David Letterman Press Conference, January 14, 1993, Raw Footage

Dave conducts a press conference announcing his move from his then-current network to CBS just after Jay Leno had held his own press conference in California to reaffirm his own job as Tonight Show host.
The history behind this event could fill a book, and it actually has, in Bill Carter's The Late Shift: Letterman, Leno, and the Network Battle for the Night.
This is the raw, unedited footage.
Siskel and Ebert had appeared on Late Night around an hour earlier, thus their presence here. After the press conference ended, Gene offered his take on the impact of what this all might mean.
Great thanks to A. I. for the video.

[@WTFG78]

You have no idea how much I wanted to see the full conference. You continue to be a gentleman and a scholar.

[@dongiller]

Thanks! More on the way. :)

[@sirmolio]

I know. Finally, someone with the wherewithal to recognize and post truly valued historical pieces. Just finished watching Late Shift and this is a wonderful complement. Thank you.

[@egeatacandogan4104]

Just like Oscar Pistorius...

[@johnsjohnson448]

Dave's move to CBS was HUUUUUGE! SIr Howard Stringer was relentless in his pursuit and instinctively knew that CBS had what Dave and Company wanted. Thanks for sharing.

[@LAFan]

The Late Shift is one of the greatest made-for-TV movies ever. The book is fantastic.

[@derekwischmann6123]

I need to read it!

[@l.cruces2223]

Kathy Bates was amazing as usual in her role. Steals every scene she was in.

[@zyxmyk]

The beginning of a golden era in late night. Letterman was the clear spiritual heir to johnny carson and he was the funniest guy on TV. He's missed.

[@Anthony-hu3rj]

Rather, the end. At CBS the show got fat and bulky and baroque and slow. Etc.

[@markjackson6431]

@@Anthony-hu3rj really because it’s number one 😂

[@theessentials450]

2nd era

[@SlapNSniff]

Die-hard Letterman fan here. You have no idea how much I love these videos! Thanks so much!

[@adelhardtlyl]

So glad that he didnt blame Conan

[@TheChrisHype]

I love the idea of Siskel and Ebert just...being there.

[@ktxed]

the lineage is clear Carson > Letterman > O'Brien.

[@ktxed]

@@graxjpg it's hard to tell, but I suppose a new format will come to shape all late night shows.

[@mikelp72]

Those last two don’t belong in the same sentence as Carson.

[@ktxed]

@@mikelp72 ok boomer

[@mikelp72]

@@ktxed ooooh good one. Can’t argue with that 🙄

[@ktxed]

@@mikelp72 you cannot stop at carson and don't tell me leno or fallon are worthy succesors

Letterman was on fire. Funny, witty, polite, he´s the master.

[@RoeLuv1]

Dave switching networks was such a Huge deal. And it’s crazy how we got our news back then. Today this would be a multiple trending topics and notifications on your phone, type event.

[@sarahdaviscc]

Thanks so much for posting this unedited. It's a piece of television history.

[@sirmolio]

Amazing, why this doesn't have more views. Thank you for posting this. Just finished watching The Late Shift movie, so this was a timely search. I love it. Thank you for the historical context.

[@wadebarnett2542]

The movie is right here on KZbin!

[@MichelleUS66]

While Dave can be (comically) snarky and flippant, I love how he is always gracious and humble when he speaks of Johnny Carson.

[@ktxed]

you don't fuck around with Carson

[@TELEVISIONARCHIVES]

Carson didn't want Letterman to replace him.

[@MichelleUS66]

Televisionarchives What? Carson *always* preferred Letterman to Leno. (Whose show did Carson appear on after he retired? That will tell you right there whom he liked better.)

[@stevethomas2285]

@@MichelleUS66 And, from what I've read, Carson wasn't even asked his opinion on who should replace him.

[@MichelleUS66]

Steve Thomas I seem to recall reading something where Carson was asked by NBC about his successor and he replied (and I’m paraphrasing) “It would be a shame to lose David.” I think if you add that to Johnny’s cameos on The Late Show (not to mention the jokes he sent in for Dave’s monologues), you get a pretty good sense as to whom he preferred.

