David Letterman | Biography & Facts - Britannica

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• Early life and career
• Late Night with David Letterman
• Late Show with David Letterman
• Retirement and other projects

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External Websites

• Turner Classic Movies - David Letterman
• The Guardian - David Letterman: the late-night prankster who became a comedy godfather
• Television Academy Foundation - The Interviews - David Letterman
• BBC - Culture - David Letterman: The man who changed TV forever
• CBS News - A Look Back At David Letterman's Storied Career
• NPR - David Letterman

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David Letterman American talk-show host Ask Anything Homework Help Written and fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors Last updated Jan. 29, 2026 •History Britannica AI Ask Anything Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask Anything Top Questions

What was David Letterman’s first television job?

David Letterman’s first television job was as a wisecracking weatherman in Indianapolis.

How did David Letterman start his career in comedy?

David Letterman started his career in comedy by performing regularly at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles, a club for fledgling stand-up comedians.

What was the premise of Late Night with David Letterman?

Late Night with David Letterman featured ironic and offbeat humor, including top-10 lists, sarcastic interplay with bandleader Paul Shaffer, nonsensical skits including “Stupid Pet Tricks,” and roving cameras capturing ordinary people.

Why did David Letterman leave NBC for CBS?

David Letterman left NBC for CBS after NBC chose Jay Leno to replace Johnny Carson as host of The Tonight Show, leaving Letterman in the time slot immediately after.

What did David Letterman do after retiring from the Late Show?

After retiring from the Late Show, David Letterman hosted the Netflix talk show My Next Guest Needs No Introduction and was a celebrity correspondent for the documentary series Years of Living Dangerously.

News •

Stephen Colbert announces date of final episode of The Late Show • Jan. 28, 2026, 2:16 AM ET (The Guardian) ...(Show more) David Letterman to Return to Canada After 48-Year Break (Exclusive) • Jan. 19, 2026, 9:37 PM ET (The Hollywood Reporter) David Letterman calls CBS News a ‘wreck’ under newly installed leadership • Jan. 13, 2026, 2:15 AM ET (The Guardian) Show less

David Letterman (born April 12, 1947, Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.) is an American late-night talk-show personality, producer, and comedian, best known as the host of the long-running Late Show with David Letterman.

Early life and career

After graduating from Ball State University (1969) with a degree in telecommunications, Letterman tried his hand at television as a wisecracking weatherman in Indianapolis. In 1975 he moved to Los Angeles, where he began performing regularly at the Comedy Store, a club for fledgling stand-up comedians.

Explore David Letterman’s role in the development of political humor in the United States.

In 1978 he made the first of 22 appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. The following year, Letterman, who had revered Johnny Carson since childhood, served as the show’s guest host, the first of many such appearances. In 1979 the visibility Letterman gained as a guest host won him an NBC mid-morning show, The David Letterman Show. However, his unconventional humor—exemplified by the time he sent an audience member out to fetch him coffee—failed to engage daytime viewers. Although it received two Emmy Awards, the show was canceled after three months.

Late Night with David Letterman

Letterman did not gain a following until he moved to late-night television with the critically acclaimed Late Night with David Letterman, which premiered in 1982 on NBC. The show ran immediately after Carson’s The Tonight Show, and its ironic and offbeat humor was a hit with viewers. Late Night featured top-10 lists; sarcastic interplay between Letterman and his comic foil, bandleader Paul Shaffer; nonsensical skits, notably “Stupid Pet Tricks”; and roving cameras that captured ordinary people and placed them in the limelight.

Letterman also became known for antagonizing some notable guests; Cher, for example, was moved to curse him on camera. If his behavior turned off some guests, it excited the critics, who saw in his work an attempt to parody talk shows. Letterman insisted, however, that doing a funny talk show, not a parody, was his main intent. Late Night with David Letterman earned five Emmy Awards and 35 nominations.

Late Show with David Letterman

When Carson announced his retirement in 1992, a very public search ensued for his replacement. Although it was believed that Carson favored Letterman as host—Carson later regularly sent Letterman jokes for his monologues—NBC executives eventually chose Jay Leno, leaving Letterman in the time slot immediately after in an attempt to retain his high ratings. The following year, however, Letterman announced that he was leaving NBC to join competing network CBS. His new show, the Late Show with David Letterman, was placed opposite The Tonight Show. Critics immediately questioned whether Letterman and his ironic, abrasive, flippant humor would appeal to the mainstream audience of the earlier hour. Following its August 1993 debut, however, the Late Show with David Letterman put that concern to rest by drawing considerably more viewers than Jay Leno’s The Tonight Show, which, under Carson, had reigned for nearly three decades as the leading American late-night offering.

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In 1995 Letterman was selected to host that year’s Academy Awards ceremony, but his performance—which included a running gag involving the first names of Oprah Winfrey and Uma Thurman—earned mixed reviews. That year also saw his Late Show lose its ratings edge over The Tonight Show, which began to consistently attract more viewers.

In January 2000 Letterman underwent emergency quintuple heart bypass surgery. During his recovery, various performers, including Bill Cosby, served as guest hosts. His emotional return the following month was among the show’s highest-rated episodes. On February 1, 2012, Letterman celebrated 30 years as a late-night talk-show host, which was the longest tenure in American television history. By then the Late Show had received numerous Emmys. Later that year he was named a Kennedy Center honoree.

Retirement and other projects

In 2014 Letterman announced that he was retiring from the Late Show the following year, and Stephen Colbert was later announced as his successor. Letterman hosted his last show on May 20, 2015. Although Letterman initially avoided public appearances after retiring, in 2016 he was a celebrity correspondent for the documentary series Years of Living Dangerously, which focused on the threats of climate change. The following year Letterman received the Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. In 2018 he returned to television as host of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, a monthly one-hour talk show that aired on Netflix.

Quick Facts Born: April 12, 1947, Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. (age 78) (Show more) Awards And Honors: Emmy Award Mark Twain Prize for American Humor (2017) Kennedy Center Honors (2012) (Show more) On the Web: NPR - David Letterman (Jan. 16, 2026) (Show more) See all related content

Behind the camera, Letterman ran his own film and television production company, Worldwide Pants. Its shows included the hit sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond (1996–2005). He also co-owned a race-car team.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Tracy Grant.