Tag: David Letterman

Darlene Love Kills Again

Though I was taping the performance, I still convinced Steffie to let me come downstairs, interrupt whatever slice of reality was currently airing on VH1 or MTV, and watch Darlene Love perform “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” on David Letterman’s last show before Christmas.

This is more than an obsession to me. I start pining for Darlene around Thanksgiving.

Tonight’s performance was great.. spectacular… choose your own superlative.

David Sanborn, who stepped out of a box to play saxophone last year, flew in from the lighting grid this year, ending his solo as his feet hit the ground.

Later this morning I’ll convince Helaine to watch, then I’ll watch again… and again. I’m sure I watched last year’s performance at least 20 times.

Some Stuff I Don’t Want To Know

You know I get excited about Letterman’s last show before Christmas. It is Darlene Love, Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home) night. My DVR is set and I will force my family to re-watch the segment… more than once.

I don’t want anything to spoil that for me.

From Page Six NY Post –

Even a guy as laid-back as Paul Shaffer can lose his cool every once in a while. At a taping Monday of tomorrow’s David Letterman Christmas show, “there were lots of nice, touching holiday moments, including Darlene Love singing with a choir amid falling snow. The show ended with a nice positive feeling,” said one audience member. “But once the show ended, Paul Shaffer stormed over to one of the people working on stage and started spewing profanities and getting in his face. A complete tantrum.” Shaffer, the leader of Letterman’s band for 21 years, was man enough to admit he lost his temper. “It was a long day. I’m an ass. I’m sorry,” he told PAGE SIX. “Late Show” executive producer Rob Burnett cracked, “I also think Paul is an ass.”

Bah humbug!

Darlene Love Alert

I wait for this moment every year. Darlene Love makes her annual appearance with David Letterman this Friday, December 23. It’s worth taping.

She was on Saturday Night Live, singing “Frosty The Snowman” on-camera for a few seconds before a commercial break, and as the lead singer in Robert Smigel’s “Christmastime For The Jews.”

The Letterman appearance will be even better.

Blogger’s addendum: It is now Monday, December 19, 2005 and I am seeing lots of Google hits coming to my site from people searching “Christmastime for the Jews.”

I am surprised, especially since these hits are coming from many traditionally non-Jewish areas. Obviously, this short film struck a responsive chord.

Right Song – Wrong Artist

After everyone left the house I turned the TV on. As it turned out, Jay Leno was on and Smash Mouth was singing.

Let me establish, I’m a fan. I really like Smash Mouth, especially their first hit, All Star.

OK – am I off the hook? Good, because they committed a major sin in my eyes by performing Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).

Every year, on his last show before the Christmas break, David Letterman has Darlene Love on and she sings Christmas (Baby Please Come Home). Hers is the definitive version. No matter how good Smash Mouth is, they’re not Darlene Love.

Why intrude on this Christmas tradition? There are so many other songs they could have used.

I know this seems petty, but if you watch Letterman when Darlene appears in a few weeks, you’ll understand. She’s that good.

Observations On Steve Martin

I spoke to my mom last night as I was heading home from work. She and my dad had watched a tribute to Steve Martin who won the “Mark Twain Prize” in Washington.

Until then, I’d never heard of the Mark Twain Prize.

From pbs.org: Upon learning that he had won the Mark Twain Prize, Martin remarked, “I think Mark Twain is a great guy, and I can’t wait to meet him.”

I’m dubious when this thing happens as your movie is coming out (Shopgirl). Remember when celebs used to go on TV with nothing to plug? We’ll give Martin the benefit of the doubt here, but don’t let it happen again.

PBS aired the ceremony and it really was star studded. Maybe the real question is, would this award exist at all if PBS wasn’t airing it?

My mom loved the show. I thought it was lackluster as I watched the 1-3 AM rerun. For some reason the clips didn’t excite me – and believe me, there were classic bits. Actually, there was one clip that did make me smile, Steve and Dave’s Gay Vacation, with David Letterman.

The highlight of the might was Larry David, who told a hysterical tale of he and Steve Martin in New York. It was classic Larry David.

