I’ve been a fan of David Letterman ever since I watched his morning show. Yes, you read that right – his morning show. It was 1980 and I was on summer vacation and about to enter the sixth grade. Geez, that was a long time ago! I somehow stumbled across it one morning. It must have been raining or something. Thank God for that!
Once I saw his show, I immediately fell in love. His sense of humor, quick wit, and sharp mind struck a chord with me. He reminded me of my dad. It must be a Midwestern thing. I think there really is a sense of humor that we have here that’s a little different than anywhere else. It’s a little self deprecating, a bit zany, but it’s dry. David exuded all of that 100%.
It was fun watching him that summer and I was bummed when school started. I’d watch anytime I had a day off. I remember catching the final episode with the theme song “I Love New York” playing as he went off the air. I wondered what idiot would cancel his show? Couldn’t they see this guy was a genius?
It was canceled because it wasn’t the right audience. Luckily, Dave found his audience on late night television and he’s been entertaining us for the past 33 years there.
He was an influence and I always wanted to be on his show. I even wrote a Top Ten list – Top Ten reasons why you should listen to Volume One (my band back in college). Whenever I completed a project like recording music or writing I would imagine being discovered by one of Dave’s producers who would ask me to be on the show because Dave liked my stuff. Of course, I never did get on his show, but the dream was always there.
At one point I was going to start a campaign for David Letterman for President. There isn’t anyone on the planet more honest than a comedian, and Dave is a great example of that. It was perfect, other than the fact that it was dumb. Dave served us much better on his show.
There also isn’t anyone with a bigger heart than Dave. Whenever someone who influenced him passed away he always dedicated time on the show to honor them. When he was touched, so was I.
Dave was also a huge supporter of our men and women in the military. In 2014, Medal of Honor recipient Ryan Pitts was given a brief mention on the ABC Nightly News. Pitts wasn’t interviewed or even given a sound bite. After the clip of Pitts, ABC showed an interview with “Weird Al” Yankovic. I was embarrassed. I knew Dave would come through and a few days later he did when Ryan Pitts was a guest on Dave’s show. Dave gave Pitts the respect and platform he deserved. I knew I could count on Dave to make things right.
Dave showed that even with all the craziness in this world that things were okay and there was always a reason to laugh. No one will come close to Dave – ever. I’m grateful that I’ve been able to enjoy him for all these years. He’s made me laugh and made me think. And I’ll miss him immensely.
Thank you, David Letterman!
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