Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

That's exactly why I love this forum!

Re: David Letterman last show May 20 2015
 

Letterman did that Super Bowl ad with Leno and Oprah, so at least it seems like they be in the same room without drawing blood.

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

sad to see dave go, but it's time.

been recording Colbert the past 6 mos to see what the hype is as I haven't really watched him much before and I gotta say the dude is really great.

Super sharp and funny with great music on his show.

This was a great hire and I expect him to be terrific.

Murray is a shoe in for final guest, wonder who will be final musical act?

Zevon is dead, so maybe Elvis Costello?

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

I used to LOVE Letterman during his NBC late show days, but something changed in him when he got to CBS. I was watching an interview he did on Carson in 1992 (during Carson's last week) and Dave totally took over the show. He was quick, witty, yet still had that 'asshole' factor, but still likeable. It really made me miss him when he was in his prime and how great he was.

He lost some of that edge when he went to CBS (maybe the $$$ went to his head and he didn't feel the need to try to be as funny?). But lately, he is pretty much unwatchable as he comes off as crabby old man who kind of checked out. And of course he got political in the past 10 years (as he never did during his NBC days), as he showed his partisan side and that was a turnoff too. I like when comedians go after each party equally, but he was easy on Obama.

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

Can I ask how old you are? Letterman was AWESOME in the 80s...especially his first few years on the air, when he could go out on the street and people still didn't know who he was...he was pretty much the anti-Late Night host back then.

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

I'm 42. Watched some Letterman in the '80s, but mostly in the '90s - never thought he was funny then, but even less funny these days. I don't deny he was a breath of fresh air when he debuted, but that was more than 30 years ago...

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

Describes my feelings for him perfectly. I never "got him". Just never seemed funny to me and the older he's gotten I think he's become the opposite of funny if that's possible. Don't have the same dislike for him I had for Jay but his show was unwatchable for me.

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

I like Colbert, but 'back in the day' I really liked Letterman, or more specifically the show. I think a great part of the show's success was predicated on the backstage talent and Letterman was the perfect guy to front it. The things that made it great have not translated well into what I think Dave himself perceives as a more statesmanlike position in entertainment. I think that has led to some of the very valid criticisms you raise about his demeanor and performance. I stopped watching regularly not long after he came to CBS, and over the last ten years or so he has become insufferable and nearly unwatchable.

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

It is always interesting to analyze how a great comedian becomes unfunny? I look at Eddie Murphy, Jim Carrey, and even a guy like Chevy Chase, who were all funny in their prime, and then became SO unfunny years later.

My personal opinion is they feel they can get a laugh without doing anything because of who they are, and they essentially lose their edge. It's almost like they buy into their own hype and forget what made them funny to begin with, because they made it to the promiseland.

I just remember watching Letterman's first week on CBS in 1993, and I noticed the change right then. He thought he was the king because of the money CBS threw at him, and he was just never the same. I can only think of a handful of comics who truly stayed funny their whole career: Carson, Richard Pryor, George Carlin are the one's that first come to mind.

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

Then there are the handful that did not fade if for no other reason than they died before they had a chance to fade, such as Belushi, Kinison, Hedberg, Kaufman, a few others.

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

No.

Letterman Tickets
 

Just put in for tickets for Letterman for early in May. If by some chance they do call me, I have to answer a trivia question, anybody know some of the questions they might ask? My Googlefoo is failing me.

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

I'm pretty sure it will be "You wanna buy a monkey?"

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

My question was what is the name of the stage manager

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

Questions I've had before:
Name the stage manager (Biff Henderson)
What does Paul Schaffer play? (Keys/Piano)
What does Dave sometimes throw behind him at the desk? (Pens/Pencils)
Who runs the Hello Deli? (Rupert, who also is the exclusive seller now for Late Show merch - he should be setup in the lobby as you're filing out after the show)

If you're even just an occasional viewer, you'll probably have no problem. Also, I've gotten tickets every single time I have submitted a request thru their site. Usually got a call just a few days before the requested date. Also be prepared for serious audience coaching, more than any other show I've been to.

I saw him last back in September. Was happy to see Jack Hanna on with his animals. Jack goes way back with Dave to the early NBC years (when I was a devoted viewer and the show was at its best IMO), and it was great to see them together. Also I seriously thought a cheetah was going to pounce on a cameraman, that cat look pissed!

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

I've never been to one of these shows. Curious to hear the inner workings. What sort of audience coaching is there?

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

Interns basically just break you off into groups and have you cheer, clap, etc and tell you what's too much or not enough (this is done before you ever go into the theater). Not a big deal, but the other late night shows I've seen (Conan, Fallon, Meyers) are all much more relaxed and don't work so hard to hype you up.

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

Though Carlin is my all-time favorite comedian, nobody makes me laugh as much as Mitch. I often wonder if he would have evolved and maintained his edge as well. Mitch was kind of a throwback to earlier comedians who just delivered a bunch of jokes with no real cohesive subject matter.

Carlin evolved much over his career and his highlight was "Jammin' in New York" in the early 90's. I do think his last few concerts showed his bitterness after the death of Brenda, and became more about attacks, than clever observations.

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

27 eps left after tonight.