The show got me to thinking more about Steve Martin. There are many TV performers and comedians whose work I see and then I say, “I’m as good as he is.” I’ve never said that with Steve Martin. He is far above and beyond anything I could do.

I think I’ve mentioned this before, but it bears repeating, anytime he is on with Letterman, he prepares special material. Steve Martin could come on and just sit at the couch. He doesn’t. He works at doing something special every time. I appreciate that.

I believe (I base this on nothing but observation – I have no special insight) Steve Martin would like to get away from his wild and crazy guy past and be seen as an intellectual… a guy who collects art, reads a lot and writes in the New Yorker.

It’s going to be tough to shed that over-the-top persona. So many people who appreciated his physical comedy don’t get ‘intellectual.’

Steve Martin is one of our true comedic treasures. And, he really is an intellectual. I wish the tribute would have been worthy of all that talent.

Quick Emmy Observation

I was sitting for a while, watching the Emmys. This show, unfortunately, has less of an appeal to me than it once did. It could be because of how diffuse TV has become.

With 100+ channels, how can any one show be known by all, or even most?

When David Letterman came on to introduce the Johnny Carson retrospective, Helaine turned to ask how Jay Leno must have felt? Good question.

OK, it’s possible to justify this by saying the Emmys are on CBS. Still, it always seems Jay succeeded Johnny but has never really been his successor. Do you know what I’m getting at?

Toward the end of the Tonight Show clips, the famous scene with George Gobel, Bob Hope, Dean Martin and an ascot wearing Johnny Carson came on. It’s the one where Gobel says he feels like life is a tuxedo and he’s a pair of brown shoes.

Whether ad lib or scripted, it’s one of the all time classic talk show lines.

I wondered aloud, how many of those watching knew who these three guys were. Helaine said a lot of them don’t even know who Johnny was.

Not only that, when was the last time a talk show had two “A” list and one “B” list guests out at once (sorry George)? I’ll bet none of them was plugging anything. This was in an era of career enhancement, not product placement.

The class comedian moment of the night was when Jon Stewart’s show won and he came up, saying Letterman was his Carson. Now Jay has a reason to feel bad.

Blogger’s note: A friend, who was actually at the ceremony, told me he watched Jay Leno get up and leave as soon as his category’s winner was announced.

My Sources Tell Me: Watch Letterman

I spoke with a friend tonight – a Hollywood insider. He told me David Letterman would be back from a week off on Monday and that his show would be:

1) special

2) dedicated to Johnny Carson

3) feature only one guest who was a true Carson insider

All I know is this is the same guy who told me, at least a week before it was announced, that an unknown named Conan O’Brien would be hosting after the Tonight Show on NBC.

My DVR is set.

Johnny Carson

My friend Farrell just forwarded this to me from Variety:

BREAKING NEWS!

JOHNNY CARSON DIES

Former ‘Tonight Show’ host was 79

Johnny Carson, the “Tonight Show” TV host who served America a smooth nightcap of celebrity banter, droll comedy and heartland charm for 30 years, has died. He was 79. “Mr. Carson passed away peacefully early Sunday morning,” his nephew, Jeff Sotzing, told The Associated Press. “He was surrounded by his family, whose loss will be immeasurable. There will be no memorial service.”

Over the next 24 hours you will learn more about Johnny Carson than you ever knew before. There will be obits and documentaries all over TV and in print. I cannot begin to provide that detail and won’t attempt it. There are a few things I do want to say about Johnny.

I found it interesting that David Letterman, Steve Martin and other people of that ‘stature’ always referred to Johnny Carson as, “Mr. Carson.” In the beginning, I thought it was for effect. I later came to understand it was the best way for them to express their respect.

Without Johnny Carson there would have been no Letterman, Martin, Jay Leno, Joan Rivers or any number of comedians who made their mark on the Tonight Show.

I only saw Johnny perform once. It was in Las Vegas (I think – though it might have been Atlantic City… I’m just not sure). When he walked on stage – the first moment he walked on stage – he was already a hit. I found that remarkable. I have never seen another performer with that kind of presence.

