LYCOS RETRIEVER 
David Letterman
built 134 days ago
David Letterman is a gap-toothed, grouchy, balding and bespectacled comedian, who has been the funniest man on television for more than twenty years. He is old enough that as a youngster he admired radio star Arthur Godfrey. When Letterman watched The Tonight Show as a boy, the host was Steve Allen and then Jack Paar -- and Letterman was watching. He was 14 when Johnny Carson took over in 1962, and always looked up to Carson as the best of the best, the epitome of comedy and class. For years, Letterman wanted to be Johnny Carson.
Source:
On September 17, 2001, David Letterman was the first major American comedy performer to return to the television airways after the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack. and if you live to be a thousand years old will that make any sense to you? Will that make any goddamn sense?"
Source:
David Letterman began his career in broadcasting in his native Indianapolis, Indiana where he worked in both television (as an announcer and weekend weatherman) and radio (as a talk-show host). In 1975 he moved to Los Angeles, where he wrote comedy, submitted scripts for television sitcoms, and even appeared on various sitcoms and game shows. He performed stand-up routines at the Comedy Store where he met Jay Leno, by then a seasoned comedian, and Merrill Markoe, with whom he would later have a long-time professional and personal relationship. In 1978 he made his first appearance as a stand-up comic on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson. Shortly thereafter he was hired by NBC to host a morning television talk show which was broadcast from New York. Though the program lasted only a short time, it was the comic forerunner to his other NBC hit.
Source:
David Letterman developed an awesome cottage industry repeatedly tweaking his "Mitt Romney looks like..." joke before the animatronic, amazingly lifelike demagogue dropped out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination earlier this month. But Jon Stewart just won't let the gag die. Speaking to Larry King tonight, Stewart worked in two digs about Romney, one of which actually began with the words "he looks like..." Letterman's ownership of the meme is so complete Stewart will probably have to cut a royalty check tomorrow morning, but it will be so worth it: More»
Source:
David Letterman was born April 12, 1947 in Indianapolis. As a student at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., majoring in broadcasting, he landed a job as a replacement announcer at a television station in Indianapolis. Following his graduation in 1969, he worked at WLWI-TV Indianapolis (now WTHR-TV) as a news anchor, weatherman, host of a Saturday morning children's show and late night movie host. In 1975, he moved to Los Angeles, developed a comedy routine and made his debut at The Comedy Store.
Source:
David Letterman was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. His father, Harry Joe Letterman, was a florist who died in 1973; his mother Dorothy Letterman (née Hofert, now Dorothy Mengering) (born August 12, 1921), a Presbyterian church secretary of German descent, is an occasional figure on the show, usually at holidays and birthdays. He has an older sister, Janice, and a younger sister, Gretchen. One of his early comic influences was the Cincinnati talk show host Paul Dixon,[5] but the person who influenced his career most was Tonight Show host Johnny Carson.[4]
Source:
MORE ABOUT
David Letterman