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Real Name: David Michael Letterman
Birthday: 04/12/1947
Birthplace: Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Occupation: TV Presenter
Sign: Aries

Television would never be the same after Big made his second attempt at a television show in 1982. But his career up to becoming host of the show was quite an interesting and long one. Big was born in Broad Ripple, a neighborhood in Indianapolis. His childhood was relatively unremarkable, but he exhibited tendencies of the class clown, and showed a very strong independent streak as a child. Letterman went on to graduate from Ball State University in the late 1960s, and married Michelle Cook in 1969.

From 1970 to 1974 he worked as a weatherman and TV announcer and from 1974 to 1975 he worked as a radio talk show host. As the late 1970s approached David was working as a struggling stand up comic at the comedy store, and started writing for television shows. He wrote for the summer series the Peeping Times, and even for such shows as Good Times. Big had become something of a minor celebrity in 1978. By this time he had appeared on the Gong Show, Mary Tyler Moore's variety series Mary, the Liar's Club, the 20,000 dollar pyramid, Password Plus, the variety series The Starland Vocal Band, and this prompted many appearances on the tonight show with Johnny Carson. He became so popular that he was permanent substitute host by the end of the decade. NBC saw great potential in the young irreverent comedian, so they gave Big his own daytime talk show, which was a disaster, and off the air as of 1980.

About this time Tom Snyder, who was having problems with his late night show, which aired after Johnny Carson. His problems were mostly with his co-host Rona Barrett, and Snyder was forced off air in late 1981. Big, who was permanent co-host of the Tonight Show took over the post Johnny Carson slot. The show was extremely unconventional. For starters Big was very political, whereas the standard Johnny Carson steered away from political jokes. Letterman's early antics changed talk shows. He would often stage elevator races in Radio City Music hall. He often made random calls to strangers and talked about the strangest subjects. At one point Big got his associate Larry 'Bud' Melman to go outside of the Russian Embassy and hand out pamphlets encouraging defection. He would often make his guests feel uncomfortable with his intelligent and abrasive style, and his guests often participated in funny and unusual skits with them. David became almost an instant success, and some say surpassed Johnny Carson in popularity.

As the late nineteen eighties approached Big was becoming more and more of a household name, often at odds with the censors over his show, and never was one to curtail to guests wishes. But that only made him more popular, and he garnered more and more status as a world class talk show host. Among the more classic moments on the early part of his show was the time he covered his suit with alka seltzer, and jumped in a vat of water. Also Big helped Andy Kaufman with his wrestling saga, as Kaufman and Jerry Lawler pretended to get in a fight on Late Night with Big. He became known for his reclusiveness on screen. Where Johnny Carson at one point often would make cameos and guest appearances, Big would often shy away from cameos and stuck almost solely to doing his Late Night Show.

In 1992 Johnny Carson made a landmark announcement: he was retiring. Many thought that Big would be the natural choice, but many at NBC were leaning toward current substitute host Jay Leno. The battle was very public and very vicious, but in the end Jay Leno won out, and Big was going to continue to be host of the post Tonight Show slot. But in 1993 Big made a big announcement as well: He was leaving NBC for a lucrative contract with CBS, as of 1993. The battle almost intensified even more. NBC claimed that many of Letterman's gimmicks and jokes, including throwing the pencil through the window joke, the top ten list, Larry Bud Melman, among many others were 'intellectual properties.' NBC lost, but Larry 'Bud' Melman would now be called Calvert DeForest on the CBS show. In the head to head with Jay Leno, as well as Chevy Chase Arsenio Hall and Ted Koppel, Big won, almost every time over all of his competition, until the summer of 1995. Jay Leno had guest Hugh Granton his show, and Grant cried on screen. The ratings were tremendous, and Letterman has consistently been beaten by Leno ever since.

In recent years Letterman has toned down his act. He tends to dress more conservatively, and tends to go the more traditional route of talk shows. It can often be said that every talk show since, including Jay Leno, Craig Kilborn ,and especially Conan O'Brien have been inspired a great deal, if not near completely by Big's unconventional and irreverent, not to mention off the wall style. It was thought for a little while that Big was going to retire in the mid- nineties, but an impressive 14 million dollar a year deal has kept Letterman with CBS. But tragedy struck, in January of 2000 Big underwent quintuple bypass surgery. The operation was successful, and Big received countless get well cards and a great deal of publicity.

