David Letterman Biography

Talk Show Host

Late Night With David Letterman premiered on February 1982 on NBC, where it followed the famed Tonight Show hosted by Johnny Carson. Letterman's show became a huge hit with college students and night owls, famous for its offbeat humor and nightly "Top Ten" lists. Letterman made no secret of his wish to host the Tonight Show once Carson retired; when NBC gave that job to Jay Leno in 1992, Letterman jumped to CBS and began the competing The Late Show with David Letterman. In January of 2000 Letterman missed five weeks of shows after undergoing quintuple bypass heart surgery. Letterman's musical sidekick, Paul Shaffer, has been the music director for Letterman's shows since the debut of Late Night in 1982.

Extra credit: Letterman attended Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana... He was married to college sweetheart Michelle Cook from 1970-1977... He married his girlfriend of 23 years, Regina Lasko, on 19 March 2009. They have a son, Harry, born in 2003... He was once an all-purpose announcer on station WLWI in Indianapolis, a job which included introducing movies and serving as a substitute weatherman... An auto racing enthusiast, he formed the Rahal Letterman racing team with former driver Bobby Rahal.

Letterman is a special guest in our loop on Tonight Show Hosts.

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