David Letterman Biography

Before he became famous for "stupid pet tricks" and top-ten lists on late-night network television, David Letterman was honing his peculiar sense of humor at radio and TV stations in Indianapolis.

David Michael Letterman was born on April 12, 1947 in Indianapolis to Harry Letterman, a florist, and Dorothy, a church secretary. He went to School 55 and then to Broad Ripple High School and worked as a stock boy at Atlas Supermarket. After graduating from high school in 1965 he studied radio and television at Ball State University, where he earned a B.A. in telecommunications in 1969.

He worked at several radio stations in the Indianapolis area and then on television as an anchor and weatherman for WTHR (Channel 13). He also hosted both a children's show called Clover Power which featured 4-H members and a late-night movie show which he called Freeze-Dried Movies where he performed stunts such as blowing up a cardboard replica of the television station at the close of the show.

After four years in local television and radio Letterman realized he needed a larger audience in order to find a place for his brand of comedy. In 1975 Letterman moved to Los Angeles where he worked at The Comedy Store and wrote material for sitcoms including Good Times.

His big break came when he began appearing on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson whom he has since referred to as his mentor. In 1978, he became Carson's regular guest host, and in 1980, he was offered his own show, the daytime David Letterman Show. The show was a critical smash but lasted only three months due to poor ratings. Still, it led NBC to give Letterman a late night show of his own to follow The Tonight Show.

Late Night with David Letterman premiered on Feb. 1, 1982 and soon became popular with a young audience. His signature features include The Top Ten List, Stupid Pet Tricks, Stupid Human Tricks, Viewer Mail and pencils tossed at the camera and the set behind him, 'breaking' the non-existent glass with a cued crash sound.

NBC chose Jay Leno as the replacement for the retiring Johnny Carson, a position Letterman had wanted. In 1993 Letterman moved to CBS with a lucrative deal to host The Late Show with David Letterman, to air opposite The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The head-to-head competition between Leno and Letterman for Carson's' job spawned a book and cable movie documenting the late-night talk show "wars."

In March 2002, ABC tried to lure Letterman, whose contract was due to expire in August, to take over Ted Koppel's Nightline time slot. Letterman announced on his program March 11 that he would be staying at CBS. He not only turned down ABC, he took the opportunity to chide the network by lavishly praising Koppel. Letterman was married, to Michelle Cook, from 1969-1977.

Letterman is co-owner and founder of Worldwide Pants (a production company). He has received several Emmys for both for his writing and for his talk show hosting duties.

David Letterman