Salon.com > David Letterman http://www.salon.com Sun, 19 May 2013 12:00:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 David Letterman urges North Dakota station to re-hire A.J. Clemente http://www.salon.com/2013/04/25/david_letterman_urges_north_dakota_station_to_re_hire_a_j_clemente/ http://www.salon.com/2013/04/25/david_letterman_urges_north_dakota_station_to_re_hire_a_j_clemente/#comments Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:12:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13281660 Ironically, WVU grad A.J. Clemente's broadcasting career has really taken off after being fired from his first day as an anchor for muttering "Fucking...Shit" on the air earlier this week.

On Wednesday, Clemente appeared on the "Today" show and "Late Show" with David Letterman to discuss the firing. Letterman even rallied for getting Clemente his job back:

"I'm telling you, this is nothing," Letterman told Clemente. "People who have been in the business for decades have had this happen to them -- some even knowing they were on camera have done things like this. You, my friend, have nothing to worry about."

But the unexpected stardom may have already gone to Clemente's head, who joked, "I’ve thought about it, but if, you know, ESPN comes knocking…”

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/04/25/david_letterman_urges_north_dakota_station_to_re_hire_a_j_clemente/feed/ 4 Has NBC learned from Letterman and Conan? http://www.salon.com/2013/04/04/has_nbc_learned_transition_lessons/ http://www.salon.com/2013/04/04/has_nbc_learned_transition_lessons/#comments Thu, 04 Apr 2013 15:36:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/2013/04/04/has_nbc_learned_transition_lessons/ NEW YORK (AP) — NBC's recent personnel transition in morning television was a disaster. Executives hope their luck is better late at night, and they have a year to try and make it a smooth handoff from Jay Leno to Jimmy Fallon at the "Tonight" show.

The network announced Wednesday what has been rumored for the past several weeks: Leno will leave the job he's had most of the time since 1992, to be replaced by "Late Night" host Fallon. The late-night franchise is also returning to its roots, leaving California for a New York studio.

The thinking is clear: Leno is 62, his hair graying. The eager Fallon is 38, looks younger, hangs with his ultra-hip house band the Roots and slow jams the news with President Obama.

All Leno does is consistently rank No. 1 in his field, a status not many people at NBC can claim these days.

The "Today" show was tops a year ago, too, or at least running neck-and-neck with ABC's "Good Morning America." Then the toppling of co-host Ann Curry spread a black cloud. Ratings tumbled, executives lost their jobs, Matt Lauer's popularity plummeted and "GMA" is now the most popular morning show.

Could history repeat itself at the same network?

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/04/04/has_nbc_learned_transition_lessons/feed/ 3 Leno and Fallon sing duet over “Tonight” show rumors, but Leno still holds grudge http://www.salon.com/2013/04/02/leno_and_fallon_sing_duet_over_tonight_show_rumors_but_leno_still_holds_grudge/ http://www.salon.com/2013/04/02/leno_and_fallon_sing_duet_over_tonight_show_rumors_but_leno_still_holds_grudge/#comments Tue, 02 Apr 2013 13:02:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13258664 Early Tuesday morning, NBC aired a sketch in which Jimmy Fallon and Jay Leno, who are currently warring over Leno's coveted "Tonight" show spot, seemingly reconcile. Fallon asks Leno, "We're still friends, right?" The two then break out into a duet appropriately to "Tonight, Tonight" from Broadway musical "West Side Story," about two rival gangs in New York.

Fallon: Tonight, tonight, who's gonna host "Tonight"? Is it gonna be Jimmy or Jay? Tonight, tonight, where will they tape "Tonight"? In New York? Will it stay in L.A.?

Leno: Tonight, tonight, my ratings were all right. Twenty years, and I'm still in first place. Tonight, "Tonight", I've got Fox on the line. Or maybe I could take over for Dave?