[@ehaslun64]

Great stuff sir! Dave's reaction to the Paul question at the end is so good. Thanks for all the fantastic editing and posting

[@dongiller]

No editing done here, but thanks!

[@ehaslun64]

Sorry I meant the putting together of the Record Collections, Panicky Guy, etc. Thanks!

[@Cabrillo79]

“Oh shit, Paul 😆😆😆”

[@hutch1197]

Jay ended up getting better ratings, but in retrospect, Dave was by far the more respected and iconic comedian.

[@johnking5174]

Remember it took Jay two years to overtake David?

[@hutch1197]

@@johnking5174 Yep, and now look at their legacies. Most veteran comedians today cite David as the gold standard and not one mention of Leno. Carson never once appeared on Leno's show, whereas his last tv appearance was on Letterman's.

[@johnking5174]

@@hutch1197 Jay Leno had a terrible ambition to be host of the Tonight Show - of course increased by his appalling agent at the time. David said Jay Leno had 2 personalities - the public persona of the down to earth American man, who always boasted that he never took a cent from his Tonight Show salary and only used his stand up income (which both Letterman and Carson thought was weird) and then there is the career hungry man, who so wanted to sit behind the desk, he even lowered his appearance fee so the Tonight Show producers would hire him as the permanent guest host in 1987 after the Joan Rivers feud with Johnny.

[@at1212b]

@@johnking5174 Leno catered to the Oprah Winfrey crowd... Mindless

[@simondan3828]

I always saw Leno as more mainstream than Dave. To my taste, Dave was always the better host.

[@johnking5174]

I love Dave at 1:09 pretending to see someone in the crowd he knows and waves to them with that big smile. Pure Dave.

[@RonMotta1972]

An incredible performance by an incredible performer. Seriously, Stringer and Tisch must’ve felt like they got their money’s worth right there.

[@ms-vv2gg]

Warren Littlefield - "Dave is so good. Hope we made the right choice."

[@mikekillagreen9432]

Lol

[@JusticeForTheDead]

stunning how talkative and chipper Dave is taking all those QUESTIONS! LOL I guess he knew he had to play ball completely for 30 minutes. I loved Carson, but Dave, he truly was my favorite.

[@rjonzun5828]

Great video. I'm glad Dave was able to go on to bigger things but his Late Night low budget was part of the magic I think.

[@joshpritt2146]

I like the fact Dave came on CBS with the horns

[@joshualebowitz]

This is so excellent. Thank you for posting. Remember this like it was yesterday.

[@m.coldsmithbriggs9259]

Leno has always said that Letterman is a great 'wordsmith' that he always envied.....this press conference was a clear example of that. Letterman has always stated that Jay Leno is the funniest person he knows.

[@A1collect]

NBC dropped the ball when they chose Jay Leno as permanent host of The Tonight Show over David Letterman

[@brucesmith1544]

They got Leno cheaper and he won in the ratings

[@justayoutuber1906]

Actually, Leno had higher ratings. CBS would have taken Leno if Letterman had been chosen for the Tonight Show.

[@iamthewalrus4998]

@@justayoutuber1906 letterman had higher ratings up until he hosted the oscars. They dropped after that

[@mikekillagreen9432]

@@iamthewalrus4998 No it was until Hugh Grant came on Leno and talked about getting busted. Leno won the rest of the way

[@patrickthomas8890]

They did from an artistic and quality perspective, but not financially…Leno ended up with consistently #1 ratings and NBC regained ownership of the show. Johnny Carson cut a deal where he took ownership of the show and made hundreds of millions. Letterman wanted the same arrangement, but Leno was ok with not owning the show. Leno actually used the same tactic of undercutting competition throughout his career which paid off. He performed stand up for free when comics tried to unionize and demand to get paid for performing which landed him more stage time. Leno was a recurring Tonight Show guest host along with a few others (I think Garry Shandling and David Brenner). Leno said when the network was looking to pick a permanent guest host he was approached by them about all asking for the same salary/favored nations from NBC in order to put them all on the same footing and to eliminate favoritism and ensure NBC would pick someone based solely on performance. Leno refused and was willing to do the job for less than what the others were asking…unsurprisingly he was eventually picked.

