David Letterman: Difference between revisions
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'''David Letterman''' (born 1947) is a late-night [[Talk Show]] host famous for defining the genre in the post-[[The Tonight Show|Johnny Carson]] era. Letterman's shows (''The David Letterman Show'' in 1980, ''[[Late Night]]'' from 1982-93, and ''[[Late Show with David Letterman]]'' since then) came to be known as examples of the "[[Post Modernism|Anti-Talk Show]]", a show that is relentlessly [[Lampshade Hanging|self-aware]] and intent on deconstructing the conventions of the very medium that gives it life.
From the beginning, Letterman fashioned his persona as a smartass host who was "too hip" for the talk show format, and proceeded from there to make a mockery of the entire genre as a result — for instance, he would often barely hide his contempt for almost every aspect of show business, from his producers and writers, to his wardrobe director, his celebrity guests, his sidekick Paul Shaffer, and even his own fame. All of this pales, however, in comparison to his open contempt for his "[[The Rival|rival]]," [[Jay Leno]], to whom he lost the coveted [[The Tonight Show|''Tonight Show'']] gig after Carson's retirement, a development about which he is still clearly bitter some two decades later.
Letterman took frequent shots at his network (first NBC, then CBS), and then his network's parent company when NBC was acquired by General Electric. He would intentionally bomb jokes in the monologue, and openly waste network airtime on ridiculous gags whose only purpose served to illustrate simply that, "Hey! I'm wasting NBC airtime here!" He eschewed the typical talk show uniform of a tailored suit in favor of a tie, a blazer, khakis...and white Adidas wrestling shoes.
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