In unison: Tonight, tonight. Why do they say we fight? I like you. You like me. We're okay. Tonight, tonight, who cares who hosts "Tonight"? We both just want our line the next day.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/04/02/leno_and_fallon_sing_duet_over_tonight_show_rumors_but_leno_still_holds_grudge/feed/ 0 “Spring Breakers”: F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Girls Gone Wild” http://www.salon.com/2013/03/27/spring_breakers_f_scott_fitzgeralds_girls_gone_wild_partner/ http://www.salon.com/2013/03/27/spring_breakers_f_scott_fitzgeralds_girls_gone_wild_partner/#comments Wed, 27 Mar 2013 21:36:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13254005 A SIMPLE SEARCH for Tom T. Hall’s song “Redneck Riviera” on iTunes yields nearly 30 hits by that name or some variation thereof. There’s “Redneck Riviera” by Hall, but also “Redneck Riviera” by Gary P. Nunn, Shawn Radar, Thomas Michael Riley, Dr. Breeze, Bang, The Beer Dawgs, and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. There’s “Queen of the Redneck Riviera” by Larry Joe Taylor, “Humanity Night on the Redneck Riviera” by John Reno & The Half-Fast Creekers, and “On the Redneck Riviera” by Stop the Truck. There’s a comedy routine called “God Bless Redneck Riviera” by Ronald Reagan’s former director of fundraising, T. Bubba Bechtol — who I initially misidentified as T. Bubba Brecht, and thought I was onto something brilliant. But whichever “Redneck Riviera” you choose to listen to, twanged out or bluesy or spoken word, the message is basically the same: spring break forever. Sunsets over white hot sand, cold beer and cheap motels, no clothing and thus no rules, a party that won’t quit, paradise, the promised land, destiny carried in on the wings of a cool breeze and the reeling touch of a beautiful woman, or ten.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/03/27/spring_breakers_f_scott_fitzgeralds_girls_gone_wild_partner/feed/ 4 Harmony Korine was banned from “Late Show” for snooping through Meryl Streep’s purse http://www.salon.com/2013/03/26/harmony_korine_was_banned_from_late_night_for_snooping_through_meryl_streeps_purse/ http://www.salon.com/2013/03/26/harmony_korine_was_banned_from_late_night_for_snooping_through_meryl_streeps_purse/#comments Tue, 26 Mar 2013 16:11:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13252233 Before 1998, the bizarre, "confrontational, slightly prickly" "Spring Breakers" director Harmony Korine, who broke into the film industry in the mid-'90s when he was 22, was a frequent guest on David Letterman's late night show. But he stopped appearing sometime after 1998, and no one knew why, exactly.

On last night's "Late Show With David Letterman," the host told "Spring Breakers" star and Korine-admirer James Franco the real reason for the absence: Letterman had banned Korine after catching him snooping around backstage:

"I went upstairs to greet Meryl Streep and welcome her to the show, and I knock on the door ... and she was not in there. And I looked around, and she was not in there, and I found Harmony going through her purse. True story. And so I said, 'That's it, put her things back in her bag and then get out.'"

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/03/26/harmony_korine_was_banned_from_late_night_for_snooping_through_meryl_streeps_purse/feed/ 2 David Gregory irate about soda, meh on civil rights http://www.salon.com/2013/03/25/does_tv_news_care_more_about_soda_than_civil_rights/ http://www.salon.com/2013/03/25/does_tv_news_care_more_about_soda_than_civil_rights/#comments Mon, 25 Mar 2013 13:10:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13250760 In New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg's NYPD is stopping large numbers of innocent people walking down the street each day -- questioning them as to their whereabouts and invasively frisking their bodies in a hunt for weapons and drugs. The stops are almost entirely (nearly nine in 10) targeting young black and Latino men. The overwhelming majority of those stopped are doing nothing wrong (just 6 percent of stops lead to arrests, and a small fraction of those are ever prosecuted). And it's having a deleterious effect on the psyche of the targets (as well as community relations with police).

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/03/25/does_tv_news_care_more_about_soda_than_civil_rights/feed/ 13 The state of late-night ratings: Leno still leads, but there are cracks in his armor http://www.salon.com/2013/03/21/the_state_of_late_night_ratings_leno_still_leads_but_cracks_in_his_armor/ http://www.salon.com/2013/03/21/the_state_of_late_night_ratings_leno_still_leads_but_cracks_in_his_armor/#comments Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:46:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13247927 For a man who's reportedly about to be forced out of his job, Jay Leno's hardly bombing.

