I almost regret missing the date because it passed during my trouble recovery and mental anguish, but 2025 marks ten years since late night legend David Letterman aired his final Late Show, bringing a historic career spanning three decades plus to a close.
I missed out on the early Late Night stuff and first watching Letterman about a couple years into his CBS run, though thanks to the wonders of Youtube clips both official and not, I’ve been able to catch up on some of this stuff. But for the longest time, I had always considered myself a Letterman guy. Besides the fact that we both share the same first name, the guy had a brand of humor and gruff personality that appealed to me. He would react to these sorts of ridiculous things in a way that had him question his life choices. Even when he had toned down his rougher patches, he still had an edge to him that hit that nice balance. Leno had jokes and a chin. Conan had zaniness. Dave had a sardonic wit.
Most of all, there was a gravity to Dave in that his words had some weight and meaning to them. Someone who had an air of ambivalence and outright disdain for his surroundings, often reacting in a sarcastic manner, would eventually being the longest tenured performer of his field. His desire to entertain for the masses rather than play cheerleader to whatever political affiliations he had meant that when he talked about serious issues, you were more inclined to take him seriously… before he eventually dropped a wry comment or observation that brought the whole house down.
Just as there will never be another Johnny Carson, there will never be another David Letterman… though you can probably have a bunch of Jay Lenos, Jimmy Fallons, Jimmy Kimmels, Lonnie Donegans, Craig Killborns, Seth Meyers. Those guys are practically interchangeable.
Dave is not.
I miss Dave.
Later.
dtm666 