Congratulations to RJ Sheedy and his crew at Milford TV. Tonight they had the 50th Talk Show with RJ Sheedy. A 2 hour packed show, musicians, comedians, fitness gurus, clips and Ray and myself from Distracted Driving. Thanks for having us RJ, here is to 50 more.

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I have three shirts related to David Letterman, a Late Night shirt, a Late Show shirt and my favorite, PANTS, a shirt that gets comments every time I wear it. Pants for his production company World Wide Pants purchased in the Late Show gift shop the second time we saw his show in NY.

Letterman was magical to me when I was a kid. Showing how logical I was at a young age, I had trouble wrapping my head around him and the people in his audience being awake and out, at 12:30 at night. I remember thinking the world went to bed at 11, so why are people on this show so late? Same thoughts with Carson, but Dave’s broadcast was the tough one to grasp. It was on “tomorrow…”  maybe I was 12? Somewhere around there, it did not take long to figure it out, tape the show at 5, play back later, to me, at that age it felt live. I knew how sitcoms worked, this was not a sitcom. This had energy, it had a pulse, a sitcom is live in front of people, but this was LIVE, electric, real. I can even see how I could get to that conclusion as a kid, but at the time it was like magic. The answer seemed easy – this guy was so good that people will stay up late to be on his show – to be that naive and put things in the simplest terms.

I would sneak his show when I could, it felt like something I should not watch but it made me love it more. Some kids are trying to descramble the adults channels and I am sneaking comedy talk shows.  Then as I hit 15 I got my own room and a TV, there were many school nights where I would be up watching Dave, when I should had been sleeping. There were also many times when I was sleeping in Mrs. O’s first period English class the next morning as a direct result to Letterman. He molded my sense of humor. I could relate to him, at the time I had never met anyone like him, and sometimes thought there was no one like me. I thought I was as quick as Dave, but it would be years until I would chance it, I laughed at what he laughed at, I knew where he was going with bits, I wanted to be him. The older I got the more I watched, I learned to respect Carson through Dave. He spoke highly of Johnny, so in what could be a reversal of expectations, Late Night with Letterman was a lead in to the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson for me. They balanced each other out, but Dave was my king.

So what does it mean when someone you grew up idolizing retires? One, it means you are getting old. Two, it causes you to reflect. I am happy he is retiring, it is time. I remember when Carson retired, he seemed so old to me. May 22, 1992… Johnny was 65, Letterman is 68, he does not feel as old, but I think that is more about me not being 19 this time. The closest thing we have now is Jimmy Kimmel, you can see Letterman’s influence all over him, and there seems to be a huge respect both ways. Fallon is a different breed, in a league of his own, not even playing the same sport. And that is why it is time, the sport has changed. I will miss knowing Dave is there, he was a huge part of my life during my formative years, as far as entertainers go, it is safe to say he will be the last one I would ever say that about.

I shared a post and thoughts about his retirement way back when it was announced, I mentioned Barbara and I went to see him twice at the Ed Sullivan Theater. Tickets were free, yet we waiting in line to guarantee good seats both times. The second time we went in 1994, when I got the PANTS shirt ,we even got on camera. You can see it all below, because of course I have the tape.

Good Luck Dave, you made being a career out of being a funny smart ass, for that I am jealous.

“There’s only one requirement for any of us, and that is to be courageous — because courage, as you might know, defines all other human behavior.” David Letterman, first show after 9/11

“Hey, would you like to buy a monkey?” David Letterman in Cabin Boy

After a certain age I stopped believing in heroes. I realized they are unnecessary, though I still have a few people I respect, Letterman is one. Putting his personal life aside since it is none of my concern, Letterman is the king of late night. I only have one Rolling Stone I have ever kept and this is it, and I actually have 2 copies, I always planned on framing one. It is 20 years old, I think framing it has passed. I will admit I do not watch as much as I once did, as sad as I am about him not being on TV anymore, it is time. The landscape has changed, it is a younger man’s sport, but without Letterman the younger men would look different. Leno was a place holder, from the first time he sat behind Carson’s desk, but Dave was brilliant. Monkeycam, Larry Bud, Kaufman v. Lawler, Crispin Glover, Stupid Human Tricks, Howard Stern, Richard Simmons, tossing crap off the roof, he is who he is.  And as for class and respect within the industry, Johnny Carson’s last TV appearance ever was not on Leno’s show, it was Letterman’s visit to LA where Dave let him sit behind the desk, Dave appeared on Conan’s show to support him after he took over Late Night, was a guest on Kimmel’s show, had Conan on after he lost the Tonight Show, even recently he had Arsenio Hall on his show to let him promote Hall’s relaunched show that directly competed at the 11:30 slot.

My wife and I went to see the Late Show live twice, 20 years ago when we were dating. We would wait in line for hours to sit close to the stage. The fist time 3/15/04 the guests were Jay Thomas, Kevin Spacey – he did an awesome Carson impression and was the 2nd guest – there to talk about Usual Suspects, and the Crash Test Dummies. The second time 11/11/94 was Uma Thurman pushing Pulp Fiction, Fyvush Finkel and the Cranberries – I even got my face on TV (there is a tape somewhere) while he was picking on the audience. We watched him every night back then, I wrote to the show and asked if I could use it to propose to her… they sent me tickets sooner than I thought and I panicked and tossed the tickets. I will be sad to see him go. If not for any other reason it makes me feel old. I dreamed of being him, or at least being a guest on his show. I probably will watch more in the next year than I have in a while.  I know those last weeks will not be missed.  I remember racing home from my job at Newbury Comics each night to see Johnny’s last week. This time I will just need to try to stay awake. Watch Letterman on Kimmel, the first clip is below. You can tell Kimmel is a fan, we all should be.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52uN3IyJKUw