NEW YORK — In a career that started out on local news as a snarky weatherman in Indiana, David Letterman eventually found his niche in late night TV.
33 years later, Letterman has managed to perfect the art of the interview, getting the biggest names to dish about anything and everything.
And at the same time, working their nerves.
“Pretty much everyone who is on late night TV right now owes their career to David Letterman,” Kristen Baldwin, editor-in-chief at Yahoo TV, told PIX11 News.
According to Baldwin, Letterman set the standard for an entire generation of talk show hosts. If they’re doing a bit now, it’s because Dave did it first.
David Letterman smiles as he hosts the premiere of his talk show on NBC television, “Late Night With David Letterman” in the NBC studios in New York City, New York. (Feb 1, 1982)
What separates him from the rest, he never bought into the Hollywood fame machine.
“He never really cared about being famous,” Baldwin said. “He doesn’t care about talking to celebrities. He kinda just wants to do what he thinks is funny and he cultivated these guests and created memorable moments in late night TV.”
With all the ups and downs that came with being in the spotlight, Dave always managed to find the right balance.
What’s billed as not only one of the finest moments in his career but in TV history was his first monologue after 9/11. Watch it along with all the best Letterman moments in the video above.
Check out more action from outside the Ed Sullivan Theater on Letterman’s finale day below:
the RAMOS project 
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