David Letterman’s Set Is Gone, But That’s Just One More Thing He Gave Us To Talk About
Now that David Letterman’s set is in the dumpster, and David has worked his way through the last Letterman top ten list, reaction is setting in. The Late Show is no longer the David Letterman show. No more of the crazy stuff that happened over the last 30 years, no more of that trademark “sarcastic, self-deprecating humor,” and no more David himself saying, “Thank you, and goodnight.”
With thirty years worth of stars, interviews, jokes and mishaps to remember, there were tributes (and more jokes) pouring in from everywhere. Elizabeth Banks, Betty White, Dj Hunter, and Conan Doyle were among the long celebrity list of names who tweeted messages along with hundreds of fans.
Tonight is @letterman‘s final Late Show. We love each other so much. I will miss him so. But look out — I’ll find him!! #ThanksDave
— Betty White (@BettyMWhite) May 21, 2015
Crazy, isn’t it, that with all the David Letterman love, the network couldn’t manage to save the set. A “New York minute” after the last show finished, demolition crews tossed much of the set into dumpsters.
So sad. But memories don’t need things to stay alive, right? It’s still sad though.
Dave’s gorgeous cityscape set now exists only in memory. CBS throws #Letterman set in trash: http://t.co/7xRcYPwODy pic.twitter.com/Xwx7QWcMd2
— Johnny Woodard (@JohnnyWoodard) May 21, 2015
So what are those memories all about, anyway?
There was the women-without-clothes thing, that included Drew Barrymore flashing Letterman on his birthday, and Tina Fey stripping down to her spanx on David’s last show. There’s the way David Letterman was so down to earth and genuine. Even if it was faked, it seemed honest, and David’s presence always felt real.
“Letterman is a funny man, but his ability to come across as genuine is a talent that has stood him in far greater stead.”
There were all those lists. Letterman included the the Top 10 list on Sept 18, 1985 and never looked back. The list covered anything from the weird and wacky to the latest headlines. The first one was a list of words that almost rhyme with peas (Heats, Rice, Moss, Ties, Needs, Lens, Ice, Nurse, Leaks, and Meats.)
The final Top 10, delivered by ten celebrities, gave a nod to that famous Letterman self-ridicule. It included things like, “I have no idea what I’ll do when you go off the air…you know, I just thought of something – I’ll be fine,” (number seven, from Jerry Seinfeld) and “I’ll never have the money I owe you,” (delivered by Bill Murray).
The most important Top 10 list right now is the top ten reasons we’re all going to miss David Letterman. Okay, there are a lot more than ten reasons. He was funny, flirtatious, wonderful, weird, personal, serious, naughty, sarcastic, fun, and let’s not forget genuine!
Most of all, David Letterman always gave us something to talk about, and we’re all going to miss that.
[Image via Billboard]
