A new late night king is born...
David Letterman can best be described as part Steve Allen, part Ernie Kovacs with a dash of Gallagher added. It was on this night in 1982 that the late night host debuted with "Late Night with David Letterman" on NBC-TV. The 60-minute show followed the "Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" from 12:30 AM to 1:30 AM, Monday through Thursday, a Friday show was added in June 1987...
Some memorable moments from "Late Night" include Letterman using a bullhorn to interrupt "The Today Show" by announcing he wasn't wearing any pants. He interrupted the WNBC-TV newscasts by walking into their studio which was across the hall from his. Cher had a couple of memorable moments on the show, calling Letterman an "a-hole" on the air. There were squabbles with Madonna and Shirley MacLaine. Sonny and Cher would reunite to sing "I Got You Babe" in 1987. And then there was the watermelon tossing off the roof, the mini-cam shots, the spoofs with Paul Shaffer, Chris Elliott, stage manager Biff Henderson, Larry "Bud" Melman, Letterman's Top 10 list, stunts like wearing a suit covered with Alka Seltzer tablets in a tank of water and the velcro suit that stuck to the velcro wall...
Eleven years of David Letterman madness would end with his final show on June 25, 1993. NBC, not wanting to let go, would air reruns until September 10th. Letterman, disappointed when he was not named to replace Johnny Carson, jumped to CBS-TV on August 30th where he started the "Late Show With David Letterman" which is starting its 13th season. Conan O'Brien would replace Letterman on "Late Night" on September 13th...
More February 1 Memories...
1893) Thomas A. Edison completes work on the world's 1st motion picture studio in West Orange, NJ...
1898) The Travelers Insurance Company of Hartford, CT issues the 1st automobile insurance policy when Dr. Truman Martin of Buffalo, NY announces "I just saved a lot of money on my car insurance". For $11.25 Truman gets $5,000 in liability coverage...
1900) Eastman Kodak introduces the $1 Brownie...
1913) Grand Central Station opens in New York City. It's the largest train station in the world (and still beautiful)...
1919) The 1st Miss America is crowned in New York...
1930) The New York Times publishes its 1st crossword puzzle (sudoku to follow)...
1953) "Private Secretary" starring Ann Sothern debuts on CBS-TV (the series will run until September 10, 1957)...
1953) "You Are There" with Walter Cronkite premieres on CBS-TV (the recreation of famous events will run until October 13, 1957)...
1958) Elvis Presley records "Wear My Ring Around Your Neck", his last single before joining the Army...
1968) After winning 5 NFL titles and 6 conference championships in 9 seasons, Vince Lombardi resigns as Green Bay coach to become GM (one year later Lombardi is coaching the Washington Redskins)...
1968) South Vietnamese National Police Chief Brig. Gen. Nguyen Ngoc Loan executes a Viet Cong officer with a pistol shot to the head, a scene captured on video and in still photographs and seen worldwide...
1976) Sonny and Cher continue their working relationship despite getting a divorce...
1979) Patty Hearst is released from prison after serving 22 months, her sentence commuted by President Jimmy Carter...
1979) Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini is welcomed in Tehran, Iran as he ends nearly 15 years in exile...
1982) "Late Night with David Letterman" premieres on NBC-TV (feature story)...
1984) David Stern, former chief legal counsel of the NBA is named commissioner, replacing Larry O'Brien (Stern quickly turns the league around at the gate, among advertisers and with the fans)...
1988) The Cars disband...
1994) Jeff Gillooly pleads quilty for his role in the attack on Nancy Kerrigan, striking a plea bargain when he implicates girlfriend Tonya Harding...
1999) Monica Lewinsky spills the beans to senators weighing impeachment charges against President Clinton with a videotape deposition...
2003) The space shuttle "Columbia" explodes during re-entry killing all 7 astronauts aboard...
2004) The Patriots win Super Bowl XXXVIII with a 32-29 win over the Carolina Panthers (see my commentary for some personal observations)...
To ensure accuracy, multiple reference sources were used in the timeline...
Happy Birthday To...
1926) Stuart Whitman...
1937) Don Everly...
1937) Garrett Morris...
1937) Ray (Dr. Hook) Sawyer...
1938) Sherman ("The Jeffersons") Hemsley...
1954) Bill (Will Robinson of "Lost in Space") Mumy...
1965) Princess Stephanie of Monaco...
1968) Pauly Shore...
Commentary...
It was on this date 2 years ago that I saw my 1st Super Bowl game, an exciting game won by my team and that made it very special. The game between the Patriots and Panthers came down to Adam Vinatieri's field goal with seconds remaining. I was sitting in the end zone where the ball was kicked and yes I saw the Janet Jackson breast bearing incident with Justin Timberlake from 50 yards away and there was very little crowd reaction in the stands, probably because most people missed it. I, like the people who did see it thought it was part of the act, still do...
Today is the 32nd day of the year with 333 days remaining in 2006 but just 47 days until Spring and only 15 days from pitchers and catchers...
