David Letterman Taps Hello Deli Owner Rupert Jee For Next-To-Last Show

After David Letterman vacates the Ed Sullivan theater this Wednesday, Rupert Jee will still be in the neighborhood. The owner of the Hello Deli has operated a business in New York for several decades, and he won’t close up shop anytime soon. Letterman pays tribute to Jee’s importance to the Late Show by choosing to include him on his Tuesday night show, the second-to-last ever and the last show with guests.

In a Gothamist interview conducted in 2005, Rupert revealed how he became a part of the late-night institution. He got to know Dave and his crew not long after the Letterman show moved from NBC to CBS in 1993.

“When The Late Show first moved into the neighborhood, I was told they were doing this segment called ‘Visit Our Neighbors’ where each and every week they would take turns visit one of their new neighbors. I was so frightened about being on television, I was just hoping that they would forget about me. But the inevitable did happen and it’s been going on for 13 years.”

It turns out Rupert Jee may have David Letterman to thank for his continued presence at the Hello Deli. As he told Gothamist, Jee had dreamed of owning a sandwich shop since he was a kid in New York and tried Blimpie’s. After working in the garment trade, he and a partner bought what became the Hello Deli. Jee intended to eventually be an absentee owner, but after Dave moved in the shop became his full-time job.

In a 2005 interview with Runner’s World, Jee revealed that the Hello Deli’s Shaffer sandwich is the shop’s top-seller. The offering is named after Letterman’s sidekick and bandleader, Paul Shaffer, and is a deep-fried chicken cutlet with lettuce, tomato, cheese, and mayonnaise.

When Letterman’s retirement was announced last year, Jee told Yahoo TV he had no plans to retire The Shaffer sandwich or its companion on the menu, The Letterman. The sandwich named after the host is a hoagie with turkey, ham and a variety of fixings.

The Hello Deli’s website lists Jee’s interests as Ping Pong, fishing, and trading on the stock market. Jee got an economics degree from City College and was on his high school’s varsity golf team.

David Letterman‘s Tuesday-night episode will feature Bill Murray as his last interview guest. Fittingly, Murray was also Letterman’s first guest on his NBC show, Late Night With David Letterman, in 1982. CNN reported that those in attendance for the taping also witnessed Regis Philbin interrupt the monologue to ask for a slot on the Wednesday program. Bob Dylan also performs.

The Late Show With David Letterman airs at 11:35 p.m. on CBS.

[Photo: Chance Yeh / Getty Images Entertainment]