Goodbye, Dave

You knew that this was gonna be different television by the ''cold opening''. That is the TV term for starting a show right then, with no fanfare or trumpets blasting. A sweet-faced, benign old man faced the camera uneasily and stated that what you are about to see would be different. The old-timer, named ''Larry 'Bud' Melman'' by the show, but, in reality was a forgotten actor named Calvert DeForest, looked like he was something different also. A man who somehow snuck into the TV studio late at night at 30 Rockefeller Center and jumped in front of a waiting camera. Which is kinda what happened, for, here was a new show that TV would never have before permitted on the air because it was so different and unusual. ''Larry 'Bud' Melman'' was proclaiming to the unsuspecting public at large, ''Ladies and Gentlemen, meet David Letterman!''....... Actually, the public knew of David Letterman. He was one of the hot up-and-coming comics to emerge in the 1970's. David, or Dave as we came to know him, cut his teeth in the drunk and seedy comedy clubs in L.A., where you often faced hostile and threatening audiences. But, Letterman had the, not so much as the best comic delivery, but, the quick-on- your- feet response that most comics prize. He could immediately comment on any given situation through the comedic mind, which is looking at the outside world through an absurd filter. Letterman was spotted by a talent agent in L.A. for ''The Tonight Show'' and in November, 1978, he made a very strong first appearance on the show. So strong was that one-time shot that soon he was being touted as the heir apparent to his idol, Johnny Carson. Carson himself was immediately smitten with Letterman and promoted his career. Soon, Dave was hot in show business, getting gig after gig. Eventually, in June 1980, NBC would give him a morning talk show where he could fully realize his inventive mind. His show was the anti-talk show. Instead of embracing show business, the Letterman morning show mocked it mercilessly. ''How dare show business people take themselves so seriously'', was the battle cry of the program. Dave kept it creative and wacky, doing things that had never been done on a talk show, like elevator races and stupid pet tricks. He interviewed people on the street from his studio [which he did take from Steve Allen in the 50's] but, Dave put his particular spin on the concept and created comic gold. The morning show was bright, inventive, and hip. Which, of course, made it impossible to succeed at that time of day. Housewives and older people would never buy into that type of humor so early in the day. The audience that would appreciate that crazy type of comedy would be the young, hip college crowd. And, they sure as hell were not watching daytime TV. They were still sleeping away the late morning. No, David Letterman needed something later, real late, after the grownups had gone to bed and the kids took over the TV. Kinda like the people who produced his show had taken over a TV studio after the adults went home...... NBC canceled his morning show after a couple of months and held Letterman to a ''holding deal'' with the network. That basically meant he was their property, he could not go to work for another network while he was signed with them. NBC was looking to put Letterman somewhere. Finally, the show after Carson, ''The Tomorrow Show'' with Tom Snyder [a great show on its own merit, too] was scrapped in favor of David Letterman doing his talk show. It didn't hurt Letterman that Johnny Carson would be producing the show through his production company. Carson still was a Letterman champion and knew Letterman would be a success somewhere. So, ''Late Night With David Letterman'' was born on February 1, 1982. It started with that ''cold opening'' of the strange looking old man named ''Melman''. Then, the show took off into an hour of television that was new and revolutionary. The highlight was when Bill Murray, looking like he had haven't slept for several days, did a hilarious rendition of the Olivia Newton-John song. , ''Let's Get Physical'', complete with jumping around the studio, aerobic-style. Murray set the tone that night that he was in on Letterman's game plan. Dave was gonna be different from the traditional talk show. That anti-talk show mentality had carried over from his morning show. And, true to prediction, the late night audience fell in love with him. He garnered a strong youth following [a key prize for advertisers] and critical acclaim. His ratings, while never huge, were enough for him to make a tidy profit for NBC while still reinventing the medium. Old favorites, like stupid pet tricks, films by his dog, Bob, and going out of the studio to catch the real weird still were the norm. And, Dave also did something that no talk show host ever did: he made his guests squirm if they showed the slightest tendency to take themselves too seriously. This made for interesting television, because all of show business is filled with the ego trippings of the stars. Dave called them on it--- be they Shirley Maclaine or Cher--- and many times real sparks would be flying. Over the bubble of the comedy filter came tension and compelling interplay among him and the guests....... Dave also encouraged experimentation among his staff. His writers shared his goofy comic sensibility. Chris Elliott, a writer with a bizarre mind and even more bizarre appearance, became his on-air foil. Elliott created the ''Angry Man'', the ''Conspiracy Man'',  the ''Fugitive Guy'', and a multitude of weird and wacky scenarios. Dave was the straight man, which is to say that he made the comments on TV that his audience was saying at home. This way of comment on the moment has been the essence of his career, the spine of David Letterman as a performer. The unspoken bond he has always had with his audience is ''Look how we make fun and ridicule these people and events that are taken so seriously!''