[@LeahElisheva]

Thank you for posting this! Such a wonderful piece of history - monumental moment in late night tv history

[@matts.3017]

Letterman was the King of Late Night

[@RickBeatsWorld]

Letterman was respected and revered by the Old Guard. Which denoted to his success.

[@KenHenderson-n1c]

At the time the big concern was where the show would originate. CBS had no studios in New York that could accommodate the show, while they had an enormous complex in LA ("Television City"). It was Hal Gurnee who suggested the Ed Sullivan Theater and Dave like that idea. So CBS rebought it and spent millions to totally renovate it.

[@MaximusX67]

Letterman is the TRUE successor to Johnny Carson's Tonight Show ..... it just moved to CBS! Leno might have gotten the NBC show called The Tonight Show; however, everyone, including Carson himself, knew Letterman was the true successor to the late night "throne".

[@fendermelman2794]

Great to See a Gene Siskel appearance at 30:40. I always enjoyed the Siskel & Ebert appearances on Letterman's CBS and NBC shows

[@jontheroadagain]

21:03 Ebert asks a question

[@jontheroadagain]

24:36 Gene asks a question

[@cactaceous]

The day the true heir apparent took his rightful seat at the throne as the king of late night.

[@CrazyAboutVinylRecords]

5:57 "I want to compliment Howard Stringer and his staff for making it all possible. They had the vision, they had the money, and well, NBC really screwed the pooch on this one."

[@roberty.9569]

One has to imagine that Jay Leno felt like a bit of his thunder had been stolen by this presser. CBS had been unsuccessful, to this point, with talk shows in the 11:30 time slot. Getting Dave was a slam dunk for CBS. The rest is history.

[@aidenmalecky7928]

Anyone here after watching The Late Shift movie? I feel like I'm about to go down a KZbin rabbit hole.

[@jamesmiller5331]

FanboyFilms

[@Shorty_Lickens]

Nope. It was randomly suggested. I saw the Late Shift on HBO when it was new. And its informative but wasnt very funny all by itself.

[@jtfmedia9109]

Thank You Thank You!!! I have been searching for years for this!!

[@joelmathiason6070]

Rarely does the real event top the Hollywood version of an event. Dave knocked it out of the park at this press conference. The Late Shift version, eh.....

[@jimlaforte1755]

Sir Howard Stringer was a true visionary. He came up the ranks in the News Division and became an Executive Producer of Walter Cronkite's program. It was a tragedy when he departed CBS, but Les Moonves took over and the rest is history. Mr. Tisch took risks that always seemed to work out in his favor. He is a riot here laughing at all of Dave's jokes. Thanks for sharing!

[@danieldougan269]

It's hard to believe this was 30 years ago.

[@paulwardle4761]

love this...read about it in books, but never seen the whole thing

[@elvisthechef]

18:05 He certainly kept that promise.

[@markjackson6431]

except when he almost went to ABC

[@TheReviewingNetwork]

28:42 Oh shit Paul XD

[@simondan3828]

0:02 first person to enter the room falls from a stair. I've felt that.

[@brucethomas5123]

Comparing Leno to letterman is like comparing spam to ham

[@ztoxtube]

People often poo-poo his CBS show, but at the time it was perfect for me. I was just starting high school, and before then I would usually doze off before the top-10 was even done. After that, I watched regularly and I must say, Late Show in the 90s was spectacular; often times better than Late Night.

[@TopStrikerMaverick]

Even the theme song was better

[@TopStrikerMaverick]

And people say he got worse when he was older, I think he aged perfectly like a nice Vermont cheddar, his jokes became more whimsical and he remained hilarious

[@jedi1967]

Great Move Dave. I always watched you ever since...

I remember this well. Initially, it was by no means "a much better show" but did indeed become a masterpiece after a few years.

[@neogigo]

Oh Joey Butfuco jokes , the good ol days

[@RickBeatsWorld]

It’s amazing how much of an impact Hugh Grant had on the landscape of Late Night

[@dongiller]

Keep in mind that that was two years after this.

