David Letterman's First Late Night Show Ever

Posted in David Letterman, Youtube Favs on November 3rd, 2011 by Willie

On February 1st, 1982 David Letterman launched the Late Night Show on NBC.  As you can tell by its overly dramatic and irony fueled science fiction opening, Dave was far ahead of his time.  Understanding David Letterman’s genius is partly based on knowing what a clear cut revolutionary comic visionary he was.  Not only was he fully secure in his own comic voice, always bleeding confidence over every comedy beat, he was a broadcasting natural, just a seemingly perfect physical fit for the television medium.  When Dave is on TV, he is just in his natural environment.  It’s really harder to imagine the man in real life, and according to those who work with him and know him, the real Dave is a neurotic and socially awkward mess of a man.  TV Dave is the complete opposite, a titanic colossus of confidence and  razor edged awareness.  His first show on NBC is just a remarkable time capsule of his talent and impact, and I got all 7 parts for you to devour below.  You’ll get Dave at his most classic, giving you a bizarre monolog poking fun at himself and NBC.  You’ll get a hilarious tour of the NBC studios, and you’ll get Bill Murray being young and brilliant.  Oh yea, you get Mr. Wizard too.  This is awesome, so check it out and brighten up your late night.






Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Conan O’Brien’s First Show

Posted in Conan O'Brien, Youtube Favs on November 2nd, 2011 by Willie

I’ve been all over the world the past few weeks, from Maine to New York, to San Francisco to Seoul, and now to Sydney.  It’s been a whirl wind of adventure and excitement, but on all those long plane trips, I had to keep my mind occupied with something.   Luckily I had Bill Carter’s newish book, The War for Late Night.  Not only did it track the recent tumult at NBC between Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien, it tackled the whole history of late night television and all its stars.  The book got me interested in tracking down legendary clips from Late Night’s long winding path, and I found some real choice ones I’ll be posting this week.  The first is the opening segment from Conan’s debut on NBC 18 friggin years ago, amazing its been that long because Conan still seems so young and vital.  The clip is the cold open and Conan’s introduction to the world where people warn him of the pressure in replacing David Letterman.  Conan takes it all in stride, happily tying a noose around his neck just before his debut.  It’s hilarious, and a piece of comedy history, so check it out folks because I’m back.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,