David Letterman's Prank Calls to Tom Snyder Collection, 1990-95

Over the course of six years, Dave would call in to Tom Snyder's radio and television talk shows with an alias name and character.
1. October 5, 1990, ABC Radio: Dave as "Jerry from Tipton, Indiana." Tom had guested on Late Night the previous day.
2. October 25, 1990, ABC Radio, with guest Helen Reddy: Dave as "Jerry from Tipton, Indiana." Dave had earlier taped via satellite a short appearance on "Sunday Night with Larry King," which aired three days later.
3. February 2, 1994, cable talk show, with guest Bill Carter*: Dave as "Don from Kokomo, Indiana."
4. December 1, 1994, cable talk show, with guest Calvert DeForest**: Dave as "Jerry from Tipton, Indiana." Calvert was Tom's final guest on his CNBC show. He'd return on the air January 9, 1995, to debut his Late Late Show on CBS, following Dave's Late Show. "Jerry" makes a reference to Tom still auditioning for the job.
5. February 3, 1995, Late Late Show with Tom Snyder, with guest Larry King: Dave as "Elliot from Gas City, Indiana." Tom's new show on CBS was less than a month old when Dave called.
Still images from Tom's ABC Radio show extracted from "Voices of the Night" that aired on ABC's "20/20" on April 14, 1989, and uploaded in full here: • Tom Snyder Profile, La...
*Bill Carter's full segments here: • Bill Carter on Tom Sny...
**Calvert DeForest's full segments here: • Tom Snyder's Last Cabl...

[@WizardCow]

I was a big Letterman fan going back to the mid 80s and had no clue about the call ins on Tom's shows. Classic Letterman humor, there is no equal.

[@i.p.knightly149]

Same here, another layer of Dave's brilliance.

[@quentinparhiala9415]

I'm a big Letterman fan to

[@Jemy-e5r]

You know, you're right. ❤

[@strussman]

Tom and Dave were terrific. They had the two best hours in Late Night Television on CBS. Thanks for sharing.

[@thefonzkiss]

The fact that he kept Bill Carter sitting there for five minutes listening to a total nonsensical call about trains and gravel is hilarious.

[@juliusseizure2673]

Tom Snyder has the best laugh in show business, and was such a great interviewer. I wish all of his tv shows would be available on DVD.

[@thealaskan1635]

We need a Johnny Carson channel, a David Letterman channel, and a Tom Snyder channel

[@vika0194]

Check out AD videos. He uploads his interviews

[@sillygoose635]

idk about tom having a great laugh in showbusiness, but hey

[@david203]

His laugh was lampooned multiple times on SNL in their parodies of the Tomorrow show. I hope their love for his idiosyncratic honesty was their motivation.

[@MrJoeBarbour]

@@david203 There's the old Oscar Wilde quote, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery..." I think it was used and worked on SNL because it was distinctive and infectious. Like Ed McMahon's laugh. Or the voice of Morgan Freeman or Christopher Walken.

[@commercialcommunication9298]

I really miss Tom Synder.

[@tboneproductions2453]

Me too. He had that way of just putting me at ease no matter how bad a day I had. Think of him often. Nice to know their are still others out there who can relate. Best of luck to you, and I mean it

[@cobber231]

I wonder what his opinion would be on the state of our country today?

[@MrJoeybabe25]

@@tboneproductions2453 ABSOLUTELY! Even on school nights I tried to stay up and watch "Tomorrow". He is much missed!

[@heynowls3058]

Me too. Loved Tom. Especially late night tomorrow show from NYC.

[@stanleymasterson1135]

Me too. I loved Snyder's top ten lists

[@northernbohemianrealist]

I miss this show. Tom created a sense of intimacy that is all too rare.

[@quentinparhiala9415]

me to

[@gates69]

Tom had one of the best most genuine laughs ever.

[@quentinparhiala9415]

yes he did

[@gardensofthegods]

It's really a shame someone like Jimmy Fallon can't learn from Tom Snyder ... as too often has laugh sounds forced .

[@USALeonHeart]

the way he exploded when Dave asks "is Merv Griffith dead?" was so funny

[@tigersfan14]

You can tell he loved Letterman and found his calls hilarious. Snyder was a tragically underrated interviewer too.

[@Outlawstar0198]

I did not want this to end

[@ztoxtube]

"I work sand and gravel"

[@stevethomas2285]

You pick the sand from the gravel? No, I don't actually pick it, I have a trained eye.

[@chadjones8499]

There will never be another one like Dave Letterman!

[@ShaneFromHamilton]

i lost it at that moment! lol

[@traviscarlson6718]

@@chadjones8499 I remember Sitting at home as a Kid from the Age of 7 in 2007 Onward and Watching Dave on TV I was Gutted in 2015 that he had his Last Show But i have alot of memories of watching David the only 1 person that Could Top David as a Talk show Host Was Johnny Carson But apart from Carson Dave Was the best He was Just 👌👌👌 there'll never be another LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN and There'll never be another David Letterman

[@js2010ish]

😭

[@passtheawksshow]

I'm too young to have grown up with Tom... 1995... but by God this made me wish I had. What an endearing personality. Today's Late Night TV could take some lessons here.

[@tylermeuninck4652]

My dad, also named Tom, was an artist who used to watch Tom Snyder every night in his studio. He made a baseball field and with 200 small sculptures of ceramic figures playing the game and sitting in the crowd, all laughing with the influence of Toms' facial expressions. What a kind soul Tom Snyder was. How lucky we were to have him on the air and on the radio for so may years. There was truly no one like him on television. I remember how thrilled my parents were with his return to television with Late Late Night in the mid 90's.

[@dongiller]

Late Late Show. :)

[@singlesideman]

Tom's rumination on how his father had just barely gotten to celebrate his hard earned and well deserved accomplishment at age 67, right before he died, strikes the most powerful chord with me. My Dad died a few years ago, at age 66, only fifteen years from now for me, but he got to see and especially hear me make my way in the world. This is powerful stuff. Thank you so much for posting this...

[@lyndonnilan1112]

I don't think Larry Bud Melman knew it was Dave.

[@larryhinze8658]

There is a reason Bud is dead. Nuff sed.

[@flatterswhite]

@@larryhinze8658 can you explain that a bit more

[@richardwatson5437]

Not much of a guest here, was he

[@jmarsh22]

@@richardwatson5437 Let’s be honest, the real reason he couldn’t talk about his book is because he didn’t know what was in it. He didn’t write one word of that. He owed his comedy career to Letterman and his writers, and his oddly endearing natural cluelessness.

[@singlesideman]

And the enormous respect that Dave had for Tom Snyder, and the debt that he knew he owed him for stealing his slot, through no fault of his own, but the caprice and greed of network is so profound, and frankly fascinating. Wow. This has so many layers...

[@RjBenjamin353]

So very true Todd.

[@jackwarren1687]

What’s the backstory there, I was unaware?

[@sporkfindus4777]

Yeah, kudos to Letterman for that. They were firm friends. And later Tom Snyder followed Dave's show, when he came back into TV.

[@arvindshastry1178]

@@jackwarren1687 You will get all the information in this video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hKK9YX55ps12i5o

[@weaksignal8009]

@@sporkfindus4777 that was a Worldwide Pants program 🙂

[@dimitrikorsakov2570]

Tom's big laugh makes the gags funnier

[@dimitrikorsakov2570]

By the way, I'm in sand and gravel

[@msr1116]

@@dimitrikorsakov2570 Literally or figuratively?

[@BobMori]

Just so much fun. Thanks for posting.

[@jswets5007]

Tom teaching Larry King some of the basics of stage management, which he obviously had no idea what that even was, was simply beautiful.

[@robertsprouse9282]

Larry King, a legend in his own mind, and only his… and his 37 rich former wives..

[@jswets5007]

@@robertsprouse9282 My favorite two things about Larry King are his face. - Tom Snyder A real quote from another Tom Snyder episode with a different guest. 😂

[@Outlawstar0198]

Don Giller Thank you very much for finding, compiling, and posting these compilations. I feel like I grew up in the wrong era, but I have to keep reminding myself that any earlier in human history means I wouldn't have the opportunity to find these amazing clips.

[@UberNeuman]

This was great. Thanks for putting it on YT.

[@nedwart]

“I’m in sand and gravel.” Priceless!

[@zoso1980]

Oh goodness, Tom was a force of nature. In the 90s, I taped his show religiously and almost always had a good laugh while learning something. Pure genius. The intelligence, grace, humor and ability to get at things no one else could was his specialty. If you 'got' Tom, you really GOT him. An amazing broadcaster.

[@YouzTube99]

@Don Giller: Thank you so much for putting this together and posting it. I can date the onset of my insomnia to Tom Snyder's debut on 'Tomorrow'. What I liked about Tom was that he was almost always present, that is, he really listened to his guests and kept asking questions to draw them out to enhance his understanding. And despite critics complaining about his ego, he was an excellent audience -- evidenced by his _genuine_ hearty laugh. Very different than the current host of 'Tonight'. Ahem.

[@dongiller]

Yikes. Thanks!

[@JSB1882]

I loved "The Tomorrow Show". Snyder was the last of the great monologists and interviewers. He was in the same caliber of Paar & Cavett.

[@katiezee2]

His mark as an outstanding interviewer was that he could take on anybody, and (usually) make it quite watchable and interesting

[@BbqAlexSavage]

"I'm here in a stray bullet zone on the Deegan." 😆😆😆

[@marciliberti]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@Hinch2011]

God, I laughed so hard at that one (and still do)...

[@Jemy-e5r]

Letterman is a nutter. 🤯🦩🦚🐔

[@wasteofspace20]

Snyder was always a genuinely decent bloke who appreciated the range of personalities he had the privilege of meeting and was not one to hold grudges like so many others in the business.

[@nibsvkh]

Snyder was great…I so miss his late night show!

[@singlesideman]

This is extreme comedy genius. Wow. I'm very, VERY impressed. This is a serious example of comedy royalty, rogue snark before it even had a chance to exist.

[@singlesideman]

LAFOLLETTER of course he did. If anything, he admired and respected him so much, and felt so much guilt supplanting his slot, that he couldn't help but make these brilliant calls, on his own time, for free, and for the sheer joy of celebrating Tom and the world that he so humbly felt honored to be invited to be a part of. He had enormous respect for Johnny and Tom. I think he didn't even feel worthy to be a part of it, but he just wanted it so badly that it motivated him to be a part of the tradition.

[@bigsky1970]

Miss those days when Tom was on both radio and TV. I'd watch his TV show, then go to bed and then his radio show started and I'd listen and laugh in bed.

[@ScottFromCanada]

This is fantastic. See, Dave DOES act and he's pretty good at it.

[@marciliberti]

👍👍

[@Jemy-e5r]

Dave's a nut. ❤

[@winonafrog]

10:45 is one of the funniest things i ever heard

[@roccoand2612]

Thank You so much, I didn't know this existed. Golden stuff.

[@lgfbratwurst]

Thank you so much for your awe inspiring body of work here...have spent hours over the last week watching your stuff, but I think I might have laughed harder at this than any of the others.

[@dongiller]

Thanks!!

[@porkchop6714]

Damn Letterman is so funny

[@akfreed6949]

Thank you for posting this . I miss Tom's CBS show .

[@rangerdj1]

Pure loveliness of comedy. I miss Tom. And I miss those days of staying up for Dave and Tom and the Colorcast. And I miss the pictures flying through the air. Those days of broadcasting are gone.

[@MarkPR58]

Classic! Miss Tom and Dave too - who would’ve thought at the time that these would be our oldies but goodies...

[@PatrickLeeRyan]

Always bugged me when talk radio callers would begin a sentence with "Listen--" It's only a thing you'd hear on these type of programs. Dave sure knows how to impersonate a talk radio caller!

[@chriszozaski]

These are great! Thank you for posting.

[@Kylefassbinderful]

This was amazing!

[@OMGWUNSIU]

God I miss the days when television was worth a damn! Tom Snyder what a gem!

[@vjstv0101]

Oh you made my day ! Thanks!

[@djphillyb]

This is great! Thanks for posting

[@JuneLynn]

I sure do miss Tom and his show....he was the best, and Dave and those prank calls...lol....very funny stuff. Thanks so much for posting these golden moments : )

[@duchampsrook]

The original Tom Snyder radio show was top shelf back-in-the-day (late 80’s / early 90’s). Really a golden age of radio.

[@coolcrabcakes1287]

this never fails me to laugh for how many considerable minutes

[@satchelconnor995]

Dave cracks me up. Thank goodness for you tube to be able to relive this show. It would of been funnier if they both didn't know it was him

[@moaningpheromones]

would have idiot

[@danlevay5657]

Listening to Tom Snyder and Larry king talk shop is fascinating.

[@davidmeichner8346]

2 great greats

[@RD2564]

This is gold, funny stuff.

[@winonafrog]

Icons. Three of ‘em: Dave, Tom, and Don for presenting these gems!

[@Some-guy-you-dont-know]

More gold. There was also a prank call once where "Jerry" claimed to be a snack consultant. It was just as the whole consultant craze first started to take off.

[@dongiller]

Damn -- I missed that one. Do you remember if it was radio or Tom's CNBC show or his Late Late Show?

[@Some-guy-you-dont-know]

I think that was CNBC. I know there was a call (maybe the same one) where at the end they changed the chyron to Dave Letterman. They finally outed him.

[@dongiller]

Ha! I'll see if I might actually have it in the "archives." Doubt it, but who knows. Thanks for pointing it out.

[@maddymud]

@@dongiller - do you have the ability to pull clips from Leno’s Tonight Show? I was on a bunch of times and have some of my stuff but not all.

[@dongiller]

@@maddymud I don’t, sorry.

[@DVincentW]

Don I hope you re doing well! Thanks for all the great stuff you have shared here! - Darrel

[@dongiller]

Thanks!

[@McFlySwatter]

Tom was a great talent and a joy to watch

[@withalittlehelpfrom3]

It’s moments like these I’m like “Dave, you sure you didn’t take improv classes??”

[@glennmarshall4693]

oh my god, Dave cracks me up

[@carlyoung8657]

Tom seemed like a nice guy

[@tested123]

even as a teenager staying up late i loved the late late show. tom is easy going and relaxing to listen to

[@tvbarn]

omg Don in Kokomo. I've never heard this

[@dongiller]

I have no memory how I got ahold of his ABC Radio segments. All I know is that I got them in 2007. Was it you?

[@hermanblume275]

Heckuva Job, Donnie Giller! Don in Kokomo was Dave doing a little of Jonathan Winters there... hilarious.

[@MrSteelermania]

The best thing about it is that he took most of Bill Carter's segment

[@TimThomason]

@@MrSteelermania Letterman really wasn't a fan of Bill Carter, for obvious reasons, so I wonder if he planned that specifically.

[@MrSteelermania]

@@TimThomason 100%

[@Football__Junkie]

Remember the days before caller ID? You could have a grand ole time prank calling people

[@EarthdogGFX]

Never knew about these , it's great .. Leno would never do this .. Dave #1

[@djdon60]

Something,in Mr. Snyder's(whom I, too, miss, terribly)demeanor, when he was greeting the caller, makes me believe he knew who "Elliott" was going to be. I love these!(and, haven't seen t.v., past 11.30 p.m., since Dave's retirement.)

[@Bill-jc1fy]

Tom we miss you. RIP

[@johnmoeller8654]

Very kind of you, made me smile!

[@davidsthubbins176]

Love it! Thanks for posting. And thanks to Dave for turning me on to Tom Snyder. It's unlikely I would've discovered him, had Dave not gotten him a show following his.

[@vinko8237]

Real gold, Don, thank you again and again,!

[@docholliday7256]

This was Gold!!

[@shatnershairpiece]

It’s amazing how self-critical and dismissive letterman is today about his contribution to TV history and comedy. If you watch his recent interview with Jerry Seinfeld on netlfix it’s quite entertaining to see Jerry try to argue with him about Letterman’s influence. It’s like letterman lived and still lives in a bubble of his own feelings of complete worthlessness.

[@steveconn]

He interviewed so many diverse and great people. I know.

[@waynemizer4912]

It's false modesty. It's a way of getting even more attention. Knowing how to take a compliment is a healthy thing. Carson, Snyder and most other knew how to do it.

[@stanleymasterson1135]

@@waynemizer4912 Its absolutely not false, which indicates you have no familiarity with the typical comic mind. Self doubt, self loathing, cynicism and contempt are the driving forces for many comics

[@waynemizer4912]

@@stanleymasterson1135 True enough. But not in all cases, nothing is absolute. My comment stands.

[@johnnymittle]

@@waynemizer4912 Not with Letterman it doesn't. Countless interviews with people that knew him at every stage of his career talked about his insecurity. Countless opportunities to get more attention, yet only used when attention has little meaning?

[@xavierpibb7414]

Loved it when Freakazoid spoofed Tom talking with the Pope, who keeps trying to get a word in edgewise while Tom is off on a tangent talking with a caller. "Just a minute, Pontiff..." and then Tom vanishes, zapped by a villain's transporter. The Pope just puts his hands together, looks up and smiles.

[@alevine1951]

Such great stuff - love Tom's laugh at 11:31 . Thanks for resurrecting memories of better times. Wonder how Tom's hair would be cut in 2018 - seems I only see those hairstyles in Congress these days.

[@davidsandall]

Tom was asked what he liked about Larry King and he replied "his faces".

[@lewis123646]

Oh wow this is awesome, Don! Thank you! (We met at Woodstock 94'. You look so much different not covered in mud) ;)

[@dongiller]

Thanks, but I wasn’t at Woodstock ‘94. Nor Woodstock ‘69. I was at the Atlantic City Music Festival, which occurred a few weeks before Woodstock ‘69.

[@lewis123646]

@@dongiller Sorry, I must have been thinking of someone else!

[@robertsprouse9282]

@@lewis123646, was he in sand and gravel?

[@kevinnelson66]

Dave is great at prank calls and trolling.

[@gogisingh5111]

Tom was the best.i miss him so much.that was the golden Era

[@ellenmurphy2150]

Larry Bud Melman! The Man.

[@jamesten]

Dave obviously loved Bob & Ray.

[@katiezee2]

These youngsters today don't even know who they are...They were a little before my time but I got turned onto them in the 70s via radio shows featuring nostalgia stuff, also Jean Sheperd

[@jamesten]

@@katiezee2 I heard their last national commercial radio work in the mornings on WSPD Toledo. Later on I would find out that my father wouldn't start his day in Manhattan in the early 50's without his dose of B&R on WINS radio. I caught up and caught everything I could.

[@shawnuel]

Enough to feature Bob's kid on his show for several years!

[@robertsprouse9282]

The best comic duo EVER..

[@icopaseticMHF]

Right off... "why don't you try soup"

[@emich28]

Loved the CNBC show, it got me through what I thought was a depression only to realize I was just a young, broke and waiting for winter to get over.

[@AdomShell]

Gold.

[@posysdogovych2065]

When Synder mentioned that his dad died "way too young" at 67 it made me feel sad because Tom himself was only 71 when he died. He deserved at least 15 more years to enjoy retirement and his grandchildren.

[@LordMarlle]

Very sad, Tom seemed to be one of the nicest and most honest guys around, doubly so for someone in "showbiz"

[@melvinsims5379]

@@LordMarlle Tom was the class of all talk show hosts. His {Tomorrow Show} on late night tv was better than any of the crap that they have on today.

[@DBEdwards]

Life offers no guarantees. I insist on saying only the good die young

[@JohnnyPerth]

@@DBEdwardsAdolf was 56

[@samking4179]

FANTASTIC!!!!

[@jurgostuff]

Funny stuff, thanks Don!

[@tigersfan14]

I’m in sand and gravel. 😂

[@thealaskan1635]

OMFG! This is FUNNY! Dave's the real deal!

[@mulletforyou]

Wow, so impressed by this collection. For the Letterman completist :)

[@tedmichaels1951]

This is great stuff!

[@genebeley]

That truck driver caller should have been hired by a network for his own show!

[@flowhannesburg1912]

Ayow shout out to Tom Snyder for making some of the earliest video podcasts

[@steveconn]

He totally hijacked Carter's slot.

[@clydecavalieri4511]

I'm in sand and gravel.

[@Genious.]

Don Giller is a SAINT of youtube! I'm currently reading the Letterman biography by Jason Zinoman and I find myself looking up various bits on youtube constantly and time after time, I'm directed to Don Giller's videos to the point that I subscribed and then find these incredible compilations. The time and work that goes into this is greatly appreciated.

[@dongiller]

Thanks! Aaron Barnhart put together a playlist of all the segments Jason mentioned, accompanied with YT links. Also, don’t forget to check the acknowledgment pages. :)

[@Genious.]

@@dongiller Aaron Barnhart - from the TVbarn site? I love how things all come together like this.

[@dongiller]

The very same! I was going to post his link, but I can’t find it at the moment.

[@LordMarlle]

How Larry King was on tv for so long is beyond me

[@robertsprouse9282]

It must have been all of dem fancy suspenders.. Norm MacDonald on SNL absolutely destroyed King’s blathering ennui= WHEN IT COMES TO WHAT MAKES A BREAKFAST SPECIAL, YOU CANNOT LEAVE OUT…. OATMEAL. That USA TODAY column he had was unintentionally HILARIOUS, too.. and the genius of NORM nailed it. R.I.P, to the funniest intentional comedian ever= NORM MAC..

[@paulnolan4971]

Hilarious man.

[@glenysward3741]

You will probably not read this but the show is great with lots of laughs and so let them do their thing!

[@electrojones]

I miss Tom's show.

[@danlevay5657]

Tom knows right away. Doesn’t he?

[@pslsmo]

Legends!!!

[@danlevay5657]

Snyder was great.

[@hermanblume275]

I once saw Larry Bud MC a Joe Ely show at the Fast and Cool Club in Dallas...

[@boomerang8909]

26:28 Larry was dying to out Dave but Tom said not yet. 🤣🤣🤣

[@allendracabal0819]

That's not right. Just a minute later, Larry reveals what he was planning to guess at the time you cite: that Elliot is alone. Larry didn't know it was Dave at that point.

[@zyxmyk]

"merv Griffith" this is funnier because tom thought letterman was so hilarious.

[@kanealson5200]

Had no idea Dave was moonlighting doing acting/character bits. Pretty funny stuff. I recognize some of these from his own show and used Tom's show to flesh them out I guess.

[@katiezee2]

I love Dave's dedication and persistance to the joke of Fake Callers. if you're gonna do a joke like that, do it all the way & Big !

[@jacksandler35]

This might be the best video on youtube outside of Megan and Jamie's wedding song.

[@jonnymoka]

Could it be possible that Dave was so funny because he was at odds with NBC executives?

[@weaksignal8009]

Like Howard (well, 30 years ago) "W-NNN-BBBBBBbB-C"