Retirement of David Letterman marks the end of an era
In just a few days, David Letterman will hand in his cue cards and his top ten lists and fade (maybe) into television history. His retirement from the helm of the CBS Late Show marks the end of an era that began in the dimming mists of the 1950s with Steve Allen.
Letterman descended from a line of late-night comedians that began with Allen but also included Jack Paar and, of course, Johnny Carson.
In a recent Q-and-A with the New York Times, Letterman revealed that Paar, who was America’s late night nervous twitch for a short five years between Allen and Carson, whispered in his ear once that it was OK to be your true self in front of a vast television audience — a bit of advice Dave took to heart.
Letterman has spoken several times about Allen. In the early sixties, Steverino (as Louis Nye would say) hosted a show opposite Carson. In the Pittsburgh market, the show aired on KDKA.
On the show, Allen did things Lettermen would later emulate, like take the show to the street. In Allen’s case, the street was the corner of Hollywood and Vine. Allen once rode a camel on that street; another time he dove into a large vat of jello that his crew had placed on the street.
And Allen placed outrageous telephone calls; Letterman did, too.
If you were young in 1961-63 like Letterman and you aspired to be a wild and crazy professional funnyman, then Allen was your man.
Of course, Carson was and is the gold standard. Even as an institution, as a national icon, Carson was never not funny. Many a grumpy American after a long, hard day tuned in Carson and found a reason to laugh. For me, just seeing him part the curtains and walk centerstage was reason enough to smile.
He always had something funny to say about the president -whether the president was Kennedy or the first Bush. He was a bipartisan wit, an equal opportunity quipster.
Carson also knew how to milk a laugh with just a stare or a moment or two of silence — a trick he picked up from his hero-mentor Jack Benny. (By the way, Jay Leno was forever evoking Benny. Whenever he said, and he said it often, in a Bennyesque tone, “Well …”)
Carson was smart enough to know that as host he didn’t always need to be the funniest guy in the room. His show was a launching pad for many young comics. Through the years he gave the OK sign to a roster of later stars, from Joan Rivers to Jerry Seinfeld.
One of the comedians sandwiched between these two was David Letterman.
Letterman told The Times of sitting next to Carson on air for the first time. The wonder and terror of it all. “Holy God, this is like looking at Abraham Lincoln.”
Somehow, Letterman said, Carson had figured it out- had figured out that Americans late at night just wanted to relax. “Carson,” he said, “was doing exactly what television was supposed to be. Just let it happen. Because it’s 11:30, and people are just looking for a pleasant experience.”
Modestly — excessively so — Letterman added, “And I wish I could do that.”
“Just let it happen” is not what the new face of late-night talk looks and feels like. From Jimmy Fallon on NBC at 11:30 to James Corden on CBS at 12:35, the new late night is frantic, overproduced, and overstaged.
It’s also underaged. Fallon is a 12-year-old masquerading as an adult.
But then I’m old. I still miss Carson, for goodness sakes. Like Letterman told The Times, “I’m awash in melancholia.”
Maybe my long reign as a late-night television aficionado is over. We’ll see. As Letterman’s replacement, it will be interesting to see what Stephen Colbert does with the show. It will be different.
When Jack Paar died in 2004, Time magazine noted that television might usefully be divided into two halves, Before Paar and After Paar. Each television epoch calls forth accolades, both deserved and undeserved, which may explain the gushing praise for Fallon.
Late night has changed. So long, Dave.
Richard Robbins lives in Uniontown and is the author of two books — Grand Salute: Stories of the World War II Generation and Our People. He can be reached at grandsalutebook@gmail.com.