Crap.
:^(

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

Yeah, tonight was Sarah Jessica Parker's last appearance. Her first was in 1991 to promote LA Story, and she's been a favorite of his since. I used to love her appearances on the show back in the early 90s, as she was a lot of fun and pretty much game for anything. She once hit golfballs into the audience. She once went and got her face photocopied. She once say Tomorrow and they released a bunch of "Sandy" dogs to surround her.

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

I'll miss them horsing around.

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

Foo Fighters have to be the final musical guest

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

Still hoping for Jay Leno on there before it's over. That would be great television.

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

Sarah Jessica Parker tonight, Michael J Fox and Amy Sedaris and Alec Baldwin later this week.

Looks like the most popular regulars are going to be coming in for their good-byes.

Stopped being a frequent Dave watcher when Colbert come on ten years ago, but Dave was such a huge part of my TV watching life in the 80s and 90s, I'll definitely be checking out these final shows and feeling sad to see him gone.

The media landscape is so different from when Carson left 20 years ago. It was such a huge event. Is anybody even talking about Dave's farewell.

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

God, it's going to be weird living in a world without Letterman. I started watching Late Night with David Letterman when I was a kid, so his career has pretty much been my whole life. I probably started watching in '82 or '83 in grade school when I was way too young to be up past midnight, but I couldn't enough of that weird guy who was on after Johnny Carson (who usually bored me).

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

David Letterman, the longest-running host in late night history at 33 years, will begin his final 28 broadcasts of the Late Show tonight. Some of the biggest names in entertainment will appear alongside Letterman over the next six weeks, including:

George Clooney
Robert Downey, Jr.
Will Ferrell
Tina Fey
Tom Hanks
Jack Hanna
Scarlett Johansson
Michael Keaton
Steve Martin
Bill Murray
Sarah Jessica Parker X
Don Rickles
Julia Roberts
Ray Romano
Paul Rudd
Jerry Seinfeld
Martin Short
Howard Stern
John Travolta
Bruce Willis
Oprah Winfrey
The Avett Brothers and Brandi Carlile
Elvis Costello
Dave Matthews Band
Emmylou Harris
Norah Jones
Mumford and Sons
Ralph Stanley and Amos Lee
​
And many more to be announced over the next few weeks. Dave's final Late Show broadcast is Wednesday, May 20 (11:35 PM-12:37 AM, ET/PT) only on CBS.

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

Where's Natalie Portman missing from that list?

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

Stern said he would be in the last two weeks, but did not give a specific date.

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

I doubt the list encompasses everyone who is going to be on the show (Regis isn't on the list). Portman is someone who could go either way b/c of her long history with Dave. Maybe they tried to get her, but she was unavailable.

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

Wonder if Bill Murray will be his last guest.

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

You're in Manhattan. You put on a dress, and show up at the theater. It ain't planning a trip to the moon.

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

Colbert won't premiere until fall.

I wish CBS had access to Dave's NBC shows. I would watch an entire summer of nothing but clips from the past 30+ years.

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

That might be the last time he was funny.

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

I doubt she's a must have for his last shows anyway. Not that they weren't close, but not like, say, Sarah Jessica Parker (or Julia Roberts) was with Dave.

And, clearly, they are mixing in some regular big-name guests to do promotion like Scarlett Johansson and Robert Downey Jr and even Paul Rudd.

That said, there's at least 6 or 7 spots left for big name stars and, as you mentioned, Regis isn't listed and he's gotta be part of the goodbyes. Possibly with Murray and, hopefully, the Foo Fighters on the last show (wish-wish).

I wonder what the falling out was with Letterman and Drew Barrymore. She hasn't been on his show for a very long time and it doesn't appear she's going to give him one last dance and flash before he retires.

Last night with SJP made me tear up a bit too. I watched the first show and I was "kind of" like Kimmel in my youthful adoration for Letterman. I think when he signs off, I'll be ready to accept that I'm old. :(

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

Like I said I used to love SJP on Letterman back in the early 90s. That show almost singlehandley made me a huge fan of hers (SanDeE and Honeymoon in Vegas helped). That's my college years so it's not like I was always watching Letterman, but I didn't miss SJP nights. My fondness for her kind of frittered away somewhere in the Sex and the City years, but last night was more a night for nostalgia. I was watching her face when she came out to Jessica for the last time, and you could tell she knew it.

I do think Portman could go either way. He's known her since she was a little kid, and she was the go to guest on the Thanksgiving show for years. The counterpoint is that she's never been a "great" guest. It's not like she's Michael Keaton.

Tonight should be good. Billy Crystal is an all time great talk show guest, and this is his first appearance on Letterman since Robin died.

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

What about Darlene Love? Of course she won't sing the Christmas song, but it seems she would be a good candidate to appear one last time.

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

When was the last time Richard Simmons was on? It'd be great to see Dave humiliate him one last time.

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

2006

https://www.yahoo.com/tv/s/richard-s...letterman.html

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

I will never stop loving SJP, although Twitter lit up last night with comments about old she looks now.

She is just so charming and seems like a genuinely good person. I'm glad she got to come back one last time.

I'll always remember this visit:

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_Uslxyt_IDo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Re: Dave Letterman announces he will retire (Last show 5/20/15) / Colbert signed as h
 

Kinda surprised they didn't get Conan or some other late night talk show host who cited Letterman as an inspiration. Man it feels weird that Letterman's retiring. I remember watching reruns of Late Night when they aired on E.