The host of NBC's "Tonight Show" continues to lead in the ratings: In the just-concluded February sweeps period, Leno led CBS's "Late Show" and ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" among total viewers and viewers in the key 18-49 demographic.

The news for Leno isn't entirely good, though: The margin of victory in the most recent sweeps month (by which advertising rates are set) over longtime rival David Letterman in the key demographic was just 8 percent. And Leno's viewership, as is the case across the late-night dial, is disproportionately outside the young viewers advertisers court: With 1.003 million viewers out of 3.510 million under 50, only 29 percent or so of his viewers are actually in the age group to whom media buyers want to sell products. That's part of what BuzzFeed means when it describes Leno as not "cool" -- he's popular, but not among coastal elites, and also not among the sort of young viewers any network wants.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/03/21/the_state_of_late_night_ratings_leno_still_leads_but_cracks_in_his_armor/feed/ 2 Is Jimmy Fallon NBC’s last best hope? http://www.salon.com/2013/03/21/is_jimmy_fallon_nbcs_last_best_hope/ http://www.salon.com/2013/03/21/is_jimmy_fallon_nbcs_last_best_hope/#comments Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:22:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13247903 What a difference a few seasons makes. After a flurry of carefully placed leaks and scoops from inside sources, it appears NBC is preparing to anoint Jimmy Fallon the new host of "The Tonight Show" – and even move the show to its old home in the Big Apple.

It's been over three years now since NBC had its last very public and emotional meltdown over the throne of "The Tonight Show." Conan O'Brien had moved to Hollywood and assumed the helm for a brief, fateful seven months before a network-wide attack of tsuris that gave the world the gloating late night return of Jay Leno and the phrase "Team Coco." It was not the first time the Peacock had displayed its unwavering fixation on Leno as the One True successor to Carson – as anyone who's watched Letterman play the droll role of jilted lover over the past two decades knows. But the O'Brien affair seemed to solidify NBC's romance with Leno even further, planting him as firmly and permanently as host of "The Tonight Show" as a pope in the chair of St. Peter. And we all know how that turned out. 

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/03/21/is_jimmy_fallon_nbcs_last_best_hope/feed/ 12 Must-see morning clip: Tina Fey tells David Letterman about her life post-”30 Rock” http://www.salon.com/2013/02/28/must_see_morning_clip_tina_fey_tells_david_letterman_about_her_life_post_30_rock/ http://www.salon.com/2013/02/28/must_see_morning_clip_tina_fey_tells_david_letterman_about_her_life_post_30_rock/#comments Thu, 28 Feb 2013 14:17:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13214533 "I feel like I'm struggling," Tina Fey told "Late Show" host David Letterman about her life now that the seven season-long show, "30 Rock" has ended. "We were just in this old factory, the studio, for seven years, and now I'm trying to re-enter society and I've been in this building for 18 hours a day, and I feel like I just got out of prison and I don't know how to act right."

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/02/28/must_see_morning_clip_tina_fey_tells_david_letterman_about_her_life_post_30_rock/feed/ 1 Chris Christie and David Letterman tell fat jokes, eat doughnuts together http://www.salon.com/2013/02/05/chris_christie_and_david_letterman_tell_fat_jokes_eat_donuts_together/ http://www.salon.com/2013/02/05/chris_christie_and_david_letterman_tell_fat_jokes_eat_donuts_together/#comments Tue, 05 Feb 2013 16:57:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13191445 New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has been the subject of many jokes on "The Late Show With David Letterman" over the years, several of them being about his weight. Christie stopped by the show last night to defend himself eat more doughnuts and admitted that if “the joke is funny, I laugh, even if it’s about me." He added, “If it’s not funny, I don’t laugh. But I’ve never felt like it was, you know, anything that really bugged me all that much, no.” He did say, however, that only about “40 percent" of Letterman's jokes about him were funny, and then shared some of his personal favorites:

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/02/05/chris_christie_and_david_letterman_tell_fat_jokes_eat_donuts_together/feed/ 1 David Letterman kisses Amy Poehler while talking about Joe Biden http://www.salon.com/2012/11/21/david_letterman_kisses_amy_poehler_while_talking_about_joe_biden/ http://www.salon.com/2012/11/21/david_letterman_kisses_amy_poehler_while_talking_about_joe_biden/#comments Wed, 21 Nov 2012 16:42:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13104850 On last night's "Late Show," "Parks and Recreation" star Amy Poehler told host David Letterman what it was like for her character, Leslie Knope, to meet vice president Joe Biden. Biden, who performed a cameo on the show, is Leslie Knope's biggest crush (Knope's ideal man would have "the brains of George Clooney and the body of Joe Biden," says Poehler). At the end of her meeting with Biden, "just for the heck of it," Poehler "went in for a kiss." And then Letterman went for it, too.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/11/21/david_letterman_kisses_amy_poehler_while_talking_about_joe_biden/feed/ 5 Must-see morning clip: Chris Christie’s multitasking http://www.salon.com/2012/11/21/must_see_morning_clip_chris_christies_multi_tasking/ http://www.salon.com/2012/11/21/must_see_morning_clip_chris_christies_multi_tasking/#comments Wed, 21 Nov 2012 13:31:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13104587 David Letterman had nothing but praise for Chris Christie on his show last night, and was particularly impressed with how the New Jersey governor multitasks, talking about the future of the Republican Party along with his Thanksgiving prep. Watch:

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/11/21/must_see_morning_clip_chris_christies_multi_tasking/feed/ 0 Joe Biden’s “Top 10 Good Things About Voting Early” http://www.salon.com/2012/11/02/joe_bidens_top_10_good_things_about_voting_early%e2%80%9d/ http://www.salon.com/2012/11/02/joe_bidens_top_10_good_things_about_voting_early%e2%80%9d/#comments Fri, 02 Nov 2012 14:38:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13060629 Joe Biden channeled his Onion alter-ego on last night's "Late Show With David Letterman" to give 10 compelling reasons for Americans to vote early, including, "I'm not saying each early voter gets a free cheeseburger, but I'm not saying they don't, either."

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/11/02/joe_bidens_top_10_good_things_about_voting_early%e2%80%9d/feed/ 5 Letterman’s and Fallon’s brilliant, beautiful hurricane shows http://www.salon.com/2012/10/30/lettermans_and_fallons_brilliant_beautiful_hurricane_shows/ http://www.salon.com/2012/10/30/lettermans_and_fallons_brilliant_beautiful_hurricane_shows/#comments Tue, 30 Oct 2012 14:06:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13057295 The show goes on. In what will no doubt go down among the most memorable episodes of either of the late night host's careers, both David Letterman and Jimmy Fallon taped very unusual shows Monday afternoon in the midst of Hurricane Sandy–besieged New York City.

Although Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, as well as Jimmy Kimmel — who'd been set to do a week of shows from Brooklyn — had to cancel their programs and have yet to announce when they'll resume, the competing, indefatigable midtowners Letterman and Fallon plunged on and did their scheduled shows, albeit without audiences.

On CBS, a rain-slickered Letterman and his band leader Paul Shaffer opened the show outside the Ed Sullivan Theater, declaring they were going to "go for it" — as soon as they found the keys to the building — before segueing into a montage of brutal storm footage. And then, as Dave ran out to deliver his monologue, the camera panned to 500 empty, silent seats.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/10/30/lettermans_and_fallons_brilliant_beautiful_hurricane_shows/feed/ 6 David Letterman tapes in front of no audience http://www.salon.com/2012/10/29/david_letterman_tapes_in_front_of_no_audience/ http://www.salon.com/2012/10/29/david_letterman_tapes_in_front_of_no_audience/#comments Mon, 29 Oct 2012 22:42:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13056854 CBS has posted a video of David Letterman cracking wise in front of an empty theater. It's not immediately clear if this will be airing tonight or if the footage is just Dadaist performance art.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/10/29/david_letterman_tapes_in_front_of_no_audience/feed/ 5 Chris Elliott: “‘SNL’ looks like a lot of fun but you’re constantly auditioning” http://www.salon.com/2012/10/22/chris_elliott_snl_looks_like_a_lot_of_fun_but_youre_constantly_auditioning/ http://www.salon.com/2012/10/22/chris_elliott_snl_looks_like_a_lot_of_fun_but_youre_constantly_auditioning/#comments Mon, 22 Oct 2012 18:20:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13046322 Last Wednesday, I had the honor of doing a live interview with one of my heroes — comedian, writer and actor Chris Elliott — at the Barnes and Noble in New York. I’ve been a fan of Chris’ since his first appearances on "Late Night With David Letterman" in the early 1980s, when he changed the face of late night television forever with such characters as “The Guy Under the Seats,” “The Fugitive Guy,” “Chris Elliott Jr.” and countless others I am rendered incontinent just thinking about.

