Name: Countdown to Final LNwDL + Full Show, June 25, 1993 (stereo)
Uploaded: 2018-09-13T16:23:35.000Z
Description: Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Countdown to Final LNwDL + Full Show, June 25, 1993 (stereo)' from Don Giller on Comedy Buff. Published 2018-09-13. Transcript available.

Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Countdown to Final LNwDL + Full Show, June 25, 1993 (stereo)' from Don Giller on Comedy Buff. Published 2018-09-13. Transcript available.

Countdown to Final LNwDL + Full Show, June 25, 1993 (stereo)

Today is D-Day at NBC.
After 11 years, Dave Letterman is doing his last late-night show for this
network.
Well, I had the opportunity earlier this week to stop by his set and sit in the
seat that's now a part of late-night TV history.
Dave, this is bigger than big. I'm sitting at your desk.
It's exciting, isn't it?
I mean, I can't believe you actually are allowing me to do this. You're not
territorial about your desk.
No, I wouldn't let everyone do this, but I have such high regard for you and
the work that you do that, sure, if you want to sit in that desk, that's just
fine.
Shucks, Dave.
Yeah.
Can you show me some of the toys?
Well, it's a telephone. That's interesting. There are several buttons there,
and I don't quite understand the hold button feature,
but maybe we can get one of the technicians in here to explain that to us.
But that enables you to handle more than one call at a time, Katie.
Oh, I see. We'll get the brochure. We'll get the pamphlet for you.
No, go on. You do have some fun things, and really, can you show me?
Yeah, what do you want to see?
I want the bubble machine. Can you do that?
Yeah, you click that on back here.
What we need is music for the bubbles, because bubbles, as lovely as bubbles
are in and of themselves, they need a little music.
It doesn't work.
But I don't think Paul is here.
No, he's not here. We should bring Paul in here.
Okay, now, and just within a matter of minutes, the studio will fill up with
bubbles and choke out all of the oxygen,
and you and I will be breathing heavy like that.
I like this.
Now, how long have you had this machine, Dave?
We've had these, geez, I think three or four years.
Yeah. Now, was this your idea?
I don't know that it was my idea, but it's a darn good idea.
It's a good idea.
You guys should have a bubble machine on your program in the morning.
Do you think that would help the ratings?
I have another idea for you in the show.
When you sign on in the morning, and then you kind of re-sign on every half
hour, right?
Yeah.
You say, hi, I'm Katie Couric.
Bryant Gumbel says, hi, and I'm Bryant Gumbel.
And then together, simultaneously, in unison, the two of you say, and we're
cooking eggs.
And that puts people in the mind of breakfast.
And there's a strong olfactory association, because what smells better than
eggs cooking in the morning?
Bacon cooking in the morning.
I'm Katie, I'm Bryant, and we're cooking eggs.
Or you could vary it.
It could be, we're frying bacon.
I got a million of those kind of ideas.
Can I do this?
Yeah.
Excellent.
Thank you.
Now, let me show you something else.
You can throw that pencil within 100 yards of the glass, and you'll get the
same effect.
Here, let me throw it.
You do it.
Just like this.
It doesn't make any difference where you put it.
That's great.
It is good.
Now, are you going to have all these little toys, Dave, when you go to CVS?
No, no, we can't take any of this stuff with us.
None of it?
Of course, we're taking everything.
We're taking office supplies.
Are you taking the top 10 list?
Sure, taking the top 10 list.
And the stupid pet tricks and all that stuff?
Anything we can get out of here, we're taking, yeah.
Now, in all seriousness, Dave, how does it feel now that you're sort of winding
things down here and ending your run?
If you think about it, you can let yourself get into sort of a synthetic,
sentimental frame of mind because it has all of the trappings of an event.
We have two shows left, or I guess by the time this is on, we have one show
left.
And so you can think, well, this may mean something more than just going to a
different job.
I mean, for me, I'm finishing up a relationship with NBC that began in, like,
1977.
I was on The Tonight Show for the first time in November of 1978.
And that was the biggest thrill for me, even today.
Nothing was more exciting to me or as satisfying as appearing on that program
with Johnny.
So I've been with this network since the late 70s, and I always wanted to stay
here.
I liked it here.
I liked everybody here.
And now that I'm leaving, that makes me sad, you know, because I felt
comfortable here, and I liked working with NBC, and I was always proud of the
association.
So that part makes me sad.
But you don't want to dwell on that because it's not like I'm, you know, going
to prison.
Well, I don't know, Dave.
That's right.
And we're frying bacon!
So we're taking a couple of months off, and we start a new show.
So that's nice, because I would be very unhappy if I couldn't do this anymore,
you know.
Do you think there could have been anything that NBC might have done that would
have made you stay here?
Well, from the very beginning, I wanted to stay with the network.
On the other hand, if you step back and take a look at the situation with some
perspective, I do think that it's time to make a change at 1230.
I mean, good heavens, I'm 46 years old.
I was like 34, 35 when I started.
And I believe that to be on the air at 1230 at night, maybe you want somebody a
little younger.
So I just feel like, regardless of how we have come to this point in my life
and my career and the history of the show and so forth, it's not a bad idea to
be trying something else.
You know, a lot, Dave, has been made of moving...
Go ahead and make yourself comfortable, Katie.
Thank you. I'm liking this.
Well, you're known to move around a lot.
You put your feet on the chairs at home?
Yes.
Good.
There's been a lot...
Wow.
My goodness.
I'm feeling right at home, aren't I, Dave?
Yeah, the old cheerleader in her is coming back.
That's right.
Be careful, I'm going to start jumping up and down.
There's been a lot made of the fact that you're moving to 1130 and you have to
appeal to sort of a more mainstream audience that your wacky, quirky sense of