[@RobLives4Love]

@@gelp6801 that wouldn't have helped much. what doesn't get talked about often is that in 95, a lot of CBS affiliated switched over to FOX after FOX obtained Super Bowl airing rights

[@Thedearster]

@@RobLives4Love And NBC had better lead in shows to late night as well.

[@IrOnCuRtAiN61]

@@Thedearster well, they have Friends, E.R., Law and order and Seinfeld... Can't beat that! 🙃

[@at1212b]

Leno outright shamelessly copied Letterman's innovations. All Leno cared about was ratings which is why nobody even remembers him and what he did.

[@danielpoitras1858]

great stuff.... makes me want to see jan 14, 1993 show....

[@dongiller]

Yeah -- I'll get that one up in time. Dave announced the move right after his opening remarks, and Siskel and Ebert were eager to talk about it with Dave.

[@johnking5174]

At 0:16 there wearing the eye glasses is Hal Gurnee, Dave's director, and behind him Rob Burnett, Dave's executive producer.

[@centurion5productions717]

The Late Shift

[@Tribeca40]

Great video! Thanks for sharing!

[@darthnihiluz5305]

I remember Dave always had the better bits and interviews. Jay had a good opening monologue but his bits were usually cheesy and lacked chemistry with his guests.

[@johnking5174]

Jay Leno had a great monologue, and appalling interviews and sketches. Letterman had weak monologue, great sketches and very well formed interviews.

[@merricat3025]

I never liked Jay Leno.

[@anotherjoshua]

dave parried with the guests like a fencing champion. jay just threw softballs, much like fallon does now.

[@FeisarX]

"Can you light David's cigar?" The press has always loved making up the story.

[@georgeshelton6281]

I'll always remember when I first saw the MAD magazine mural of the mascot: Alfred E. Newman is portrayed as David Letterman.

[@gfolkins1]

Do you have the NBC press conference that confirmed Leno on the Tonight Show the day before this? It was depicted in the movie with Jay riding in on a Harley, and joking that they were celebrating him having a job. I would love to see that too, just for comparison to the movie.

[@dongiller]

I do have it but by agreement can’t upload it.

[@dongiller]

Also, it wasn’t the day before. It was actually minutes before.

[@gfolkins1]

@@dongiller that’s right, I forgot that part, that he left the building and walked over once it was finished. It’s too bad you can’t share it. Maybe some day

[@jkocher6973]

At about the 29:30 mark, the camera pulls back and there's the late, great Roger Ebert. And then at the 30:00 mark - there's Gene Siskel. wow.

[@doveshouse]

I wish we could also see the Conan O'Brien press conference... Can't seem to find it anywhere online

[@dongiller]

I’d share it if I had it, but I don’t.

[@i.p.knightly149]

He should have sent Larry Bud Melman to make the announcement. In his big-man suit.

[@AR-cp5dz]

28:41 Pure hilarity.

[@Hootville]

"We'd like to be in color."

[@SuperKazmierski]

I wonder how it feels to influence other people's personalities, as much as Mr. Letterman has. I know several people who act much like this man.

[@lumpydavidg2201]

Best move cbs ever did. Sadly they replaced him with the worst move they ever did.

[@leonardstilwell1894]

Did that guy slip at the beginning?

[@barrettus]

I haven't watched this in a little while... However it reminded me how well Peter Jurasik was cast as Howard Stringer. (President of CBS who was talking and introduced Dave) EDIT: Had only seen snippets. Thanks!

[@JSYBen]

He certainly played his personality well, though as a Brit myself, I could poke a million holes in the quality of his British accent :)

[@MopShrudel]

If you were a true Brit, you'd know there's no such thing as a British accent.its English accent

[@darkhall8227]

here from watching the late shift

[@markgiardina1303]

Warren Littlefield, then a top executive at NBC, said the main reasons Letterman was passed over as host of 'The Tonight Show' was his (Letterman's) on-air criticism of NBC executives and that he wasn't "a team player". Letterman made the right decision going to CBS. Not only did he get the coveted 11:30 pm time slot but also his company (World Wide Pants) owned the show. Letterman walked away with millions of dollars.