Over the course of an hour or so, Chris and I discussed topics including but not limited to his groundbreaking work with Letterman, "Get a Life" (the greatest television show of all time), "Cabin Boy" (the greatest movie of all time), his time at "SNL," his Adult Swim series "Eagleheart," and, of course, his excellent new book "The Guy Under the Sheets: The Unauthorized Biography," a hilarious and at times chilling tell-all that chronicles not only his show business exploits but also surprising encounters with John Gotti, the Beales of Grey Gardens, Aileen Wuornos and several others I just never saw coming. Chris is a comedic genius and I have incredible hair. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/10/22/chris_elliott_snl_looks_like_a_lot_of_fun_but_youre_constantly_auditioning/feed/ 8 Must-see morning clip: Top 10 excuses http://www.salon.com/2012/10/02/must_see_morning_clip_top_ten_excuses/ http://www.salon.com/2012/10/02/must_see_morning_clip_top_ten_excuses/#comments Tue, 02 Oct 2012 12:58:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13027793 On "The Late Show" last night, David Letterman counted down the top 10 worst excuses given by politicians, inspired by Paul Ryan's comment that it would take "too long to go through all the math" of Mitt Romney's plan to cut taxes for all Americans. Among the excuses: "Too much White House beer," "figured it was legal in Kentucky," and the No. 1 reason, "she knew I had wooden teeth."

Watch:

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/10/02/must_see_morning_clip_top_ten_excuses/feed/ 0 Must-see morning clip: Cameron’s citizenship http://www.salon.com/2012/09/27/must_see_morning_clip_camerons_citizenship/ http://www.salon.com/2012/09/27/must_see_morning_clip_camerons_citizenship/#comments Thu, 27 Sep 2012 11:44:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13023326 On The Late Show with David Letterman, UK Prime Minister David Cameron had some trouble answering Letterman's "dumb American questions" about British things like "Rule Britannia" and the Magna Carta.

"That is bad, I have ended my career on your show tonight," Cameron said.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/09/27/must_see_morning_clip_camerons_citizenship/feed/ 0 Obama responds to Romney’s 47 percent comment http://www.salon.com/2012/09/18/obama_responds_to_romneys_victims_comments/ http://www.salon.com/2012/09/18/obama_responds_to_romneys_victims_comments/#comments Tue, 18 Sep 2012 22:23:00 +0000 http://http://www.salon.com/2012/09/18/obama_responds_to_romneys_victims_comments/ NEW YORK (AP) — President Barack Obama is chiding Republican Mitt Romney for referring to supporters of the president as victims who depend on the government. Obama says anyone who wants to be president has to "work for everyone, not just for some."

Appearing on the "Late Show" with David Letterman, Obama offered his first comments to the Romney remarks that have roiled the Republican presidential nominee's campaign.

A secret video of Romney's remarks at a May fundraiser showed that he said 47 percent of people will vote for Obama no matter what and they "believe that they are victims." Romney added that his job is "not to worry about those people."

Obama says "there are not a lot of people out there who think they are victims" or entitled.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/09/18/obama_responds_to_romneys_victims_comments/feed/ 21 Must-see morning clip http://www.salon.com/2012/09/06/must_see_morning_clip_24/ http://www.salon.com/2012/09/06/must_see_morning_clip_24/#comments Thu, 06 Sep 2012 14:43:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13002783 The night after she gave a rousing speech at the Democratic National Convention, Michelle Obama appeared on "Late Night" to tell viewers why they should keep watching.

Among her reasons? "As a healthy alternative, we're using low-fat confetti" and “It’s probably better than what you’re watching now.”

The number one reason was:  "At long last, I'll reveal who I'm voting for."

Watch the clip, via Mediaite:

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