Late Night with David Letterman

A closer look at the story

Every night on NBC, Late Night with David Letterman offered an hour of comedy and conversation. Launched in 1982, it was the very first version of the Late Night franchise, which would go on to become a long-standing tradition. Hosted by David Letterman, the show brought a distinctive brand of humour to late-night television. Episodes mixed celebrity interviews with comic bits and music. Names such as Jerry Seinfeld, Lou Reed and Bruce Willis were among its guests, while Calvert DeForest became one of its familiar faces as Larry "Bud" Melman. The programme ended in 1993, when Letterman left NBC for CBS, where he began Late Show. Conan O'Brien's version of Late Night then took over the same time slot, and the chair later passed to Jimmy Fallon and then Seth Meyers. Running for 12 seasons and 1,377 episodes on NBC, the show is a key chapter in late-night television.