[@johnking5174]

I wonder why Letterman never kept the Number 1 position if he was so good? He was Number 1 from 1993 to 1995, and then the Hugh Grant interview brought Leno to Number 1, where he remained until 2009. Remember Letterman actually dropped to Number 3 around 1996.

[@TheUltramundane]

Hello Don, how do you find these shows? I am a huge fan. My nephew is also, but he didn't hook on until the 90's. I always told him that I thought Letterman hosted Carson the day he was born, because I remember watching it with his father (who was in a daze) and pointing out 'this guy is great, ect'....I was always a fan! Anyhow his birthday is 08/20/1981. I finally confirmed that it was true. I was wonder how you could tell me how to find some of that show? Thanks for all you do!! I've been on a letterman binge lately, thanks!

[@dongiller]

Every video is from my own collection. When it’s not, which is very rare, I credit and link the source. Here’s the back story of my collection: donzblog.home.blog/2019/01/16/the-journey-begins/

[@johnking5174]

@@dongiller Hi Don, I am a Letterman fan from England. I love these clips. Letterman's show used to air in England on and off for some years. We simply do not have a similar man here in our talk show hosts. Are biggest and successful host now is Graham Norton, I do not know if you are familiar with Graham?

[@dongiller]

John King I know the name, but I’ve never seen his show. And thanks!

[@johnking5174]

@@dongiller Here is his KZbin channel - kzbin.info - Graham is now counted as England's Letterman, in terms of success

[@tillinternet]

25:00 A Parks and Rec joke 16 years b4 parks and rec

[@kevind1931]

I think Gene was off on the going to LA part. Letterman was never leaving NY

[@johnking5174]

When David spoke with Tom Snyder in 1995, Tom asked him after 2 years based in NYC would he consider moving to LA, and David was open to the idea. He said that production wise, producing his show from LA would be a 100 times easier and 1,000 less stressful than at the Ed Sullivan Theater in NYC. I wonder why he chose to remain in NYC?

[@jamesmurray3889]

The show was never the same.

[@minatadros2451]

have any of the private meetings with letterman and the nbc executives been videotaped

[@dongiller]

Doubt it but no idea.

[@johnking5174]

Oh no, nothing ever taped.

[@blthetube1]

This just goes to show that there's genius in comedy.

[@kandiehill4693]

Do you have the episode when he announces the birth of his son? Your videos are Awesome!

[@dongiller]

I do. And thanks!!

[@gturcott1]

Letterman is the best late night show host ever.

[@iamnotanuggetblackhart5103]

Guy at the beginning sounds like Jared Harris.

[@fightingsolveseverything7667]

You got a little extra for Paul? Classic

[@WTFG78]

Miss ya, Gene.

[@OMGWTFLOLSMH]

Miss Dave too.

[@skizzytheerealest]

Who was Gene? I can’t seem to find out who they interviewed at the end

[@WTFG78]

The late Chicago Tribune columnist Gene Siskel, also known from the show “Siskel and Ebert”. Donz has a multi-part compilation of appearances from the duo here on KZbin.

[@LAFan]

30 years later, CBS is giving up on a part of Late Night TV as the Late Late Show is going away.

[@RickBeatsWorld]

I love how Letterman uses the “Royal We”

[@tjclt250r]

the editorial?

[@privatepenguin3137]

Best move CBS ever made...and the dumbest decision NBC ever made.

[@johnking5174]

Since they staked everything on Jay Leno, where else could they place David?

[@lurx2024]

While Steve Allen did it first, Dave Letterman has always done it best.

[@zora_noamflannery2548]

- Ernie Kovacs was a hoot, too.

[@manfrommeeteetse3880]

Glad somebody remembers Steve. He invented The Tonight Show, first on radio then on TV. He was much more talented than Johnny Carson, Though Carson appeal ed more to mainstream America. Carson never acknowledged the debt he owed to Steve Allen but Letterman did on numerous occasions.

[@m.coldsmithbriggs9259]

His show only moved a couple of blocks away from 30 Rock to the Ed Sullivan Theater.

[@johnking5174]

Dave did express his slight concerns over using a theater to produce his show. In 1995 when he did a week of shows from Los Angeles, he said to Tom Snyder that producing the show in LA took away a mountain of problems.

