Letterman 1994: "The Absolute Worse Hair in Show Business"

David Letterman in late 1994.


Late Night with David Letterman was a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to the Late Show on CBS. Late Night with Conan O'Brien then filled the time slot. In 1991, the show's three production companies — Carson Productions, Worldwide Pants, and NBC Productions — were awarded a Peabody Award, which cited the following: In the past ten years, one show has moved to the position of the leader in late night television in creativity, humor, and innovation. That program is Late Night With David Letterman. As one member of the Peabody Board remarked, "David Letterman is a born broadcaster." He is also a savvy co-executive producer. Along with co-executive producer Jack Rollins, producer Robert Morton, director Hal Gurnee, and musical director Paul Shaffer, Mr. Letterman has surrounded himself with exceptional talent and given them the go-ahead to experiment with the television medium. Particularly noteworthy is the work of head writer Steve O'Donnell and his talented staff. Together, the "Late Night" team manages to take one of TV's most conventional and least inventive forms — the talk show — and infuse it with freshness and imagination. For television programming which, at its best, is evocative of the greats, from Your Show of Shows, to The Steve Allen Show, and The Ernie Kovacs Show, a Peabody to Late Night With David Letterman. The program ran four nights a week, Monday to Thursday, from the show's premiere in February 1982 until May 1987 from 12:30 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. Friday shows were added in June 1987 (NBC previously, aired Friday Night Videos in the 12:30 a.m. slot with occasional Late Night specials and reruns). Starting in September 1991, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was pushed back from 11:30 p.m. to 11:35 p.m., with Letterman starting at 12:35 a.m., at the request of NBC affiliates who wanted more advertising time for their profitable late newscasts (though Letterman had a different reason for the delay: "With the extra five minutes, I will make certain that my make-up is absolutely perfect!").

Category:

Comedy

Tags:

• vintage
• david
• letterman
• late
• night
• with
• monkey
• thrill
• cam
• top
• ten
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• old
• classic
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• show

[gustafapan]

"Freeze, Hair-boy!"

[TiCLer]

Love these vintage late night stuff. Thank you for posting.

[snappycatchy]

those toupee's are hilarious

[inrwizards]

4 me this was the best time 4 letterman. most say the 80s on nbc but he went all out when he first started at cbs so he could prove that he still had it despite being at 11, and of course he had 2 beat big jaw. Dave's still great today, i wonder why ppl watch leno. i hate leno. hes such an unfuny phony bastard who should've never gotten his own show. he just lost whatever wit he had back in the 80s when he would just b a guest on Dave and Jonny or guest host tts

[MagicAlDF]

I guess the wig reminded Dave of T.J. Hooker.

[OzzyFan87]

lol I think Dave has more hair than me, and im 18.

[SimaanFreeloader]

That's just about a thousand times more funny than anything they have done on Letterman for years.

[hgb0005]

so it is true, his show used to be funny. what do you know

[hgates101]

He's got a wig on!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[hgates101]

Agreed...Letterman is a pioneer of every talk show host today from Conan to Kimmel

[ringbolt9]

great era for this show