............ Merrill Markoe was his partner in this comic crime. She met Dave at the ''Comedy Store'' in the late 70's---- a female comedian who palled around with the boys--- and soon became his girlfriend and creative sidekick. She would give him her best jokes to use, kinda like in high school when the girlfriend would do the boyfriend's homework. She shared Dave's dream of creating an alternative comedy talk show. She was as vital behind the scenes as Dave was in front of the camera. As the 80's went forward and ''Late Night With David Letterman'' reached greater glories of success, the relationship changed between them. She was more in the background and unhappy. She had to put up with Dave's moods and depressions---not an easy task. Not surprisingly, their personal relationship began to suffer also. Soon, Merrill Markoe and David Letterman would part, a breakup that had reshaped modern comedy........ David Letterman never forgot his comedian buddies from the salad days on the Sunset Strip. The best and brightest of them was Jay Leno. When Dave first came to California, he studied Leno and based his stand-up style on Jay. The two became close friends and supported each others careers. When Dave got ''Late Night'', his most prized and frequent guest was Jay Leno. Jay averaged about an appearance a month on the show. And, he always hit a home run. Jay was razor-sharp in his comedy, something that he, sadly, lost as his fame grew. The highlight of every Jay appearance would be ''Jay's Beef'', which entailed Jay talking about what is pissing him off in life. Dave would laugh, long and hard, at Jay, as would the audience. Very quickly, Jay Leno's star rose. He would become the best and hottest stand-up working. NBC would eventually sign him to host the Monday night edition of the ''Tonight Show'', when Carson would be off......... The 80's turned into the 90's. David Letterman routinely did the best show on TV. Despite his growing fame, Dave never lost his outsider status that so endeared him to his audience. He was the kid in the back of the classroom who made fun of the brighter and more better-looking kids in school. His style of comedy was enormously influential. Every night after a show was put to rest, there were upcoming generations of dreamers going to bed wanting to do what Dave was doing. Conan O'Brien, Jon Stewart, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, plus untold stand-up comics caught the glow of Dave's genius. The torch of the Next Generation in comedy had been lit by David Letterman. Soon, these aspiring comics would pick up that torch........ By 1991, Johnny Carson was tired. He had scaled the highest mountaintop in show business, reigning supreme for over three decades as the King Of Late Night. Now, well into his 60's, he wanted to step down, a King giving over his kingdom to a successor to the throne. The fact that Johnny had always preferred David Letterman to take over the ''Tonight Show'' was a given fact. Carson never stopped being a fan Of Letterman and his comedy. Also, because Carson produced ''Late Night'', it was naturally assumed in the television industry that Letterman would get the show. But, NBC had other plans. They liked Jay Leno, who, by now, had become the permanent substitute host. Jay was popular with the audience but his comedy had mellowed. And, not for the better. His comic edge was gone. He was ''safe'', non-threatening or challenging. Unlike Letterman, Leno loved NBC and the whole show-business lifestyle. Sadly, this once strong comedian became the ass-kisser that he had always joked about. This was what NBC wanted in a host to replace Carson, not the rabble-rousing, thumb his nose at authority Letterman.To the surprise of everyone, including Carson and Letterman, Jay Leno was given the gig at the ''Tonight Show''. When Letterman heard that his old friend had gone behind his back and stole the show from him [and Leno did, with him and his opportunist manager and Svengali, Helen Kushnik, slowing acing Carson out] Dave was angry and sad. His ultimate dream was to take over the show from his idol, Carson. Now, the dream was dead and it looked like Dave would be forever the also-ran. But, David Letterman held some aces of his own. He was still the brightest star in comedy and the most influential. His services were in high demand. If NBC did not want him, then, everyone else did. In the winter of 1991/92, the bidding war for David Letterman escalated into a media frenzy. Would Dave walk out on NBC when his contract ran out? Would his many suitors in the television industry grab him, including CBS and ABC? Would the FOX network pony up big money to spearhead their struggling network? Big money indeed was offered, tens of millions for Dave, and hundreds of millions for any winner that snagged him. In addition to the money, what David Letterman truly wanted was the earlier time slot [11:30pm Eastern time, 10:30 pm, Central] to try to appeal to a bigger audience. Dave