From: normg@halcyon.com (Norm Gregory) Date: 26 Jun 93 14:15:35 GMT Newsgroups: alt.fan.letterman Subject: FINAL SHOW file Letterman Throws a ``Late Night'' Going-Away Party for Himself By FRAZIER MOORE AP Television Writer NEW YORK (AP) _ Phone the neighbors! Wake the kids! David Letterman has exited NBC after 11&1/2 years hosting ``Late Night!'' Bringing down the curtain and the house Friday was his surprise guest Bruce Springsteen! Oh ... you heard already. ``Here I am on probably the show business event of the season,'' said Tom Hanks, Letterman's next-to-last guest, at a moment so heady such glorious excess might have seemed to be true. ``I haven't said this more than three times in the last 11 years,'' announcer Bill Wendell told the studio audience before the 5:30 p.m. taping began, ``but tonight we've got a GREAT show!'' As if they needed to be told. In a program both riotous and bittersweet, filled with laughs and memories, a fired-up Letterman went seven minutes over his usual hour. Famously glib or cranky, he even signed off with an out-of-character message to his viewers: ``You have my thanks and my friendship.'' Then offering fond wishes to his ``Late Night'' successor, Conan O'Brien, Letterman offered his services as a guest. ``I would get a kick out of that,'' he said (O'Brien takes over in late August or September. Until then, NBC will air Letterman reruns). ``I think the one thing you don't realize when you see the public David Letterman is, he is an emotional guy,'' said executive producer Robert Morton after the taping. ``And 11&1/2 years in this studio _ it means a lot to him that he's leaving.'' So Letterman was gone, with only one question lingering: How will Dave match Friday's level of excitement and sentiment when, instead of making a much-hyped transition, he finally calls it quits for real? After all, Monday will be business as usual for Letterman staffers when they report for work at their new CBS offices just a few blocks away. ``Late Show with David Letterman,'' with a weeknight start time an hour earlier (11:35 p.m. EDT), premieres on CBS Aug. 30, against NBC's ``Tonight Show with Jay Leno.'' ``There's no vacation for us,'' said Morton. ``We'll start booking guests right away. I was just talking to Springsteen's manager about doing the first (CBS) show, for God's sake!'' Before bringing on Springsteen 45 minutes into Friday's finale, Letterman told viewers he had booked every guest on ``Late Night'' that he'd wanted _ except one. At Springsteen's request, only then did Letterman divulge who that holdout was. ``Better late than never,'' Letterman said, and as the audience roared, Springsteen tore into a rousing ``Glory Days.'' In a typically self-mocking stroke, the show had begun with a film clip of TV's ``Cheers'' gang flicking on the bar's television set and, when ``Late Night'' proved to be the only thing on, turning away in disgust. Letterman joked in his signature Top 10 list that among the things he had to do before leaving NBC were to ``drop off hairpiece at security desk'' and ``get one more cheap laugh by saying the word `Buttafuoco.''' Congratulating himself for finally being named NBC Employee of the Month, he took a parting shot at corporate parent General Electric, saying, ``If GE had a sense of humor, they'd send a guy in here right now to fire me.'' GE didn't. Letterman left on his own. And as millions of viewers saw for themselves, he didn't go quietly. NBCeeing You Around, David Letterman Says On `Late Night' Finale By FRAZIER MOORE AP Television Writer NEW YORK (AP) _ No. 1: Goodbye NBC. David Letterman closed out a Top 11 list Friday night _ or more precisely 11&1/2 . The gap-toothed maestro of postmodern silliness ended his 11&1/2 -year tenure as host of NBC's ``Late Night'' and welcomed as his surprise guest Bruce Springsteen. He joked in his signature Top 10 list that among the things he had to do before leaving NBC were to ``drop off hairpiece at security desk'' and ``get one more cheap laugh by saying the word `Buttafuoco.''' Before bringing on Springsteen 45 minutes into the show, Letterman said he had had every guest on his show that he'd wanted except one, and that was the singer. ``Better late than never,'' Letterman said, moments before Springsteen performed ``Glory Days.'' Tom Hanks was the first guest Friday night, but Letterman had refused to divulge who else would be appearing on the show. All he would say was that it was someone who had never before been booked on ``Late Night.'' Letterman's Friday night finale and 1,809th outing from Studio 6A in Rockefeller Center concluded a boisterous few days that recalled a schoolboy's excitement at the end of the term. Then, after summer vacation, Letterman graduates to CBS, a $14 million annual paycheck, and a new talk show. ``Late Show with David Letterman,'' with a weeknight start time an hour earlier (11:35 p.m. EDT), premieres Aug. 30. ``This is the kind of stuff CBS is just dying to get their hands on,'' a barely-able-to-contain-himself Letterman cackled during a zany week when: _ A man in a green-pea costume raced through the studio, showering green peas from his basket onto the crowd; _ Julia Child got Letterman up to his elbows in a cooking session; _Dave announced former ``Late Night'' writer-player Chris Elliott as a guest, then, at hour's end, wickedly explained that time had run out and Elliott had been rescheduled _ for next Wednesday's show that will never come; _ Stagehands pried a studio clock off its moorings for Dave to present to guest Garry Shandling. ``Let Conan O'Brien get his own clock,'' said Letterman, referring to NBC's replacement who launches a new ``Late Night'' from 6A in late August or early September. In the meantime, NBC will air Letterman reruns at 12:35 a.m. EDT. The network plans to turn the abandoned ``Late Night'' set into a theme park _ or so the comedian cracked on Thursday night's show. But if the network really did, fans would probably come. In the looming art deco lobby of the GE Building that NBC calls home, eager ``Late Night'' ticket-holders were queuing up by 3 p.m. for Thursday's 5:30 taping. At the front of the line was Nanette Russell of Fords, N.J., who boasted that she has caught every ``Late Night'' since 1985. ``I watch every night,'' she said. ``Even repeats. I hope Letterman sees this.'' Mary Fuge had taken the bus down from Boston for the day to see the show. A couple from Atherton, Calif., had included the taping as part of their Manhattan second honeymoon. Jonathan Morgenstein had returned home earlier in the week after five months in Europe. Tongue-in-cheek, the Cornell University senior reported that, during his travels through a dozen countries, ``I didn't find a single person as witty as David Letterman _ although I did meet a kid from Minnesota who was almost as funny.'' After not so much as a glimpse of Dave since mid-January, Morgenstein said he had been prepping himself to be part of the studio audience. ``I've been training for the last three days, exercising, just so I can laugh as much as possible,'' he joked. Other audience members weren't quite such devotees. In fact, Beverly Ackerby had never laid eyes on Letterman. ``I only heard about him a week ago,'' said the Perth, Australia, native, in New York visiting her children. ``I hear this is his second-to-last show,'' she said. ``Where's he going?'' When told Letterman's destination was new CBS digs just a few blocks away, Ackerby laughed. ``If we go anywhere in Australia we get on a jet and go 10,000 miles,'' she said. ``We wouldn't call a few blocks much of a move.'' APTV-06-25-93 1549PDT Dave's Last Top 10 List on NBC By The Associated Press From the home office in Oneonta, N.Y., the Top 10 list David Letterman read Friday on his last ``Late Night'' show on NBC: Top 10 Things I Have To Do Before I Leave NBC: 10. Drop off hairpiece at security desk. 9. Vacuum out (announcer Bill) Wendell and write down his mileage. 8. One final ``turn your head and cough'' visit to NBC nurse. 7. Steal my weight in office supplies. 6. Let my plastic surgeon step out and take a bow _ this has been his show as much as mine. 5. One last hot-oil rubdown from the knowing hands of Mr. John Chancellor. 4. Return artificial leg to props department. 3. Get one more cheap laugh by saying the word ``Buttafuoco.'' 2. Send change-of-address forms to that woman who breaks into my house. 1. Untie Willard. APTV-06-25-93 1620PDT NBCeeing You Around, David Letterman Says On `Late Night' Finale By FRAZIER MOORE AP Television Writer NEW YORK (AP) _ No. 1: Goodbye NBC. David Letterman closed out an illustrious Top 11 list Friday night _ or more precisely 11&1/2 . The gap-toothed maestro of postmodern silliness ended his 11&1/2 -year tenure as host of NBC's ``Late Night'' and welcomed as his surprise guest Bruce Springsteen. Springsteen thus became the last of an estimated 6,000 guests. Letterman joked in his signature Top 10 list that among the things he had to do before leaving NBC were to ``drop off hairpiece at security desk'' and ``get one more cheap laugh by saying the word `Buttafuoco.''' Congratulating himself for finally being named NBC Employee of the Month, he took a parting shot at corporate parent General Electric, saying, ``If GE had a sense of humor, they'd send a guy in here right now to fire me.'' GE didn't. Letterman, promising ``surprises and free balloons for the kids,'' went seven minutes over his usual hour with high spirits and nostalgia _ all the more remarkable since most of the Letterman camp will be reporting for work Monday morning at new CBS offices just a few blocks away. Early on, there was a salute to ``Late Night'' stalwart Larry ``Bud'' Melman (the actor, Calvert DeForest), who appeared in a tux to the strains of ``Shangri-La.'' Clips from old shows included Bill Murray, guest No. 1, bellowing ``Let's Get Physical'' from the show's Feb. 2, 1982, premiere, and the rude welcome Letterman got when he delivered a fruit basket to GE headquarters just after the company bought NBC's parent, RCA. Friday's show concluded with a warm and sincere farewell from Letterman, who told his viewers, ``You have my thanks and my friendship.'' Then wishing good luck to his ``Late Night'' successor, Conan O'Brien, Letterman said he hoped to be invited back as a guest. ``I would get a kick out of that,'' he said. O'Brien takes over in late August or September. Before bringing on Springsteen 45 minutes into the show, Letterman said he had had every guest on his show that he'd wanted except one, and that was the singer. ``Better late than never,'' Letterman said, moments before Springsteen tore into a rousing ``Glory Days'' from atop bandleader Paul Shaffer's keyboards. Tom Hanks was the evening's first guest, but, at Springsteen's request, Letterman had refused to divulge who else would be appearing. All he would say was that it was someone who had never before been booked on ``Late Night.'' Taped as usual at 5:30 p.m. in Studio 6A at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Letterman's 1,809th outing concluded a boisterous few days that recalled a schoolboy's excitement at the end of the term. Now Letterman graduates to CBS, a $14 million annual paycheck, and a new talk show. ``Late Show with David Letterman,'' with a weeknight start time an hour earlier (11:35 p.m. EDT), premieres Aug. 30. Until O'Brien is ready to pick up the torch, NBC will air Letterman reruns at 12:35 a.m. EDT. And the network plans to turn the abandoned ``Late Night'' set into a theme park _ or so Letterman cracked on Thursday night's show. Wrong, Dave. A crew was scheduled to begin dismantling his set Saturday morning. Security was to be posted outside 6A to make sure no one tried to steal pieces as souvenirs. APTV-06-25-93 1749PDT From: jsnell@ocf.berkeley.edu (Jason Snell) Date: 27 Jun 93 18:50:30 GMT Newsgroups: alt.fan.letterman Subject: TRANSCRIPT: Dave's Last Words I'm crazy for doing this, but here it is: [Band is playing. Bumper shot: store wth "Going out of Business" signs in window] Now, that was great. PAUL: Man! I enjoyed it. You guys were great. By the way, Dave Sanborn, nice job on the tambourine. PAUL: That's what Clarence played on the original. That's exactly what Clarence played. By the way, Bruce and I, after the program, we're drivin' down to the Jersey Shore, and we're just gonna fight! PAUL: All right! (Dave makes boxing hand gestures, sits down.) But if you think about it, Paul, in the 11 1/2 years we've had wonderful, wonderful guests, but I think for me this was the only person we always really wanted to have on, but could never work it out until now. PAUL: Tried to get him all these years. And it just makes me feel great that he could come by on our last show. PAUL: He was fabulous. So, um, this is our 1,809th and final show for NBC. We began the program on a cold day in February of 1982, and here we are in the middle of June, a lovely summer evening in '93, nearly 11 1/2 years and we're wrapping it up. I want to thank the folks at home who have watched us all those years. It seems unlikely that we would get together and do this every day if you folks weren't at home watching. (laughs) You know... But you folks have been terrific, and one of the really nice things about it is knowing that you were there to take a look at what we were up to each and every night. Obviously, the staff and the crew, all of the people who worked with us up on the 14th floor, everybody who works down here on the 6th floor, everybody who works through the building, to help us do this program every night -- when you folks at home tonight, as we roll the final credits, just do me a small favor and take a look at the credits as they roll by, and know that the success of this program over the years first and foremost is due to the hard work, efforts and loyalty of the names of the men and women that you'll see roll by tonight. (looks up to audience) And you folks, all of you have my thanks, and my friendship, and I couldn't express that to you enough. Paul Shaffer, I've said this from the very beginning. I hope you people at home understand just how good Paul is. Paul and his band are without a doubt the best in the business. PAUL: How 'bout that band! That's nice of you. Thank you. And early on, I noticed that the nicest thing for me, coming to work each day, and the most exciting part of any show we've ever done has always been your music, and I mean that absolutely. And I would do this all over, but I sure as hell wouldn't do it over without you guys. Thank you very much. PAUL: Thank you. Well, you have been fabulous to work for all these years. It's been a thrill every night and it's been new and different every night. Thanks a lot. Like to see you wear a tie at the new place. PAUL: Well, I'll work on it. (laughs) Also, I began a relationship with NBC in the late '70s, in roughly 1978, I was a guest on the Tonight Show With Johnny Carson, and it was I think the most exciting moment of my life in big-time television. And I've had an association with NBC ever since. And through all of those years, I've never been anything but completely proud of my relationship with this network, and I hope in some small measure they took some pride in our accomplishments. For me, it's just been terrific. The gentleman who will take over this program is Conan O'Brien. I've met him a couple of times; the only thing I know about Conan for sure is that he's been in prison... That's all I know. I know he killed a guy, but I don't... (laughs) And he's been on the show, and as I said to him when he was a guest on our program, I hope for Conan and his staff all of the success and the happiness that we here have been able to achieve, and I sincerely mean that for him and his folks. Also, I hope that he finds it in his heart, sometime down the road, to invite me back here from time to time. I would get a kick out of that. So, that's it. I want to thank Bruce Springsteen for being here -- what an evening. And of course Tom Hanks -- STOP BENDIN' THE SHAFTS! The next time we see you folks, it will be Monday night, August 30th... at 11:30. Have a good night. Thank you. Good-bye, everybody. -jason -- Jason Snell / jsnell@ocf.berkeley.edu / Cal Graduate School of Journalism InterText: A Net Fiction Magazine - ASCII or PostScript - Mail me for info! "I wouldn't give his troubles to a monkey on a rock." - Dave Letterman "Go placidly amidst the noise and haste? I DON'T THINK SO!" -- Crow T. Robot From: normg@halcyon.com (Norm Gregory) Date: 26 Jun 93 14:15:35 GMT Newsgroups: alt.fan.letterman Subject: FINAL SHOW file APTV-06-25-93 1549PDT Dave's Last Top 10 List on NBC By The Associated Press From the home office in Oneonta, N.Y., the Top 10 list David Letterman read Friday on his last ``Late Night'' show on NBC: Top 10 Things I Have To Do Before I Leave NBC: 10. Drop off hairpiece at security desk. 9. Vacuum out (announcer Bill) Wendell and write down his mileage. 8. One final ``turn your head and cough'' visit to NBC nurse. 7. Steal my weight in office supplies. 6. Let my plastic surgeon step out and take a bow _ this has been his show as much as mine. 5. One last hot-oil rubdown from the knowing hands of Mr. John Chancellor. 4. Return artificial leg to props department. 3. Get one more cheap laugh by saying the word ``Buttafuoco.'' 2. Send change-of-address forms to that woman who breaks into my house. 1. Untie Willard. From: jsnell@ocf.berkeley.edu (Jason Snell) Date: 27 Jun 93 18:50:30 GMT Newsgroups: alt.fan.letterman Subject: TRANSCRIPT: Dave's Last Words I'm crazy for doing this, but here it is: [Band is playing. Bumper shot: store wth "Going out of Business" signs in window] Now, that was great. PAUL: Man! I enjoyed it. You guys were great. By the way, Dave Sanborn, nice job on the tambourine. PAUL: That's what Clarence played on the original. That's exactly what Clarence played. By the way, Bruce and I, after the program, we're drivin' down to the Jersey Shore, and we're just gonna fight! PAUL: All right! (Dave makes boxing hand gestures, sits down.) But if you think about it, Paul, in the 11 1/2 years we've had wonderful, wonderful guests, but I think for me this was the only person we always really wanted to have on, but could never work it out until now. PAUL: Tried to get him all these years. And it just makes me feel great that he could come by on our last show. PAUL: He was fabulous. So, um, this is our 1,809th and final show for NBC. We began the program on a cold day in February of 1982, and here we are in the middle of June, a lovely summer evening in '93, nearly 11 1/2 years and we're wrapping it up. I want to thank the folks at home who have watched us all those years. It seems unlikely that we would get together and do this every day if you folks weren't at home watching. (laughs) You know... But you folks have been terrific, and one of the really nice things about it is knowing that you were there to take a look at what we were up to each and every night. Obviously, the staff and the crew, all of the people who worked with us up on the 14th floor, everybody who works down here on the 6th floor, everybody who works through the building, to help us do this program every night -- when you folks at home tonight, as we roll the final credits, just do me a small favor and take a look at the credits as they roll by, and know that the success of this program over the years first and foremost is due to the hard work, efforts and loyalty of the names of the men and women that you'll see roll by tonight. (looks up to audience) And you folks, all of you have my thanks, and my friendship, and I couldn't express that to you enough. Paul Shaffer, I've said this from the very beginning. I hope you people at home understand just how good Paul is. Paul and his band are without a doubt the best in the business. PAUL: How 'bout that band! That's nice of you. Thank you. And early on, I noticed that the nicest thing for me, coming to work each day, and the most exciting part of any show we've ever done has always been your music, and I mean that absolutely. And I would do this all over, but I sure as hell wouldn't do it over without you guys. Thank you very much. PAUL: Thank you. Well, you have been fabulous to work for all these years. It's been a thrill every night and it's been new and different every night. Thanks a lot. Like to see you wear a tie at the new place. PAUL: Well, I'll work on it. (laughs) Also, I began a relationship with NBC in the late '70s, in roughly 1978, I was a guest on the Tonight Show With Johnny Carson, and it was I think the most exciting moment of my life in big-time television. And I've had an association with NBC ever since. And through all of those years, I've never been anything but completely proud of my relationship with this network, and I hope in some small measure they took some pride in our accomplishments. For me, it's just been terrific. The gentleman who will take over this program is Conan O'Brien. I've met him a couple of times; the only thing I know about Conan for sure is that he's been in prison... That's all I know. I know he killed a guy, but I don't... (laughs) And he's been on the show, and as I said to him when he was a guest on our program, I hope for Conan and his staff all of the success and the happiness that we here have been able to achieve, and I sincerely mean that for him and his folks. Also, I hope that he finds it in his heart, sometime down the road, to invite me back here from time to time. I would get a kick out of that. So, that's it. I want to thank Bruce Springsteen for being here -- what an evening. And of course Tom Hanks -- STOP BENDIN' THE SHAFTS! The next time we see you folks, it will be Monday night, August 30th... at 11:30. Have a good night. Thank you. Good-bye, everybody. -- \ \_-~-_-~-_-~-|| Aliens think factories are musical instruments._-~-_-~-_/ / / / Todd :-) || They sing along with them. :-} :-0 \ \ \ \ Blakaitis || Each song lasts from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. :-| / / / /~-_-~-_-~-_-|| No music on weekends. - T.H. \/toddb@vu-vlsi.vill.edu_\ \