David Letterman
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Getty Images
Late Night TV Show Host David Letterman makes a tribute to Johnny Carson onstage at the 57th Annual Emmy Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on September 18, 2005 in Los Angeles, California
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Getty Images
David Letterman, co-owner of the #15 Rahal-Letterman ArgentPioneer G Force Honda of Buddy Rice, smiles when the rain started to fall and cause the race to be shortened and Rice to win the 88th running of the Ind
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CIRCA 1970 Photo of David Letterman
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AP
David Letterman makes a surprise appearance at the Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles in 2005
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WireImage
David Letterman arrives at the ‘Late Show with David Letterman’ at the Ed Sullivan Theater on August 27, 2009 in New York City
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WireImage
David Letterman arrives at the ‘Late Show with David Letterman’ at the Ed Sullivan Theater on August 27, 2009 in New York City
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CBS
David Letterman as he tells his story during a taping of his late-night show Thursday Oct. 1, 2009 that he had sexual relationships with female employees and that someone tried to extort $2 million from him over the affairs
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AP
David Letterman kisses Madonna goodbye during a taping of ‘The Late Show with David Letterman’ in New York, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009
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WireImage
David Letterman and Madonna tape the ‘Late Show with David Letterman’ outside Ed Sullivan Theater on September 30, 2009 in New York City
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CBS
President Barack Obama on ‘The Late Show with David Letterman’ on September 21, 2009
overview
David Michael Letterman was born on April 12, 1947 in Indianapolis, IN. His father, Harry Joe, owned a florist shop and his mother, Dorothy, was a secretary at a Presbyterian church. David graduated high school in 1965 and attended Ball State University. Shortly after graduating, he married his girlfriend Michelle Cook in 1969 (and later divorced in 1977). In 1975, after working in television and radio for 10 years, he moved to Los Angeles.
David became a regular stand-up comedian at The Comedy Store, along with future rival, Jay Leno. In 1978, he appeared on “The Tonight Show” and met Johnny Carson. Johnny gave David his first big break of a guest host spot on “The Tonight Show.” On February 1, 1982, he got his own show, “Late Night with David Letterman,” at 12:30 AM following “The Tonight Show” on NBC. In 1993 he accepted a lucrative deal and moved his show to CBS. In 2006, David signed a contract with CBS to stay on the air until at least 2010 and was to make a reported $38 million a year.
David was known to never miss a show until 2000 when he underwent emergency quintuple bypass surgery. He moved in with girlfriend Regina Lasko in 2001, became a first-time father in 2003, and named his son Harry Joseph, after his father. David and Regina married in March 2009 after 23 years together. In October of 2009, he was the target of an extortion plot in which he foiled by revealing on television that he had sexual relationships with numerous female employees.
- Name: David Letterman
- Birthdate: December 31, 1969
- Birthplace: Indianapolis, IN
fun facts
His first job was as a stock boy at an Atlas supermarket
He was enrolled in Ball State University’s telecommunications department
When Dave was eight years old, his family got their first television set
In college, he was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity
David was the executive producer of comedies including “Everybody Loves Raymond” on CBS, “Ed” on NBC and the feature film “Strangers With Candy”
In 1995, David hosted the 67th Academy Awards
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Jon Gosselin smiles while hosting a pool party at Wet Republic at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on August 29, 2009
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Courteney Cox visits ‘Late Show With David Letterman’ at the Ed Sullivan Theater, NYC, October 27, 2009
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Taylor Lautner, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson arrive at the ‘New Moon’ premiere after party at the Hammer Museum on November 16, 2009 in Westwood, California
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Zac Efron poses at the 2009 MTV Movie Awards Press Room at Gibson Amphitheatre on May 31, 2009 in Universal City, California
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Sheryl Crow attends 2009 VH1 Divas at Brooklyn Academy of Music on September 17, 2009
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Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart chat during the presentation of their new film ‘The Twighlight Saga: New Moon’ during the HVB youth event at the Olympic Hall on November 14, 2009 in Munich, Germany
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Samantha Bee attends the after party for the Off Broadway opening night of ‘Love, Loss and What I Wore’ at Bryant Park Grill, NYC, October 1, 2009
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Spencer Pratt, Los Angeles, 2009
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Robert ‘Joe’ Halderman leaves Manhattan criminal court, Nov. 10, 2009
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David Letterman arrives at the ‘Late Show with David Letterman’ at the Ed Sullivan Theater on August 27, 2009 in New York City
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Paul Shaffer: David Letterman ‘Changed My Life’
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Barbara Walters On Letterman’s Sex Scandal: ‘It’s The Openness That I Respect’
At the New York premiere of Lifetime’s new series “Sherri,” Barbara Walters shares her thoughts on her friend David Letterman’s “embarrassing” sex scandal. Plus, how does she think he has handled revealing this “difficult situation”?
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Hoda & Kathie Lee On Letterman Scandal
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David Letterman’s Attempted Extortion Details Revealed (October 2, 2009)
Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau reveals the details that lead up to the indictment against Robert “Joe” Halderman for the alleged blackmail plot against David Letterman.
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David Letterman’s Shocking Confession (October 1, 2009)
On “The Late Show,” Letterman reveals a shocking extortion plot against him by a man claiming to know about the “creepy” things that Letterman has done. Then, Letterman reveals the real shocker when he admits to having had affairs with women on his staff.
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In Case You Missed It… (August 28, 2009)
Last night on “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” Lisa’s grandmother shares her secret to looking youthful. And, Andy Roddick shows David Letterman his serve, hitting him in the chest. Plus, on the “Tonight Show,” Conan had puppies dressed as cats!
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