Today is the 40th anniversary of the first episode of Late Night with David Letterman, which debuted on this day in 1982 on NBC.
Letterman’s show inspired a generation of comedy writers, from his successors Conan O’Brien and Seth Meyers to Peacemaker star Steve Agee, who used to write for O’Brien and later, for another Dave fan, Jimmy Kimmel.
“’82, oh my God,” Agee reminisced to ABC Audio. “Letterman changed everything for me, it was like, finally, there was a late-night host that like I really appreciated their…abstract sense of humor.”
He adds with a laugh, “It was, you know, way more different, you know, than Carson.”
Agee recalled, laughing, “There was an episode of Late Night with David Letterman, I think they called it ‘The 360 Show,’ where over the course of an hour, the camera rotated 360 degrees, so at 30 minutes you’re looking at a show completely upside down — and they never address it. This is just like, ‘OK, why not? Why not put on a Velcro suit and jump onto a Velcro wall?'”
Agee explained that even long after Dave left NBC for his CBS show, Late Night‘s shadow still loomed over the format. “In the early 2000s, I was working at Jimmy Kimmel Live! and our head writer…was Steve O’Donnell, who was Dave Letterman’s head writer. Steve O’Donnell created the Top Ten list — like that was Steve…He was legendary…” Â
Letterman hosted Late Night for 11 seasons before moving to CBS in 1993, after Jay Leno took over as host of The Tonight Show — a job many expected would go to Letterman, including outgoing host Johnny Carson. Meyers came aboard Late Night in 2014 after Jimmy Fallon moved to The Tonight Show.
Tonight, Seth Meyers will welcome Letterman back to Late Night, to celebrate the milestone anniversary.
Â
Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Related Posts
Music notes: Mariah Carey, Zayn Malik and more
March 27, 2024
Mariah Carey is celebrating her 55th birthday — or, anniversary, as she calls it — in a new photo…
Nicole Kidman thanks Olivia Rodrigo for helping her score points with her kids
March 27, 2024
Disney/Randy HolmesEven if your mom is an Oscar-winning actress and your dad's a Grammy-winning…
Steven Spielberg puts ‘Dune’ franchise director up with filmmaking’s greats
March 27, 2024
Monica Schipper/Getty ImagesIn the latest installment of the Director's Guild of America's…
Ariana Grande gets her own “Written By” playlist on Spotify
March 27, 2024
Katie TemkinSure, Ariana Grande is known for her voice, but a new playlist on Spotify specifically…
‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’ gets season 5 renewal
March 27, 2024
StarzGood news for fans of Starz's Power universe: The network announced Wednesday it has given an…
Sabrina Carpenter’s top sex tip: “Don’t get pregnant”
March 27, 2024
Disney/Randy HolmesSabrina Carpenter did an expansive interview, and since she was talking to…
Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe featured in teaser to Yorgos Lanthimos’ ‘Kinds of Kindness’
March 27, 2024
Searchlight PicturesA teaser debuted Wednesday for Kinds of Kindness, the follow-up to Poor Things…
Beyoncé reveals ‘Act 2: Cowboy Carter’ track list
March 27, 2024
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording AcademyThe world gets to see Beyoncé as "Cowboy Carter"…