History Creator / DavidLetterman

Ironically, Letterman's influential "anti-talk show" sensibility ended up ''saving'' the talk show format as we know it, which had started showing signs of rust towards the end of Carson's ''Tonight Show'' stint. Without Letterman mocking the genre in the 1980s, today's genre staples (especially Creator/ConanOBrien's shows) would likely not exist in their current form.

[[TenMinuteRetirement Or did he]]? [[HesBack It was later announced that Letterman would host a new talk show]] for Creator/{{Netflix}} entitled ''My Next Guest Needs No Introduction'', with the first episode premiering January 12, 2018, and with subsequent episodes premiering monthly.

* CoolOldGuy: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSNi7d2u394 This interview]] features David Letterman talking with his special guest star, veteran actor Charles Lane.

[[caption-width-right:320:''[[Music/FooFighters And I wonder, if everything could ever feel this real forever.]]'']]

->''"And now… a man who shouldn't be up this late… David Letterman!"''

* WithLyrics: One segment of his 1980 morning show featured singer Harve Mann performing a vocal version of the show's InstrumentalThemeTune ("It's not just talk, it's not just comedy, it's a mixture of the two--it's talk and comedy"). For the final scene of the final episode, Letterman brought back Mann to sing a rewritten version that was a hilarious mean-spirited TakeThat to the GameShow that would take over the timeslot, ''[[Series/{{Gambit}} Las Vegas Gambit]]''.

From the beginning, Letterman fashioned his persona as a smartass host who was "too hip" for the talk show format, and proceeded from there to make a mockery of the entire genre as a result — for instance, he would often barely hide his contempt for [[HatesTheJobLovesTheLimelight almost every aspect of show business]], from his producers and writers, to his wardrobe director, his celebrity guests, his sidekick Paul Shaffer, and [[SelfDeprecation even his own fame]]. All of this pales, however, in comparison to his loathing for "[[TheRival rival]]" Jay Leno, to whom he lost the coveted ''[[Series/TheTonightShow Tonight Show]]'' gig after Carson's retirement, a development about which he is still clearly bitter some two decades later, though it should be noted that Leno claimed in 2013 that they weren't on unfriendly terms, and even have occasional discussions about the industry.

->''"Well, why don't I start off with a question, here: just how pissed off are you?"''
->''"Johnny, lemme give you a little piece of advice: you keep using language like that, and you're [[GallowsHumor gonna find yourself out of a job.]]"''

David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947 in UsefulNotes/{{Indianapolis}}) is an American comedian and TalkShow host famous for (re)defining the genre in the post-[[Series/TheTonightShow Johnny Carson]] era. Letterman's shows (''The David Letterman Show'' in 1980, ''Series/LateNight'' from 1982–93, and ''Series/TheLateShowWithDavidLetterman'' from 1993–2015) came to be known as examples of the "[[PostModernism Anti-Talk Show]]", a type of program that is relentlessly [[LampshadeHanging self-aware]] and intent on deconstructing the conventions of the very medium that gives it life.

* BadassBeard: He had one during the 2007-08 Writers Guild Strike, and another ever since leaving ''The Late Show''.

In April 2014, shortly before his 67th birthday, having spent close to half his life doing the show, Letterman announced he would be retiring. A week later, CBS announced his successor would be Creator/StephenColbert, who began [[Series/TheLateShowWithStephenColbert his run]] on September 8, 2015. David Letterman taped his 6,028th and final late night program on May 20, 2015.

[[caption-width-right:320:''"...and I'm [[PantsFree not wearing pants!]]"'']]

** ''Dave Letterman's Book of Top Ten Lists and Zesty Chicken Recipes''

David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947 in UsefulNotes/{{Indianapolis}}) is an American comedian and TalkShow host famous for (re)defining the genre in the post-[[Series/TheTonightShow Johnny Carson]] era. Letterman's shows (''The David Letterman Show'' in 1980, ''Series/LateNight'' from 1982-93, and ''Series/TheLateShowWithDavidLetterman'' from 1993-2015) came to be known as examples of the "[[PostModernism Anti-Talk Show]]", a show that is relentlessly [[LampshadeHanging self-aware]] and intent on deconstructing the conventions of the very medium that gives it life.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/letterman_7552.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"...and I'm [[PantsFree not wearing pants!]]"'']]

David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American comedian and TalkShow host famous for (re)defining the genre in the post-[[Series/TheTonightShow Johnny Carson]] era. Letterman's shows (''The David Letterman Show'' in 1980, ''Series/LateNight'' from 1982-93, and ''Series/TheLateShowWithDavidLetterman'' from 1993-2015) came to be known as examples of the "[[PostModernism Anti-Talk Show]]", a show that is relentlessly [[LampshadeHanging self-aware]] and intent on deconstructing the conventions of the very medium that gives it life.

[[caption-width-right:300:...and I'm [[PantsFree not wearing pants!]]]]

David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American TalkShow host famous for (re)defining the genre in the post-[[Series/TheTonightShow Johnny Carson]] era. Letterman's shows (''The David Letterman Show'' in 1980, ''Series/LateNight'' from 1982-93, and ''Series/TheLateShowWithDavidLetterman'' from 1993-2015) came to be known as examples of the "[[PostModernism Anti-Talk Show]]", a show that is relentlessly [[LampshadeHanging self-aware]] and intent on deconstructing the conventions of the very medium that gives it life.

* EarlyBirdCameo: His network television debut was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UU-PDAQWcXg as a pit reporter]] at the Indianapolis 500 in 1971. More recently he co-owns the Rahal-Letterman team in IndyCar racing, with multiple champion Bobby Rahal.

As a side-effect, Letterman was sort of feared in the business when it came to interacting with the guests. He was intimidating, and could be somewhat mean to them. Until the late 1990s when he started to mellow down, it was fairly well-known that his only real friends in the business were Music/WarrenZevon and Creator/JuliaRoberts. In one interview in the early 2000s, Roberts mentioned the fact that Letterman had softened up and that now every actress was a "lovely girl". Letterman's quip was "Oh, you know I'm just woofing."

* EarlyBirdCameo: His network television debut was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UU-PDAQWcXg as a pit reporter]] at the Indianapolis 500 in 1971.

!!Tropes associated with Letterman's career as a whole: