Countdown to Late Show w/David Letterman, July, August 1993

When Dave announced his move to CBS in mid-January 1993,* he still had five more months of Late Nights to produce for his then-current network. During a week break in early March, Dave visited CBS affiliates around the country to promote his move to the new network and help get clearances. Network executives were not pleased with him promoting CBS while still under contract, so such travels ceased until after Late Night's final new broadcast in late June.
*seen in full here -- • David Letterman Press ...
Once Late Night was done, Dave was contractually free to begin preparing promotion with CBS over the summer. The first harvest came during the CBS-aired All-Star game on July 13, as no less than six Dave-to-CBS spots aired during the live broadcast, two lasting 20 seconds each, four at 10. Those spots begin this compilation, though the definitive collection, uploaded by 1ApolloOne in early 2015, can be seen here:
• Late Show with David L...
The spots saturated the CBS airwaves for the next six weeks until Late Show's debut on August 30. Meanwhile, Paul Shaffer had released his "Party Boys of Rock and Roll" CD in August, so he had own promotional tour, first with an appearance on "Later with Bob Costas" that aired on August 19, and then, two days later, on "ABC In Concert." Both can be seen here: • Paul Shaffer on Bob Co...
CBS's promotion went full-throttle the week before Late Show's premiere:
1. Monday, August 23: CBS This Morning: With video of Dave's press conference in L.A. earlier in the summer; footage of the American Comedy Awards from March 3 and a followup scene from the July 7 episode of "The Larry Sanders Show"; renovation of the Ed Sullivan Theater; and a look at Dave's new neighbors.
[Tuesday, August 24: There was nothing featured.]
2. Wednesday, August 25: CBS This Morning: Mark McEwen interviews Paul Shaffer, with later a full music performance of "Something About You" with the now-called CBS Orchestra (but before the additions of Felicia Collins and Bernie Worrell).
3. Thursday, August 26: CBS This Morning: Paula Zahn and Harry Smith interview Dave, Part 1 of 3; and later, Mark McEwen interviews Teri Garr.
4. Friday, August 27: CBS This Morning: A live remote with two audience members from the previous night's "shakedown show"; an interview with Dave, Part 2 of 3.
5. Friday, August 27: KCBS 2 Action News in Los Angeles: Bree Walker interviews Dave via satellite.
6. Saturday, August 28, 11:35 PM: Harry Smith hosts "A Conversation with David Letterman," with footage inside the Late Show offices, and a chat with Executive Producers Peter Lasally and Robert Morton; Director Hal Gurnee; and Head Writer Rob Burnett.
7. Sunday, August 29: WCBS 5 PM News in NYC: Michelle Marsh interviews Dave, Part 1 of 2.
Monday, August 30, the big day:
8. CBS This Morning: An interview with Dave, Part 3 of 3.
9. Minutes later, Katie Couric interviews Jay Leno on the Today Show.
10. WCBS 5 PM News, at 5:10 PM: Live coverage outside the Sullivan Theater with Morry Alter 20 minutes before the first show's taping.
11. WCBS 5 PM News, at 5:52 PM: Live coverage outside, 22 minutes into the taping; Michelle Marsh's interview with Dave, Part 2 of 2, and a short clip with Andy Rooney.
12. WCBS 6 PM News: Live coverage into the 2nd half hour of the taping.
13. KCBS 2 Action News: A report from CBS's affiliate in Los Angeles in the late afternoon. With Paul's last name misspelled, of course.
14. KCBS 2 Action News: Another report, early evening with videotape not racked up.
15. KCBS 2 Action News: 11 PM report
16. Back in NYC: WCBS 11 PM News live coverage.
17. WCBS 11 PM News ends and Late Show begins its first broadcast.
Then, next-day reactions:
18. CNN Showbiz Today
19. CNN Headline News
20. (9/1): CNN Business
21. WCBS 5 PM News
Finally: In Michelle Marsh's interview, Part 2 (#11 above), Dave mentions taping a segment inside the Ed with Andy Rooney "two days ago." It aired two months later on Late Show #50, November 5, 1993, and is included here.
L.A. and other clips courtesy of C. Bay, again.

[@GregCurtin45]

Every second of this was incredible. Thank you for taking the time to compile and share it with us. This should have over a million views and 500k in LIKES!

[@elvisthechef]

I remember the excitement around all of this, I was 13 years old and started watching Letterman when he moved to CBS from day one, I also remember watching a new talk show on NBC shortly after hosted by a strange and unheard of man at the time named Conan. My how the times have changed. This channel is a fantastic archive of everything Letterman, thanks for all the amazing videos.

[@richardburns4143]

Conan's first monologue was an absolute train wreck but he soon became brilliant at what he does.

[@DianaHerberg]

I wasn't a Letterman or Conan fan at the time (just wasn't my kind of humor) but this second time around I'm really enjoying Dave... thank you Don Giller!!!

[@at1212b]

I had just turned 14 and remember this hype. I got totally into him.

[@jcampton1]

*"Is someone frying baloney?"* *THIS IS CBS.* Don't know about you but i got a giggle from that.

[@jimlaforte1755]

It was classic Dave ala 1993. Simple. Cutting. Funny.

[@tf692]

I legit LOL'd at that "a woman with paw prints up the side of her dress talking about dignity" line

[@ajn465]

Great job, Don!! Love seeing all this stuff complete with enough of the surrounding TV bits to set the vibe up..

[@Greedo7372000]

What a great collection! Thank you for putting this together! I have been a huge Letterman fan since he came over to CBS. It just makes me nostalgic for the golden age of Dave.

[@dongiller]

Thanks -- I just put up the first Late Show, full and in stereo, here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/poe0dXdojZhqq68

[@billfletcher7602]

How in the hell did you archive all of these? Love it, thanks!

[@dongiller]

Life lacking. :)

[@billfletcher7602]

Likewise, to be able to watch it all. :)

[@FloatingAppleProductions]

Seeing this reminds me of the line he said on his first show "this isn't a promo, this is the actual show" Good work Don as always

[@js2010ish]

1:17:42 meanwhile on NBC, Katie Couric to Jay: "Your chin is in my shot" 🤣

[@FIXTREME]

Man, CBS did *EVERYTHING* to make that show the 2nd coming of Jesus and Elvis combined. It's undeniable just how much CBS cared about Dave, and how far they were willing to go for him.

[@dannymizrahi]

Thank you for this video. I just discovered that I​ was interviewed at the 1:35:10 &1:39:17

[@dongiller]

Excellent!

[@dannymizrahi]

Would you happen to have a segment that Entertainment Tonight did the next day?

[@dongiller]

I don't, sorry.

[@sirxavior1583]

@1:35:42 and 1:42:31. The late shift really did an accurate job of portraying Howard Stringer and Rod Perth.

[@ac_junior72]

What a flashback! Remember these promos, LOT of hype for CBS. I started watching the NBC show when I was in 7th grade, 84 or 85! I got into Johnny Carson but found Letterman just absolutely hysterical, insane crazy comedy. I remember the early days of CBS, I stopped at Rock America a few doors down from the theater when I was in NYC, got a picture of the 2 guys there that became regulars on on the show, Mujibur and Sirajul.😆

[@redmanr5522]

Exactly 28 years ago tonight, the Late Show premiered on CBS, on Monday August 30, 1993. Now it's Monday August 30, 2021.

[@redmanr5522]

8-30-93, Worldwide Pants was in its infancy, Dave started on CBS, Frank Zappa was in his final days on Earth sadly, the Phoenix Suns had lost the NBA finals, the White Sox were bound for the ALCS. they were top of their division. 8-30-21, I'm typing this message, and watching this video and preparing to watch the first episode on KZbin at the time the Late Show comes on, 10:35pm Central time, Now it's been six years since Dave retired, so he was on CBS for 22 years, Stephen Colbert did the Late Show for the last 6 years. Again, the Phoenix Suns lost the NBA finals, and the White Sox are again top of the AL Central.

[@jhojnack]

1:27:36 Bill Murray with the spray paint he uses on Dave’s desk!! 😂

[@noshowjackie]

Yeah, David Letterman was the real king. And you have a lot of his videos. Ty! Amazing.

[@dongiller]

I have all of them. :)

[@noshowjackie]

@@dongiller i'm a fan. Great channel.

[@dongiller]

@@noshowjackie Thanks, Jackie!

[@ararazul9638]

1:49:38 Keyboard Cat, about 12 years before KZbin was even a thing.

[@YakosIoakim]

Unbelievable stuff, thank you❤

[@piezoification]

Thank You sir!

[@melvinwren]

i remember my parents letting me stay up late for carsons last episode. one of my earliest memories. maybe thats what got me on to late night tv

[@johnnyballenatl]

Speaking of "Oklahoma!"...the original CBS This Morning used that musical's "O, What A Beautiful Morning" as their theme for years.

[@jimlaforte1755]

Don, another great job! Thanks for sharing! Morty was always terrific! I always wondered if Rob Burnett was an upstart, or if Morty went "Hollywood" and cared less about producing the show? I would love to know the true background story of how and why Morty left? Rob got the big job over him. But what was behind it?

[@wewper]

That was an exciting summer waiting for the new show to start.

[@redmanr5522]

Exactly 30 years ago tonight, the Late Show premiered on CBS, on Monday August 30, 1993. Now it's Wednesday August 30, 2023.

[@NxDoyle]

Very strange to me that there were legitimate questions about comedy not working based on the time of day the comedy is broadcast. You can go to air at 11:30 or 12:30 but still tape at 4:30 in the afternoon.

[@progmot]

1:32:57 This woman & I attended the same college in NC at the time(can't recall if she was given a canned ham) 1:42:08 that's me

[@dongiller]

The "same Dave, different network" guy? Well done. :)

[@progmot]

Don Giller Yeah...wish I could have been as calm & collected as the people at 29:40 but I was caught up in the moment.

[@dongiller]

I thought you were fine. Coherent, sane. Far more than I would have been under the same circumstances.

[@hamupinhere]

My God man, you even recorded the CBS promos. How did you do it all? Is there anything you're missing?

[@dongiller]

There are some unaired rarities I’d still like to get my hands on. Don’t ask. :)

[@hamupinhere]

@@dongiller Well good luck and happy hunting then! But yeah, thanks for all of this. It really takes me back.

[@RobLives4Love]

well now I'm intrigued

[@kevinnelson66]

Seth Meyers announced that Dave will be appearing on Late Night Tuesday night for the 40th anniversary.

[@dhpbear2]

1:39:58 - Is this the first mention of DVDs ("discs are $60.00 apiece and players ranging from several huudred to eight hundred dollars")?

[@colerieger7300]

I am guessing Laser Disks. DVD invented until 1995.

[@brianbrady4496]

Damn i just graduated high school 😂😂

[@-dash]

You can't spell scuba without CBS.

[@jamesmiller5331]

I feel like Dave would have killed it had he got The Tonight Show. That NBC infrastructure. The Tonight Show being established as it was. All of those huge Primetime shows that were about to come down the pike... dude has to wonder what could have been

[@aarguitar64]

This is so 90s lol

[@dpleslie]

12:34 "A great tune, Something About You"

[@DianaHerberg]

I'd forgotten it... and took me awhile to find it by Level 42... kzbin.info/www/bejne/sKCyoneGiNWEf9k

[@JaredLewisMusic]

What the hell was that at 1:37 lol

[@DianaHerberg]

That dog tho...

[@r.edward5701]

Tremendous!!!

[@eddieloius4592]

Don, do you have anything off-air with dave?

[@dongiller]

Not clear what you mean.

[@jhojnack]

1:09:55- 1:11:35 Dave talks about eventually getting married and having children and it does all turn out to be true 😊

[@MochaMan]

love your Dave stuff but is it me or have a lot of Letterman stuff getting removed from youtube since he started his own channel??..I can't find certain videos I use to watch of his show

[@dongiller]

Not your imagination. All Dave-owned and -licensed content is being blocked on other YT channels.

[@SailorCallie]

Awesome!! 😁

[@enriquesinghjr]

Those 1993 graphics are so weird lol

[@thecandyman9308]

i know! i love 'em!

[@WTFG78]

It's in that weird period of time where "Late Show" doesn't have the "The" in front of it when spoken. Presenters are so used to calling it just "Late Show" instead of "The Late Show" because the NBC show was never called "The Late Night", I guess.

[@timgar4]

Channel 78 Productions I believe they left out the "THE" because Joan Rivers' 1987 Fox late night show had been called "The Late Show" and Fox may have still owned the rights to that particular title. They may have been trying to avoid more "intelectual property" issues.

[@eddieloius4592]

@@timgar4 Maybe it's because CBS used to have a time block in the evening for movies first "The Late Show" , after that "The Late Late Show"

[@piezoification]

Steve Allen was the Late Show progenitor.

[@jonallen5078]

Andy Rooney had an odd way of showing that he "liked Dave" (listen to the 8/17/2017 Howard Stern interview)

[@joshm977]

1:28:11 bill Carter (the author of the late shift) 1 second cameo

[@dongiller]

Good eye.

[@GiovaInThetube]

48:31 I'm Italian and I didn't know Topo Gigio was known in the US too😂

[@dongiller]

Ed Sullivan was responsible for its popularity here in the States.

[@TheDobleQ]

You wouldn't believe it but Topo Gigio was huge in Japan and Mexico too.

[@JoshinDallas]

I love the cbs this morning letterman animation. So 90s and so corny now. Random animated dog included.

[@dongiller]

I suspect the dog is a reference to Stupid Pet Tricks.

[@JoshinDallas]

@@dongiller i had not even thought of that. makes sense :) i love the graphics of this era, just feel so fun.

[@newtimetravelhyman88]

At The Time WBAL-TV 11 Baltimore Which Was CBS Affiliate Preemptive The Late Show With David Letterman In A Favor Of The Arsenio Hall Show WNUV-TV 54 Baltimore Carried The Late Show With David Letterman WBAL-TV Did Not Aired The Late Show With David Letterman Until May 1994.

[@johnking5174]

Couldn't you pick up CBS from Washington DC as someone told me the DC stations were easily available in Baltimore. WUSA TV Channel 9 CBS affiliate in DC aired it I am sure.

[@newtimetravelhyman88]

​@@johnking5174 WUSA 9 Did Show The Late Show With David Letterman It First Aired In 1993

[@johnking5174]

@@newtimetravelhyman88 That is what I thought, as being the DC affiliate, it would look odd for them not to take Letterman in 93.

[@eddieloius4592]

1:49:36 piano cat Meme wow

[@BrandanTheBroker]

I've always liked Dave over Jay, not taking anything from Jay but he just never took me as being in the same wavelength as Dave.

[@johnnyballenatl]

KCBS and WBBM had Steve Rambo and Larry Mendte respectively; did WCAU (now an NBC O&O) send somebody to cover Dave's CBS debut?

[@dongiller]

Good question; I'm in NYC so haven't a clue. Hopefully others might.

[@MrRoboto1963]

Don, those clips from CBS 2 are from Los Angeles channel 2, right? That's what I grew up with. Honestly I hated channel 2 CBS my whole life. I couldn't stand any of the shows they had on except for Letterman. I actually watched him less when he moved to channel 2, mostly because it didn't have as strong of a signal where I lived. We didn't have cable TV, so things like that made a difference still. I remember Trisha Toyota though, from flipping through channels. To me, CBS was always like the kind of programs my grandparents would watch. Just really lame sitcoms. I think when I was younger back then, I would mostly watch FOX shows when they started. Letterman was the show that made me tune in every night when he was on NBC channel 4. And I would sometimes catch Later. But there was a while when I would watch Monty Python reruns on PBS. Anyway all this great stuff you've saved has allowed me to catch up on so much I missed at the time

[@dongiller]

They’re from WCBS in NYC.

[@MrRoboto1963]

@@dongiller oh OK, thanks Don. I didn't know we used the same channels for CBS in LA here too.

[@johnking5174]

NFL football leaving CBS for Fox along with a lacklustre prime time offering with severe competition from NBC prime time all lead to Dave sadly slipping to No. 2 come 1994. The Hugh Grant interview with Leno was just the icing on the cake for NBC to try and demolish CBS. it worked.

[@dongiller]

1995, but your point is taken.

[@johnking5174]

@@dongiller I thought it was 1994 when the the changes were announced, but didn't take full effect til 1995. But it certainly did hurt Letterman, he said so on Larry King in 1995. NBC really got themselves into shape with their prime time too.

[@johnking5174]

@@dongiller Yes, Hugh Grant was 1995, but the elements which would hurt CBS were starting to fall into place come late 94

[@dongiller]

@@johnking5174 You’re correct about the chronology, and the ratings did begin to slide because of everything you pointed out, but it wasn’t until Hugh Grant in mid-‘95 when Late Show fell behind Leno for the first time. I should have been more specific.

[@johnking5174]

@@dongiller If Hugh Grant had have been poached by Letterman's team, do you think it would have helped Dave? I feel he was already heading on the downward slope already by that point, it was inevitable.

[@ir10031981]

100th like! Sun Aug 26, 2018. almost 25 years since Letterman's CBS premiere.

[@DaviMourao]

Do you have that LA "if that happens I'll just buy a new audience" press conference?

[@dongiller]

Not yet; all I have is what's in this collection.

[@RobLives4Love]

You need to write a book.

[@dongiller]

I’d first have to read one. :)

[@eddieloius4592]

he didn't bring pet tricks to CBS. (i think)

[@dongiller]

He did.

[@js2010ish]

1:11:38 Dave's future son's name gets subconsciously lodged in his head?

[@dongiller]

His son was named after his dad, also named Harry.

[@og_steiney]

Whoa...at 1:23 did that News Anchor invent the "King of Late Night" phrase? Also, I dont like that Morry guy.

[@DianaHerberg]

You mean 1:23:08 and possibly :)

[@raymondsolisjr.1262]

Letterman always beat Jay Leno in comedy. Funnier and smarter than Jay Lameo

[@sillygoose635]

Yeah, except in ratings...

[@MrRoboto1963]

@@sillygoose635 that makes sense. Ratings are based on the average viewer. The average viewer is actually pretty stupid and lame. They don't Get good comedy or entertainment. They gravitate towards the lowest common denominator, comedy made simple or appealing to the lame. I could never watch Leno, I couldn't stand the guy, and I never liked him even before he got the tonight show

[@Rob_Kates]

Whatever happened to Paula Zahn, Harry Smith and Mark McEwen? Did they all retire?

[@dongiller]

All are detailed in Wikipedia.

[@DeAngeloStevens]

10:35 Weeknights after 42 News NightDesk WBMG Birmingham, Alabama CBS

[@BURCHDOGSHOW]

I expect you to do the same in the coming 25 years with Colbert

[@dongiller]

Ha!

[@arthurjackson6395]

Don't bother,, Don...