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David Letterman signs off for the final time from CBS’ Late Show on Wednesday night, setting up the show for its next host, late-night personality Stephen Colbert, who debuts on the network in September.
But Colbert isn’t the only one Letterman has created a place for in the late-night space. There have been decades of new shows, formats and hosts that have Letterman to thank.
As a late-night host, Letterman brought in wide audiences with silly antics. Far before Jimmy Fallon’s viral sensations, Letterman proved to broadcast networks that younger viewers could also tune in to the late time slot. He also scheduled a set of goofball sketches with a series of regular bits - his Top-Ten List mixed in with seemingly random calls to a woman in the office across the street.
CBS’ James Corden, who now hosts the hour directly after Letterman’s in The Late Late Show, Jimmy Kimmel on ABC, and Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers on NBC are able to take risks on their own shows because of Letterman’s legacy, but he’s also the reason why other networks like Comedy Central, MTV, even Nat Geo and Netflix are able to take a chance on the format.
He’s proved to audiences and network executives alike that silly comedy and fun conversations are really all viewers are looking for.
In a tribute to Letterman on Monday, May 18, Fallon called Letterman’s 33 years at his post “innovation, fun and just plain weirdness. But mostly fun.”
Fallon added that Letterman had explored the late-night space in an experimental way in a world where many late-night viewers only knew Johnny Carson.
“I think he taught us how to do something smart and stupid for comedy. He just wants to fun and be goofy,” Fallon wrote.
Conan O’Brien wrote a piece for Entertainment Weekly called “Immediately Everything Was Wrong,” in which he credited Letterman with reinventing the format of late-night TV.
“David Cornelius Letterman was a comedic revolution (Not his middle name—just go with it).” He continues: “Dave’s show was that rare phenomenon: a big, fat show business hit that seemingly despised show business. Dave didn’t belong, and he had no interest in belonging. He amused himself, skewered clueless celebrity guests, and did strange, ironic comedic bits that no one had seen on television before. Everything about that show was surreal and off-kilter.”
And that surreal, off-kilter comedy is the gift that Letterman gave to late-night TV.
Stars of all kinds have gathered to say goodbye to the legend. Tom Hanks taught him how to use a selfie stick, Norm Macdonald choked up in his set on the show, George Clooney handcuffed himself to the host, Adam Sandler recorded his thoughts in a dedicated song:
Echoing Sandler’s lyrics, “There simply is no better man than our hero David Letterman.”
Read more at Variety.
Brief Take: You will be missed, David Letterman.
[Image courtesy of CBS]
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