biography
| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1947– )
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| biography:
| Television comedian, born in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. He studied radio and television at Ball State University (Muncie, IN) (1970 BA), then worked as a television weatherman and radio talk-show host in Indiana before going to New York to write comedy material for several major television comedians and specials. He became well known as a brash guest host for Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show during the 1978–80 seasons. His own weekly David Letterman Show on NBC-TV (1980) failed to take off, but in 1982 NBC-TV gave him the time slot following Johnny Carson, and Late Night with David Letterman soon became popular with young people by mixing the usual talk-show ingredients of celebrity guests and music with his irreverent manner and zany comic stunts. After NBC-TV rejected him as the replacement for the retiring Johnny Carson, in 1993 he moved to CBS-TV to host the Late Show with David Letterman. |
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