was confident that he could bring his comic sensibility to the earlier time slot. NBC did not believe so, which is why they went with Leno. Eventually, David Letterman signed with CBS. He would go head-to-head with the ''Tonight Show'' and his, now rival, Jay Leno. The start date would be August, 1993. The remainder of his time at NBC and ''Late Night'' would be him joking about his leaving the network. But, it would also entail him closing the chapter on his most original work. For though he would encounter tremendous success at CBS, he never again captured the spirited innovation of his NBC years. These years ''made'' David Letterman. The spark of his genius was established, and in terms of creativity, he never reached those heights again...... In August of 1993, the ''Late Show With David Letterman'' premiered to much hoopla and media attention. Not only was it a new show but the press had created a story of intense rivalry between Jay Leno and David Letterman. Here were two old friends, who had risen together to the stratosphere of American comedy in tandem, battling it out for the viewers. The fact that Leno, the usurper, had aced out the legend, Carson, for his grab for the brass ring, added fuel to the fire. Jay Leno was cast as the villain in the story [not an unfair depiction]. And, at first, Letterman trounced the ''Tonight Show'' in the ratings. The reason was simple: Dave was doing a better, more interesting program. The change was quite noticeable in his demeanor. He looked happier, more in command of his show, as if , he finally found his Garden Of Eden. His guests were more famous but on most nights, Dave was the bigger star. He was the hottest property in show business. And, he changed his act. Gone were the elevator races and man-on-the-street observations. Now, he sat at his desk and talked. A hidden gem in the Letterman arson of talent is his ability to just talk to the camera, like sitting next to someone on your couch in your living room. He became easy going David Letterman. He could still be a smart-ass. But, he mellowed his outsider status now that he was an insider. Dustin Hoffman once described Dave as the modern day Mark Twain, a humorist who also touched the public psyche. Dave sure was and he excelled in his new form. In due time, the excitement of his show waned somewhat and he fell behind Leno in the ratings. He still had the prized, younger demographic, which brought both him and CBS vast buckets of money. He was Number 2 but he was still the show everyone talked about the day after.......... David Letterman's finest moment on TV came on September 17, 2001. It was the first Monday following the 9/11 attacks. The world was still brittle in its emotions. America had been shaken by the death and horror of the previous Tuesday. The country was in a state of shock and seemed to be in need of a jolt back to reality. It is not hyperbole to say that Dave brought us back, in terms of allowing ourselves to enjoy life again and laugh. All of show business looked to him to give the official nod of approval. But, Dave, always wonderfully unpredictable, threw a curve. Instead of finding some humor in what had happened---- which, was impossible---- Dave spoke from his heart about what had happened and the affects on him. And, through his experiences, he channeled the national grief. Dave spoke for us all. It was poignant and quite eloquent. There were throwaway asides that got a few titters, but, Dave showed class and respect. It was a hallmark moment for the show, and, especially, for the man....... Throughout the years of ''Late Night'', Dave has held the crown of the elder statesmen of comedy. Like his idol Johnny Carson, David Letterman has made careers on his show and fostered talent. He has done this with the customary distance of a king. The king's approval is sought out and yearned for. To not get the king on your side can be damaging to a career. But, David Letterman has always championed the underdog and showcased the poor soul. He became the performers best friend when they appeared on his show. Many comics, from  Ray Romano to the guy you are planning to see this weekend at Zanies, is beholden to Dave and his reach......... David Letterman has shown his private life, in spurts, on his show. He had triple-bypass surgery in 2000, a son in 2003, and a nasty scandal involving sexual exploits with his interns. The last item was the most tricky to maneuver. But, Dave stood tall when he sat in his chair and told the audience of his failings as a man and husband. It certainly wasn't a high point in his life. He was wrong and admitted his wrongdoing. However, he took it like a man should: by facing the music....... And, now, after over thirty years holding the national pulse, David Letterman is stepping down. He is 68 years old now and has made his mark. I'm sure he feels he has done all that he can do. Now, he rides off into the sunset with, I hope, a profound sense of what he has accomplished and the pioneering of comedy he has governed over. His followers, from Jon Stewart to the deplorable Jimmy Fallon [even the best performers inspire the worst] have been so influenced by him that they are carbon copies of the original Dave form. But, the imitators can never top the king. No Elvis impersonator has ever come close to the real Elvis. David Letterman will say goodbye tall in the saddle, a renaissance man of comedy and satire and commentary....... Thank you, Dave.......