I remember a part of the act where he talked about his childhood in the Midwest. He talked about ‘puberty,’ but pronounced it “poo-berty.” Back then I thought, and I still do now, his pronunciation was to make a point. He was speaking of sexuality and proclaiming innocence at the same time.

When Johnny Carson left the Tonight Show, he never looked back. He became a recluse, at least as far as TV was concerned. He made one or two minor appearances, but was never a headliner or even a performer.

He could have done anything he wanted to do. Any network… any syndicator… any cable outlet would have moved heaven and Earth to get Johnny on for what certainly would have been a major event. He had no desire. He had nothing to prove. I suppose he had everything to lose because major success had already been achieved and was now expected.

I give him credit for resisting the temptation, though I would have preferred he’d done something… just once.

Toward the end of his run on the Tonight Show, Johnny developed a habit that bothered me. The show would end and the band would play as the credits rolled. On set, Johnny would get up and walk off – while the cameras rolled and the audience watched. That was disrespectful to his audience.

It has been said, “The Golden Age is always in the past.” There will never be another Johnny Carson, with a show that so dominated its time period (a time period, at that time, populated by old movies and scratchy prints of re-runs). There will never be another venue so suited to launching careers, and successful in its execution.

It’s sad Johnny without saying goodbye. That is how he wanted it. I’m sure his opinion in this matter was in the minority.

Must See TV – Darlene Love on David Letterman

2005 Update for Google searchers

I know a lot of traffic comes here via Google every year at this time, looking for my info on Darlene Love’s annual Letterman appearance. Darlene will be on Late Night with David Letterman this Friday, December 23, 2005. The info comes from Darlene’s website.

As long as you’re here, read my blog.

Every year, on the last show before Christmas, David Letterman has Jay Thomas on trying to knock a meatball off a Christmas tree with a football. I can live without that.

On that last show he also has Darlene Love singing “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).” I look forward to it every year. Tonight’s the night!

This is worth watching and taping.

First, Darlene is dynamite. She sells every note and gives this Phil Spector classic the respect it deserves. If she’s lost anything since this song was released over 40 years ago, I’m not hearing it.

Letterman goes all out bringing in a huge choir and string section. The sax solo is usually played by David Sanborne. Paul and the boys turn it up.

But really, it’s all Darlene. She owns it.

There is no doubt it is my favorite Christmas song. My DVR is set.

David Letterman

I’m going to say bad things, so let me start by saying nice things. It’s part of my inherited guilt.

I think David Letterman is the king of talk show hosts. I have been watching him for at least 25 years – maybe more. He has always been on edge, always been witty, always been funny.

Back in Buffalo I kvetched and complained until our program director, Vicki Gregorian, began running his NBC late night show. Did I have anything to do with our finally clearing it? Probably not, but it still felt good and was the right thing to do.

Before I left Buffalo, I threw a party and sent an invitation to Dave. He never answered. I never thought he would, but it was an expression of the depth of my admiration for him.

There have actually been times when I’ve purposely not watched Dave because I felt I was ripping him off. I didn’t do it on purpose, his influence was that strong.

At home, I have the DVR set to record his show every night. I only watch once or twice a week and then I skim. The truth is, Late Night with David Letterman has gotten stale. It hurts me to say that because of all the respect I still have for Dave.

Tonight was a perfect example of what’s gone wrong. Much of the first half of the show was taken up by tired, reused bits like “Will It Float” and “Know Your Current Events.” This is the antithesis of what made Dave what he is – unpredictable, off-the-wall material. This is the guy who jumped into the water wearing a suit of Alka Seltzer, crushed items with a steamroller, and dropped watermelons off a building.

The show can be saved, but someone’s going to have to shock him into it. I don’t know Dave personally, but everything I’ve read says that won’t be easy. It’s time to scrap the repetition and move on.

Who has the guts to tell him?

As it is, a much less astute, less intellectual, but harder working Jay Leno cleans up in the ratings. It just shouldn’t be. Dave has to take a fair share of the blame. Now it’s time to move on and regain what once was.

