking over the ''Late Night'' name on September{{spaces}}13, 1993.

When Letterman left, NBC asserted their [[intellectual property]] rights to several of the most popular ''Late Night'' segments. Letterman easily adapted to these restrictions for [[Late Show with David Letterman|his CBS show]]: The "Viewer Mail" segment was continued under the name "CBS Mailbag," and ''Late Night'' fixture  Larry "Bud" Melman continued his antics under his real name, [[Calvert DeForest]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lee |first1=Jennifer |title=Calvert DeForest, 85, Larry (Bud) Melman on 'Letterman,' Dies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/22/arts/television/22defo.html |access-date=October 13, 2021 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 22, 2007}}</ref> Similarly, the in-house band (now free to add horns) was unable to use the name "The World's Most Dangerous Band," so the name was changed to "[[Paul Shaffer]] and the [[CBS Orchestra]]".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Henerson |first1=Evan |title=Paul Shaffer strikes up the band, hits the road |url=https://jewishjournal.com/culture/arts/music/220748/paul-shaffer-strikes-band-hits-road/ |access-date=October 17, 2021 |work=[[The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles]] |publisher=TRIBE Media Corp |date=June 21, 2017}}</ref> The name "CBS Orchestra", approved by CBS (who retained rights to the name after Letterman retired in 2015), was Shaffer's idea. Notably, however, "Stupid Pet Tricks" originated on Letterman's 1980 early morning show ''[[The David Letterman Show]]'', to which Letterman, not NBC, owned the rights.  This meant "Stupid Pet Tricks" was able to cross over to the CBS show with its name and concept unchanged.  With Carson retired, Letterman was also granted free use of some of Carson's sketches, and in due time, "Stump the Band" and "Carnac the Magnificent" (with Shaffer as Carnac) entered the ''Late Show'' rotation.