History of Late Night TV

1980: The David Letterman show on NBC

David Letterman's first show was a morning show which debuted in 1980 and was cancelled quickly. It was a disappointment, but ironically the show won an Emmy award. His comedy was more suited for late night. Paul Shaffer did not participate in this show. He was still employed as a musician for Saturday Night Live. Frank Owens was the bandleader for this show. This clip shows a segment where a camera roams the hallways of the 7th floor where Dave worked.

1982-1993: Late Night with David Letterman on NBC

 

In 1982 David Letterman started his late night show on NBC which aired from 12:35am to 1:35am. Following Johnny Carson, he seemed to be the one who would follow in the footsteps of the master once Johnny stepped down. Here's a clip of a 1985 show where he interrupts a segment of NBC's Today Show. Letterman seemed to do material that had more of an edge when he was at NBC. With a later time slot he had more freedom. He would do segments outside of the studio where he would do man-on-the-street interviews. Dave was an admirer of Allen's late night antics. 

1993 to 2015: The Late Show with David Letterman on CBS

 

Letterman was disappointed to be passed over for the Tonight Show, but he ended up on an 11:35pm show nonetheless on CBS. He would go head-to-head against his rival, Jay Leno. Letterman started his own production company, Worldwide Pants. The company produced Everybody Loves Raymond, and the Late Late Show on CBS which has been hosted by Tom Snyder, then Craig Kilborn then Craig Ferguson. This clip shows Letterman doing his monologue in his show that paid tribute to Johnny Carson. After the monologue, Letterman revealed that each joke was written by Johnny. The guests on that show were Peter Lasally, Johnny's longtime producer, and Johnny's bandleader, Doc Severinsen. Letterman retired in May of 2015 and he was replaced by Stephen Colbert in September of 2015.