[@Loisjean8]

Nice Don !

[@robertp411]

I loved Carson liked Letterman. Loved Garry Shandling … many also so rans including Leno.

[@Paulo-1999]

It's funny how NBC got it wrong twice in a row. The amount of content I've watched all these decades from Letterman and Conan (Conan way, way, way more than Letterman) can't possibly be compared to the couple of Leno videos I've watched. And don't talk to me about "ratings". I'm talking about quality. Btw, Seth Meyers is also a favorite. And I've also consumed and insanely amount of hours of his videos compared to Fallon. It's insane.

[@ScottRay67]

Have you ever found any documentary footage of the renovation of Ed Sullivan Theater to make it for Dave's show?

[@dongiller]

Just footage that aired on the premiere Late Show, uploaded in full here - kzbin.info/www/bejne/poe0dXdojZhqq68

[@garylobo348]

Oh shit Paul! Do you have a little extra for Paul there Larry? Beautiful. 28:39

[@michaelreardon3958]

Hilarious.

[@carolinecorman1716]

Jay seemed bored with the job, Dave always enjoyed the show.

[@johnking5174]

Well Dave did seem to be phoning the show in from around 2013.

[@manfrommeeteetse3880]

​@@johnking5174 I agree

[@brycemcneil4404]

I often wonder if NBC made the right choice. On the surface they certainly did (Leno cost less, was far more agreeable and beat Letterman 18 years out of 20). But on the other hand, the fact that CBS could make *any money at all* at 11,35p was an unprecedented development. But Worldwide Pants made it happen. So it would be that the Jay & Conan combo would (eventually) rule the roost...but not in the near-monopolistic fashion that the Carson & Letterman combo did for around a decade. If the roles had been switched, would Leno's name value alone been enough to let him succeed at 11,35p at CBS without the value of the Tonight Show transition behind him? If he'd started off with the same numbers on CBS as he did on NBC, would CBS have stuck with him through 1995? Is it possible there's an alternate universe where Dave got The Tonight Show and CBS kept throwing darts at a board for their late night plans?

[@dongiller]

If Dave had gotten The Tonight Show, there’d likely be no Late Late Show with Tom Snyder following Dave on NBC, since Dave would not have wanted to be responsible for Conan’s fate. Nor would Jay have had the relationship with Tom to have him follow on CBS.

[@NPA1001]

Johnny wanted Dave to succeed…… NBC screwed it up..

[@zt1053]

The person that really had to be shitting his pants was Arsenio. Leno had already taken away his hold on the younger viewers. But now with David Letterman on a network, Arsenio had to know he was toast.

[@dongiller]

Dave had been on a network, NBC, since 1982.

[@DeAngeloStevens]

Weeknights at 10:35 after 42 News NightDesk at 10.

[@donaldhawkes5226]

U know what I did like the NBC show ,more corky,odd things ,bud guy, yelling at people out the 20th floor etc, when he went to CBS it became bland the same with Leno. The top 10 was funny on NBC on the CBS their was a 10min introduction to the "10" to long and all the odd ball things were gone.

[@cowapocalypse75]

He was brilliant on both networks but I know what you mean. The brilliance of the goofy, experimental vibe of the NBC show was something so fun and special it can never be replicated.

[@bradwiehn2886]

I think Letterman was funny on his morning show(what I remember ).and on NBC and CBS.

[@johnking5174]

You have to admit though, for the final two or three years on CBS he was mostly phoning the show in. Bill Carter said after Dave's contract extension in 2012 he had by that point given up.

[@patrickbuildsit]

Lots of sleepy mornings in school because of this clown.🍻

[@georgehgordy1690]

Women under 30 on Long Island are thinking " Who's Amy Ficher ( Fisher ) "

[@jelopolicarpio6795]

30 years after, TVJ in TV5 Mediacon.

[@dongiller]

??

[@vrvaughn]

Is it just me or does Larry Tisch look like that Shark from finding Nemo when he smiles?

[@robertbrunelle8076]

dont blame Canaan

[@Lexman509]

I can only think of the infomercial that was cancelled because they chose Letterman. :)

[@at1212b]

I loved them ol infomercials.