Thursday, February 01, 2007

And I'm Not Wearing Any Pants...Worldwide Pants, That Is

Tonight marks the 25th anniversary of David Letterman as a late night host. Charlie McCollum at the Mercury News pays a nice tribute to the man I more or less grew up with. Bill Murray was a guest on that very first program when it was over on NBC, and Murray will be the guest again tonight.


Television shows come and go, people and friends come and go, bands and music come and go, but I can't think of too many other things (other than my inane devotion to the Maple Leafs and the Vikings) that have been a part of my life for so many years. From the early days of Larry 'Bud' Melman and Chris Elliot and Velcro Suits to Monkeycam's and his Streeters and Stupid Pet Tricks and Top Ten Lists (and of course Paul and the band), I watched the Letterman show pretty religiously. His dry wit and sarcastic detachment may have rubbed some people the wrong way, but it spoke to me. Amused me. Influenced me. I know I've used the phrases: "don't try this at home", "...and we all know how painful that can be", and "this is only an exhibition, not a competition...please, no wagering" more often than I care to admit.



Jumping forward in time, you either liked Jay...or you liked Dave. I would actually weigh someone's preference when deciding whether to pursue a friendship or relationship with a person. I liked Jay when he was a guest on Dave, but when they squared off, I liked Dave. And liked people who also liked Dave.

Thank you sir, for entertaining me all these late night years.


EDIT: or what Denis said...who, as usual, says it all but better.

2 comments:

EditThis said...

I remember when Letterman first hit the air, and I thought, "Who the hell is this guy and why did they give him a show?" And then I totally fell in love with him. I haven't been up late enough to watch his show in a long time, but it was a big part of my early 20s.

Good Dog said...

Genius!