As of the new century Letterman still is second to Jay Leno, but it is becoming increasingly evident that Jay is greatly inspired by Dave, and that Dave has much more critical acclaim than does his main Rival Jay Leno. Also it was revealed on the Game Show Network that Big hosted a pilot of a Game Show in the seventies called the Riddlers. It was not made into a series. Among David's better known incidents in his later years are Drew Barrymore's infamous table dance, his interview with the apparently ditsy Uma Thurman his appearance in the movie Cabin Boy, his great but doomed stint as host of the Oscars, his appearance on the Andy Kaufman Bio Man on the Moon, and many other incidents.

When Politically Incorrect was cancelled in 2002, Big was sought after to leave CBS for ABC, but Letterman declined to do so, and stayed with CBS, where he will probably remain for quite awhile. Aside from being a talk show host Letterman is an active producer. His production company is called WorldWide Pants, and over the years he was executive producer of his original show, his new show, Everybody Loves Raymond, the Building, the Bonnie Hunt Show, the High Life, The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn, and Ed. These days Letterman looks like he is only getting started.


8 Fun Facts
1. David Letterman held plenty of tv jobs before finding his place as the host of Late Night. One of the first big breaks that David Letterman got in small screen comedy was a guest spot on the sitcom Mork & Mindy. In a far cry from his usually wry persona, he played a charismatic new age guru.

2. Some of the most memorable shenanigans on the David Letterman show have involved him intruding on other television shows, preferably live ones. He once interrupted a live local news show by strolling through the studio, much to the dismay of Al Roker, who was on-set at the time, and in the midst of a segment. In another prank, David Letterman interrupted a live taping of The Today Show by yelling through a bullhorn, claiming to be the president of the NBC network, and announcing that he was, in fact, wearing absolutely no pants.

3. David Letterman’s son, Harry Joseph, is named after Letterman’s late father.

4. David Letterman started his career as a weatherman for the Indianapolis television station WTHR, where he was a weatherman. Gradually, his unique brand of off-beat humor crept into his segments. In one famous example, when describing a storm, he said that it featured hail “the size of canned hams.”

5. According to a 2005 statement by Jay Leno, he and David Letterman had not spoken to each other in thirteen years.

6. David Letterman occasionally works under the pseudonym “Earl Hofert.” The name comes from his maternal uncle, and is the name that appears instead of David Letterman in the credits of the film “Cabin Boy,” in which Letterman plays a minor role.

7. David Letterman wasn’t always a late night face. In 1980, he was given a chance to host his own daytime talk show. It lasted just three months before it was cancelled, but still managed to take home two Emmy awards.

8. David Letterman showed an early flair for comedy; his high school yearbook shows that his classmates at Broad Ripple High voted him the official “Class Smart Alec.”

Little Known Facts
If you don't watch him on his Emmy Award-winning CBS "Late Show", it has to be because you go to bed early. Or you work nights. Or, maybe, you just don't like talk shows. Because, David Letterman's show draws in nearly 4.5 million viewers each night. He's been cracking jokes about other people for nearly three decades now, keeping his personal life private and barely tapped. Read this interesting article and learn some little known facts about talk-show host David Letterman you're sure to enjoy!

His Early Life
"David Michael" was the second child born to florist Harry, and his wife Dorothy Letterman. He was born on April 12, 1947, in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Lettermans already had a daughter, Janice. Another daughter, Gretchen, followed David's birth.

It's probably not surprising, but, a little known fact about talk-show host David Letterman is that, while he attended Broad Ripple High School in Indianapolis, he was voted "Class Smart Aleck."

His College Years
David Letterman graduated from Ball University in 1969 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Telecommunications. Just like footballer Mike Ditka, David Letterman is a Life Loyal Member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. He is also a Significant Sig laureate. He subsidizes the "Letterman Telecommunications Scholarship" at the college.

Perfect Attendance Record
Before Letterman was forced to take some time off for a quintuple heart bypass surgery on January 14, 2000, he had never missed one day of work in eighteen years for illness.

After he returned to his late-night talk show on February 21, the comedian had his doctors and nurses on the show. For once, David Letterman wasn't making a wise-crack when he thanked them and announced, ""These are the people who saved my life!"