humor may not translate.
That's what some of the naysayers want to think.
Are you going to change the tone at all of the show to appeal to a broader
range of people?
You just do what you can do and see how it works.
A lot of people say a cranky Dave is a funny Dave.
And when you're unhappy and you have somebody to grouse about, to kvetch about,
that's when you're at your best.
Well, you know, I can remember when General Electric bought the network and so
forth, and we started making fun of General Electric, and people said,
Oh, geez, can you make fun of General Electric?
It's the biggest global corporation in the history of civilization.
So if we make...
I could make fun of them every second between now and the day I die.
What harm are we going to do General Electric?
None, really.
So it's the perfect kind of foil.
And the fact that we're going to work also for another very successful company,
I think, provides the same kind of dynamic there.
So you're going to be able to make fun of CBS?
Oh, yeah.
Is the honeymoon over between you and Lawrence Budtish?
Are you guys like this still?
What's the deal?
I believe we're still close.
I hope we're still close.
Here you've got the local news.
Yep.
You've got things like the Today Show, so you can lift up the floorboard and
bring Bryant and me a grape.
Thank you and thank your co-host, Bryant, for all your help.
Oh, we've only done it a couple times.
It was fun.
You've done it many times, and you've always been very willing and very eager
and very happy to help us out, and it means a lot to us.
And the nice thing about it is, and maybe you don't know this, but when we play
a little videotape that you and Bryant have been involved in for a joke of some
kind,
the audience goes crazy.
They love it.
They're very happy to see you guys.
And the same is true with all of the people here, Tom Brokaw and Marv Albert.
Whenever you guys have done stuff for us, it's just been great.
You know, speaking of Marv Albert, Dave, since he's, I guess, the most popular
guest or the one you have on the most frequently, right?
They're two completely different categories.
We decided that Marv was going to drop by just to make you feel at home and
comfortable.
Is Marv here?
Marv Albert, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Marv Albert.
Yes, Marv Albert.
How many times have you been on?
Can you count them?
Seventy plus.
Seventy plus?
Oh, now you know exactly.
I don't.
Yes, you do.
You know to the minute.
No, no, no.
Yes, you do.
You know very exactly how much airtime you have occupied.
Seventy-four and a half.
There you go.
Do you have any advice for Conan O'Brien?
I mean, you wouldn't want to be in his shoes right now, would you?
Uh, no.
No.
Get a word?
No, I wouldn't.
I wouldn't.
You know, the truth of it is, I don't want to be in my shoes now.
I think Conan O'Brien will do just fine.
I have no concerns about him and his future, and I hope things go as well for
him and his
staff as they have gone for us and our people here.
We had nothing but a wonderful time here, and I just, I couldn't be more
hopeful that he gets the same thing out of his pursuit.
And on tonight's final show, a guest Dave calls a wonderful surprise.
He told the New York Times, quote, it's someone in my life who has met a great
deal, and it is someone who has never been booked on the show before.
So maybe it's Willard.
Who knows?
Stay tuned.
In the meantime, Brian's back in a moment to talk to Ed Harris about the movie
The Firm.
But first, this is today on NBC.
That's four dead lawyers out of 41 in less than 10 years.
Those stories and much more coming up right after these messages.
We were both wrong.
It's time now for a check on the latest showbiz news.
Here's Lauren Sidney in New York.
Hi, Lauren.
Hi, Bobby.
I was wrong, too.
And finally, tonight we'll mark David Letterman's swan song on NBC.
After 11 years on the Peacock Network, Letterman will fly the coop and bring
his offbeat sense of humor to CBS,
where he will broadcast out of the legendary Ed Sullivan Theater in the heart
of the Big Apple.
CBS reportedly lured Letterman away from NBC with a $14 million deal that will
put him head-to-head with Jay Leno,
the host of the Tonight Show.
The Late Show with David Letterman is set to start on CBS, August 30th.
And that is it for now.
But for more on David Letterman's last call, as well as the very latest in
entertainment news,
please join us at 5.30 p.m. Eastern for Showbiz Today.
And now let's go back to Natalie Allen in Atlanta.
Natalie.
Lauren, thanks.
In 20 minutes, the comedian will tape his final show at NBC for broadcast later
tonight.
Late Night with David Letterman, first one on the air more than 11 years ago.
Now Dave takes his unique humor to CBS to compete in the same time slot with
Tonight Show host Jay Leno.
Letterman's final show features a special guest who he refuses to name.
On Showbiz Today, David Letterman's last day at NBC, Bruce Springsteen performs
a benefit in New Jersey,
and Hollywood's hottest.
Fox Television is gearing up the publicity machine for its upcoming late-night
Chevy Chase show in unique fashion.
The star can be seen in special trailers running at the nation's largest cinema
chain, United Artists Theaters.
In the campaign, Chase offers some comedic tips on movie-going etiquette.
So if you must smoke...
Please, don't talk while the movie's in progress.
Hey, you Chevy Chase.
I heard you're going to have that new show.
It's going to be nothing.
The reason I mention it is because I'm really a big fan.
I was just hoping you could tell me about this.
Sir, you're being rude to the people around you and ruining the movie for them.
No talking.
I think we got it.
The Chevy Chase show premieres September 7th on Fox.
Chase is just one of the many late-night talk shows that David Letterman will
find himself up against
when he moves to CBS in August.
The public struggle between Letterman and NBC for Johnny Carson's old time slot
resulted in Letterman's dramatic exit from the Peacock.
Friday night marks the end of an era for the host.
Mark Scherer looks back at the Letterman decade.
I'm very excited about this new show, and it's a big three or four days for NBC.
It turned out to be 11 years for David Letterman as the