Fish Cleaning Night on Letterman, April 29, 1983 (full)

By request of the son of the father who was an audience participant of Fish Cleaning Night.
A 90-minute Friday special, with guests Jane Curtin, Marv Albert and his Albert Achievement Awards, Dancers from the Rock Steady Crew, and Martin Short, uploaded previously but here in better video quality (SCTV clips deleted due to copyright caution).
Also the Museum of the Hard-to-Believe. with Jude Brennan as "Sarah Blustein," and Stupid Pet Tricks.
But the main event is the fish cleaning, and Mariel Hemingway is recruited to lead the way.\

[@michaelryley]

Don’t know where to start. This episode is so great. The fish gutting and cleaning. Jane Curtin. The band trying to play along with a piano playing dog. Really top tier stuff. Thanks for posting.

[@RobLives4Love]

just when I thought I knew everything the Letterman show had to offer, I find out about a freaking 90-minute special with the main attraction being fish cleaning. unbelievable. thank you Don.

[@finnibertlunchiken7792]

Yay, another one Ive never seen! Its like going into a time machine for an hour and bring a little gem back with me to share with the world. Must be how Don Giller feels. I mean my 14 year old son thinks these shows are as awesome as I do. I told him these shows were visionary and informed the sort of self aware humor you see on the best places on the internet. He agrees. I think it might have been that all the first people on the internet were Late Night fans in the 80's and early 90's and left an indellible mark on it.

[@dboz649]

Letterman was the first. The internet would have been perfect for his style back then.

[@danieldougan269]

What a bizarre, avant-garde thing to do on a talk show. This kind of stuff is what made Dave a legend. He dared to experiment and push boundaries, even if only about five people in the country got the joke.

[@md6846]

This is the first episode I ever saw. I was 15 years old and remember seeing the audience members lining up with the fish and was thinking wtf is this? Created a life long fan. He defined comedy for two generations and will affect it until the end of history.

[@roostersideburns3440]

letterman from the 80s to the 90s was brilliant. lagged a little at the of his cbs career

[@jojopuppyfish]

Same with me.....except I never got into Letterman. But now I'd like to see more of those NBC shows just to give it another chance

[@Targemq8]

Such a great episode, an especially fun appearance with the always charming Mr. Short.

[@SideShowSlim]

Mariel was unbelievably good at cleaning fish

[@LivLaRaj]

This is one I've been waiting for! Perhaps the first LNwDL I saw original air the whole way through... THANKS!

[@briankelleywastaken]

Mariel Hemingway and those fish man

[@michaelpetersen3466]

Nicely edited.

[@brianallen2358]

This one heck of a show, and I'm not even finished!

[@gnicksar]

And here I was thinking Brother Theodore was just being colorful when he said he was selling roses at a fish market.

[@USALeonHeart]

The '83 '76ers ended up as one of the greatest NBA teams of all time.

[@beachlifechris]

Great memories👍

[@alevine1951]

Fotomat! And Jane's newborn in 35 now. Dave reminds me of how Fallon pales in comparison.

[@royalsfan]

And that young lady (writer/podcast host Tess Lynch) became a mother a couple of years ago.

[@moaningpheromones]

now 40 - good golly miss molly, older than Jane was at the time. And she and Dave are both from the class of '47.

[@andrea4246]

Talent at it's Best. Miss it.

[@NYPRBLUE]

The Young Actress and the Sea.

[@jonallen5078]

SCTV really guards its clips. Hard to find the DVD's new as they are out of print.

[@alexebeling9366]

I'm sure you have it in one of your detailed descriptions, but, i love the music so much. Especially from the anniversary shows. Is there any recordings of the music on their own?

[@dongiller]

I’ve shared a few clips of the band playing on their own during the broadcasts as well as performances heard during the commercial breaks. Seek and ye shall find.

[@darrenrathwell4552]

This is pre "I will roast you and everyone else "Martin Short".

[@cbehr91]

Great quality. This looks like the 1" tape master.

[@dongiller]

Very much close to it.

[@dongiller]

@@graxjpg I’m hesitant to go into detail about these sources for now. Maybe in a couple of years.

[@dongiller]

@@graxjpg You’d be the first and only one. :)

[@dongiller]

@@graxjpg Who says you need to use your own credit card? :)

[@royalsfan]

Also, Marv was right on the money about the '83 Sixers.

[@LandonMee]

Dave asking my man for a history lesson while he's outta breath

[@masessum1]

Another great show...exactly when did Dave switch from 90 minutes to 60? Thanks!

[@dongiller]

The show was always 60 minutes, M-Th, with occasional 90-minute "specials" in the early '80s that aired on Fridays in place of SCTV. Plus the 90-minute anniversary shows.

[@dongiller]

In mid-87, the schedule changed to 5 shows a week, with Monday a rerun.

[@masessum1]

Thanks for posting these early shows!..I missed most of them...not sure how I thought them to be 90 long...

[@Golbez1991]

@@masessum1 Maybe the daytime show in 1980? I was originally planned to be a 90-minute show.

[@royalsfan]

...and Charlie Drayden [sic] on drums.

[@clarkschuyler8245]

So was the first participant on "Stupid Pet Tricks" the Michael Bloomberg who went on to become mayor? Or am I crazy?

[@dongiller]

I won’t say you’re crazy, but no. Same name, different person.

[@royalsfan]

I'm double-checking the TV.com episode guide. Was Dabney Coleman a guest the show before or after?

[@dongiller]

After. May 31.

[@darrenrathwell4552]

Wow. Look at that hair..

[@tommyblueee9993]

😋❤️👍

[@dinsdalep]

Curious what impression Marty did in the Tang clip.

[@dongiller]

Robin Williams.

[@BlackRoomProductions]

@@dongiller wondering why it was cut? Was it a copyright thing?

[@dongiller]

@@BlackRoomProductions Including it would have resulted in either an SCTV block or takedown.

[@BlackRoomProductions]

@@dongiller ah great removal then, I love these full episodes. Old Letterman is still cutting edge! Thanks for your hard work getting these uploaded, I grew up watching Dave as a kid but will happily watch him as an adult for the next decade or two :)

[@timharrod]

There was a "no betting" clause on fish-cleaning, but not the usual caution against wagering for Stupid Pet Tricks. Could this be where the joke originated?

[@dongiller]

I shall check.

[@dongiller]

Tim: I haven't forgotten about this. Work and health have backed up lately.

[@timharrod]

Take your time!

[@andyb811]

Can't believe how much hair David had and how unkempt it was much of the time.

[@andyb811]

Remember, Bill Wendell worked with Ernie Kovacs in the early 1960's and he felt Dave was a visionary like Ernie. Bill reportedly had a lifetime contract with NBC like Don Pardo and others. What was the deal with the die-job and/or hairpiece?

[@Variable1000]

His hair 🤪🤣

[@itsmedrooms6071]

It seemed really bizarre having Mariel Hemingway doing all the fish cleaning. I don’t think Dave really knew who she was because at one point he actually asked her what she does. She had done all her biggest films by this time (‘83).

[@winonafrog]

Yes a surprising face

[@RozarSmacco]

Gawdd...Flounder is so tasty....mmmmmmm

[@v8vrooooom]

This stinks!!! Get it? hehe

[@kanealson5200]

Yeah. I get it.

[@moaningpheromones]

fishing for compliments?