Romance
A little known secret about talk-show host David Letterman is that, even though he appears to be a happy-go-lucky bachelor, he married his college sweetheart, Michelle Cook, in 1969. But, the marriage only lasted eight years.

Later, Letterman was engaged to Merrill Markoe, who was once a writer on his "Late Night" show. But, that relationship broke up as well.

Trivia
He went to college with Jim Davis, another Indiana native who created and still writes the world famous comic strip "Garfield".
David and Jay Leno fought it out to be Johnny Carson's successor of The Tonight Show. After Leno was chosen, David left NBC.
A Life Loyal Member and Significant Sig laureate of the Sigma Chi fraternity, David Letterman helped finance the construction of a house for Ball State University's chapter.
In March 2005, police in Choteau, Montana, where David Letterman owns a home, foiled an alleged scheme to kidnap David Letterman's son, Harry.
David's name is of Hebrew origin. The name David means, "Beloved".
David is sometimes credited as, Earl Hofert.
David's trade marks include the following: gap-toothed grin and his spinning pencil trick on the Late Show with David Letterman.
David was once married to Michelle Cook (1969 - 1977).
David's nicknames are Dave, Daddy, and The Big Man.
David's height is 6 foot 2 inches. (6'2")(1.88 m)
During March 1995, Dave hosted the Academy Awards.
David made his television debute for the "Late Show with David Letterman", on August 30, 1993.
David Letterman is portrayed by John Michael Higgins in The Late Shift (1996) (TV)
David Letterman is an enthusiast of Coen Brothers' films.
The year 2006 was the 22nd year in a row that his show, be it Late Night on NBC or Late Show on CBS, received an Emmy nomination for writing on a variety series.
He won the Indy 500 as a car owner (5-30-04) with co-owner Bobby Rahal and winner Buddy Rice.
He worked as a grocery bagger in Indianapolis, his hometown, during high school.
His girlfriend, Regina Lasko, gave birth to son named Harry Joseph on 3 November 2003, named after Dave's father who passed away when he was 57 years old.
He once petitioned to get a highway in his hometown named "the Dave Letterman Bypass" as a reference to his heart bypass surgery.
David Letterman often does an in-joke on his show that only his studio audience will understand. This is done by speaking with the audience before taping begins and finding out where people are from, what they do, etc. During the opening monologue, he will then make a reference to one of the audience members.
Letterman was a writer on the 1970s comedy series "Good Times" (1974), as was his current late night talk show competitor Jay Leno.
These are some multi-purpose names he uses for any man: "Larry," "Kenny," and "Rodney". These are some multi-purpose names for women: "Linda".
Dave Letterman has an older sister named Janice and a younger sister named Gretchen.
His previous production companies are many, and include 'Space Age Meat' and 'Cardboard Shoe Productions'.
Before his heart bypass surgery, he had not missed a day due to illness in his 18 years of late-night.
He underwent quintuple bypass surgery on 14 January 2000.
He says he never uses the same tie twice in his show.
While working as a weatherman in Indianapolis, he once congratulated a tropical storm for being upgraded to a hurricane.
His hero is Johnny Carson.
He was born at 6:00am-CST.
His production company is called Worldwide Pants.
He graduated Ball State University in 1970.
Letterman auditioned for the role of Ted Stryker in Airplane!
Dave's favorite movie is Sergio Leone's C'era una volta il West.
Letterman guest hosted "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" 51 times.
Letterman was named one of People Magazine's "25 Most Intriguing People of 2001".
Letterman attended Broad Ripple High School and was voted Class Smart Alec.
Dave co-owns an Indy-car racing team with Bobby Rahal; the two met on Letterman's show in the mid-1980s and became fast friends.

Quotes
David: Mitt Romney looks like an American President in a Canadian movie.
David: Everybody is wondering what Paris Hilton will be doing next, and hell, I'm wondering what she did before.
David Letterman: Today is a big day in TV history. On this day forty-one years ago, the Beverly Hillbillies aired for the first time right here on CBS. They took a little break, then in 1992, they moved into the White House for eight years.
David Letterman: Fall is my favorite season in Los Angeles, watching the birds change color and fall from the trees.
David Letterman: Traffic signals in New York are just rough guidelines.
David Letterman: Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, everybody loves them. But I thought this was interesting on the box, "Konsult Kardiologist".
David Letterman: I cannot sing, dance or act; what else would I be but a talk show host?