I Don’t Want This to be the Death Blog… But

It’s often possible to turn on the TV, and even with the sound down, know someone has died. Today, it was CNN, “voice of Mickey Rooney” fonted on the screen, and video of Tony Randall showing.

It wasn’t as obvious as the time Helaine and I were in the Carribean and stations that normally played ‘island music’ were all of a sudden wall-to-wall Karen Carpenter, but it was pretty obvious. Tony Randall had died at 82.

I was a big Tony Randall fan. He was one of those guys who seemed to make a career of playing himself – prissy, exacting, erudite, fastidious.

I’m not quite old enough to remember him from Mr. Peepers, with Wally Cox. I do remember him from some light comedies – especially Pillow Talk with Rock Hudson and Doris Day.

OK, I’ll admit it. I thought Rock Hudson was the macho one and Tony Randall gay. Oops.

Back in Buffalo, twenty some odd years ago, I got the chance to meet Tony at a charity event. I think it was for the Buffalo Symphony Orchestra, which would have been appropriate. He was a great champion of opera and other live performance arts. He seemed older than I had expected. His blue blazer and button down shirt looked worn. He was charming.

Tony Randall never dumbed down his performance. In fact, he played up his intellectual accumen. When he was on with Johnny Carson, or later with David Letterman, there was no doubting that he was the master of all he surveyed.

He didn’t have children until a second marriage when he was already in his 70s, much later in life than most people would think of raising kids. Stories I’ve heard today portray Randall as very happy.

His humor will be missed. His presence, mugging in some inappropriate sketch with Letterman, will be missed. He will be missed.

Anything’s possible

Late last week, my friend Harold told me he was taking this week off and that if I took a day off, we’d go to “The City” (Since I was a little child “The City” meant Manhattan which was treated differently than other parts of New York City).

Fine. I asked for, and received, Tuesday off.

But, what to do in The City? We talked about The Lower East Side (I am a knockoff watch whore and am looking for a new faux Breitling), getting tickets at TKTS and seeing a Broadway show, the Ansel Adams exhibit at MOMA and going to see David Letterman.

I have been a Letterman fan since the first time I saw him on The Tonight Show. When his late show began on NBC, I got on my knees and begged our program director at WGRZ in Buffalo to run it (which she eventually did).

Click to see the inscription from Dave

Around 20 years ago, Helaine and I went and saw a taping at 30 Rock. A friend who worked at NBC at the time got us into the studio early, where we shmoozed with Biff Henderson.

Letterman came out before the show and walked into the audience, looking for questions. Being right in front, we were tough to avoid. He called on Helaine and then answered her question, “What kind of makeup do you wear? My fiancee is on TV and his doesn’t look as good.”

When the show started, he made reference to the question and asked me what station I was on. Andrea Martin was on the show, but I don’t remember much more.

Of course, Letterman tickets are tough to come by, especially in the summer when his target audience is … at will, so to speak. So, I emailed my friend Mel at CBS. “They hate us,” he replied, making no bones about the Letterman staff’s relationship with the rest of CBS.

Next, an email to Aaron Barnhart at the Kansas City Star and www.tvbarn.com. Aaron has been a Letterman fan forever, and I figured he was connected. Anyway, I had just done a favor for him, so he was into me.

No pull.

But, Aaron suggested I go to the CBS website and put myself on the standby list. What the hell? It was late, the dog was chowing down, I had nothing better to do.

This afternoon the message appeared on my cellphone. Mitch at Late Night was calling, telling me they had a cancellation and I was invited. Assured seats, no standby. How cool is this?

All I had to do was answer a trivia question to establish my Letterman bonafides. First, how often did I watch? I told him 2-3 times a week (any more and too much Dave starts sneaking into my performance). My question, “Who is Alan Kalter?”

Damn! Alex, I’ll take staff announcers for $500.

So, Harold arrives at 10:00am. We”ll drive to Stamford and catch Metro North to Grand Central. And, we’re going to see Letterman.