On David Letterman's 30 years of late nights
David Letterman celebrates 30 years in post-prime-time television Wednesday, spent first as the host of "Late Night With David Letterman" on NBC, and then, since 1993, of "Late Show With David Letterman" on CBS. He went to CBS, famously, after NBC gave "The Tonight Show" to Jay Leno, in spite of endorsement for Letterman from its departing host, Johnny Carson (who in his retirement would also sometimes supply him with jokes). It was a bitter pill that still produces the odd quip from Letterman, nearly two decades later.
Carson's "The Tonight Show" was an institution — Leno's, not so much — but it wasn't a bad thing for Letterman to lose that war. The underdog status suits him; it allows him to position himself as an outsider, in show business but not exactly of it. (I speak relatively, of course, of a man whose 2011 earnings, from show business, Forbes estimates at $45 million; but every dog has his context.)
Leno, his time slot competitor, reliably draws more viewers, but Letterman has created a community, partly from having remained in New York: Right outside the theater doors, mad, bad, beleaguered and attacked, the city reflects "Late Show" as "Late Show" seems to speak for it.
PHOTOS: Thirty years ago
The self-deprecation is, of course, also a kind of misdirection (and an inheritance from Carson, who perfected the art of getting a laugh on the back of an unfunny gag). Letterman is one of the great figures of television; it is his natural medium, both in the sense of an art he practices and the element in which he swims. He rules his turf; there is no desperation in his presentation; he does not need to impress you, or the celebrities who sit next to him.
As the king of all he surveys, he can afford to be himself; he is comfortable enough to be seen as uncomfortable — to actually be uncomfortable — though even his worst real-life moments and most sincere apologies for misfiring jokes have a way of fueling more jokes. He controls the field in a way that leaves room for accidents and integrates them into the comedy.
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He went to CBS, famously, after NBC gave "The Tonight Show" to Jay Leno, in spite of endorsement for Letterman from its departing host, Johnny Carson (who in his retirement would also sometimes supply him with jokes). It was a bitter pill that still
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Viewers will be forgiven for scratching their collective heads. By the time Jay Leno shows up, most people will have forgotten what this ad's supposed to be about. If you disagree, or are just glad to see Seinfeld back in action, sound off below.