Name: Is Connie Chung Trying To Take Dave's Job? | Letterman
Uploaded: 2022-03-07T16:39:14.000Z
Description: Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Is Connie Chung Trying To Take Dave's Job? | Letterman' from Letterman on Comedy Buff. Published 2022-03-07. Transcript available.

Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Is Connie Chung Trying To Take Dave's Job? | Letterman' from Letterman on Comedy Buff. Published 2022-03-07. Transcript available.

My next guest is a well-respected journalist who has worked as a television
reporter in Washington,
D.C., also recently in Los Angeles, California. And now here, as the anchorwoman
of NBC's
News at Sunrise, it's a pleasure to welcome Connie Chung. Connie.
Nice to see you.
I must say that many, many nights did I watch you in Los Angeles, and now it's
a pleasure to meet you in person.
And welcome to New York City. How was the job?
Thank you. Same here. I watched you many, many a night because I was a night
person.
That's right. You would do the 6 and the 11 and stay up late.
I'd stay up very late and not go to sleep until 3 or 4 in the morning.
How are things here? Speaking of odd hours, you really got some now, huh?
It's terrible. I mean, it's really awful. I get up at 2 in the morning.
I actually get up when I went to sleep in Los Angeles. So I get up at 2 and I
go in at about 3.15, 3.30.
This program, NBC News Sunrise?
NBC News at Sunrise.
At Sunrise. When does that come on? I mean, I know.
I know that.
It's about when the sun comes up.
But what time would that be, never having seen the sun come up?
At 6 o'clock in some cities and 6.30 in other cities. So I actually do it from
6 to 6.30 and then we can update it from 6.30 to 7.
Oh, I see. So you do both phases of it live?
Well, we can, but we don't always.
Yeah. Now, tell me about this thing that happened this morning on the Today
Show. I understand something strange.
Willard Scott dressed up as Carmen Miranda. He was beautiful. He had better
eyelashes and everything else than I do.
He was gorgeous and he was too tall. He had heels that were like that. I mean,
underneath the sole, you know, it was that thick.
The shoes were especially made for him because no one could find shoes that big.
And he was adorable.
Now, what was the purpose of this?
Had there been a party at Willard's house?
Or what exactly, what went wrong in the grand scheme of things?
Carmen Miranda died. And I guess Willard just...
This was Willard's way of saying thanks to Carmen Miranda?
He had noted that many years ago, he used to raise money for the war effort and
he would dress up as Carmen Miranda and help raise money.
And so he said, if anyone out there wants to contribute $1,000, I'm willing to
dress up as Carmen Miranda to the USO.
Oh, yeah.
Contribute $1,000 to the USO. And the offers just came pouring in.
And so the Today Show said, we'll fly whoever is the winner or the loser into
New York.
And that person will present the USO $1,000 and Willard will do his thing.
So he got out his little boom chicka booms and he had a banana here and a
cucumber here and the huge headdress and a gorgeous outfit.
I mean, he looked dressed to kill with a...
Well, then why didn't somebody do it?
Wow, I'm sorry. I've got to start getting up earlier.
But this is not on your show, is it?
Oh, no.
That was the Today Show, which comes on...
No, no, no. That's right. It was, you know, at 7.
Yeah. We have to go away, but we'll come right back.
Connie Chung and I will be back here in 60 seconds.
Connie Chung is with us.
Now, this program's been on the air, what, a month?
I guess. About three weeks, I think.
You generated pretty good heat when you came in, didn't you?
I did?
I think so.
I mean, it seemed like you were...
You got a lot of favorable reviews.
People were very impressed with the show.
And it really kicked up some good publicity for you and for NBC and the show.
Well, I hope so.
Now, after years of reporting on news and events and so forth,
was it kind of awkward for you then to become the subject of news reports and
so forth?
Oh, yes.
I mean, it's strange to be interviewed by you right now.
It's, I mean, for many reasons.
You're not the first one to say that, you know.
No, because I'm used to asking the questions.
Sure.
And, you know, it's funny.
I want to, with each person who would interview me,
I would feel that I would want to give them a story and say something special
because I would want an interviewee to do that for me.
Yeah.
But I knew that it would kill me.
I mean, you know, I'd tie the noose around my own neck
if I said something outrageous or off the wall.
So I would just have to confine myself to being dull.
Oh, no.
But you bring up an interesting point.
So give us an example now of something that you would think that was outrageous
or off the wall.
Outrageous.
Outrageous or out the wall, yeah.
No, I couldn't.
I just couldn't.
It's really difficult.
You know, I mean, I'd much rather, you're from the Midwest, right?
Yes, ma'am, I am.
And you're sort of a news freak.
You used to be a weather person.
I used to work for a local station, yeah, as a weather person, yep.
But you lived in Los Angeles?
Yeah, moved to Los Angeles.
You're doing it now, aren't you?
Do you like New York?
Yeah, I like New York.
No, you don't.
I like, you told me you do.
No, I like everything.
No, no.
I do.
I like, there's hardly anything I don't like.
No, you said you wanted to go back to Southern California sometime.
I never said that.
Come on.
We'll put this one back in.
Okay, okay, I'll put it.
Now, I know that when you worked in Los Angeles or Los Angeles, you...
Who says that?
Well, everybody says it's Los Angeles.
That's how you pronounce it.
No, nobody says that.
It is Los Angeles.
Try it.
I can't say that.
Camel on Toronto.
Try it just once.
La Cunada.
No, no.
La Canada.
Now, but when you worked there, you worked on a show called Two on the Town.
Yes.
Now, you appeared on roller skates.
Is that true?
Oh.
That's not on this list.
Yeah, I know.
Would Walter Cronkite do that?
No.
Yeah, he might have in his day.
Sure, going roller skating.
But you...
But hot pants and roller skates?
You know what?
One time...
No, not hot pants.
Oh.
I did go roller skating, and I nicked my chin.
I fell and slid for about 20 feet.
And I went on the air the next day on the news with this bandage on my chin,
and a drunk
called me up and said, what happened to Connie Chin's chung?
Split your chung, did you?
Well...
That's a true story.
Yeah, that's very strange.
But you don't do that sort of thing now, do you?
It's pretty much hard news on your program.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
Now...
They say that for Tom Brokaw.
No.
Now, when you came here, there were all kinds of rumblings that maybe you would
be taking
somebody's job, you know?
No, you don't have to worry.
I'm not going to take your job.
Oh, sorry.
Well, thank heavens for that.
That's certainly a load off my mind.
But you know what I'm talking about, don't you?
You said you were going to cross that out.
Well, I didn't.
We crossed it out pretty much.
I didn't really say it right out loud.
Okay, how much are we doing?
All right.
Well, we have to end there anyway.
Oh, thanks.
You sound genuinely relieved.
I am.
All right, Connie.
Because you're new in town and new at NBC,
I'm going to give you a sponge.
And I'm going to give you a special water.
What?
I watched your previous interview.
Yeah.
And I have in my pocket the names of people that I've interviewed over the
years.
That's not a bad policy.
No, thank you.
Well, continued success to you.
Thank you.
Nice meeting you after all these years.
How much time?
We'll be right back.
Thank you.