Ed Sullivan Theater

David Letterman made his debut On the LATE SHOW on August 30, 1993, and it quickly went on to become one of the most talked-about and critically acclaimed programs of the year.  One year later, Time magazine named Letterman the heir to Johnny Carson's late-night crown. 

Three years later, TV Guide's "Best of '95" edition praised Letterman as "still the funniest man on TV in the hippest show on at night," and cited LATE SHOW as one of The Ten Shows that Clicked of the hundreds of television programs on the air. Letterman, who is beginning his 15th year on late-night network television, has earned the honor by consistently delivering inventive and imaginatively inspired comedy. 

It seems hard to imagine that its been eight years of Letterman, all the ups and downs of the show seem surreal - But the canned ham man from Indiana still has a place in New Yorks heart.

EVERYONE'S favorite wise-ass began his career as a weekend weather caster at an Indianapolis TV station; he eventually lost his job after several on-air stunts (including congratulating a tropical storm when it was upgraded to a hurricane.) Moving to L.A. in 1975, Letterman worked the standup comedy circuit and wrote material for sitcoms such as Good Times and The Paul Lynde Comedy Hour. Stints as a regular on The Starland Vocal Band and Mary Tyler Moore's variety series, Mary, did not help his career, but appearances on the Tonight show did. Johnny Carson made him a regular guest host, and in 1980, Letterman was given his own daytime show, which-although it lasted only three months-convinced the executives at NBC to let him try with a different audience with a show at 12:30 a.m. 

Late Night With David Letterman, with its Stupid Pet and Human Tricks, Top Ten lists, canned hams, and visits from Chris Elliott and Larry "Bud" Melman, became a favorite of the college crowd. 

Letterman's sometimes cutting humor doesn't work with all guests-he almost reduced guest Nastassja Kinski to tears when he made fun of her hair, and Cher called him an asshole on the show-but has proved a saving grace with some guests--a psychotic Crispin Glover or a foul-mouthed Madonna. 

When Carson announced his retirement, in 1992, Letterman hoped to assume his 11:30 p.m. slot, but in a late night war that inspired a book and a movie, Jay Leno was chosen instead. Letterman, feeling the network under appreciated his contribution, grabbed a $14 million dollar offer from rival CBS (a deal negotiated by Mike Ovitz). 

It was not a smooth transition, with NBC claiming that many of Letterman's most popular routines were their "intellectual property" and could not be used on a different network. Letterman used them anyway, and his Late Show was a huge success when it debuted opposite Leno, consistently winning in the ratings, though he has been hurt badly by CBS's inability to provide a strong lead-in for his show. Whether he decides to make another network move is anybody's guess. 

Audience:  You must be at least 18 years old to attend the David Letterman Show at the Ed Sullivan Theater.

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