Dave's First Monologue & Top Ten At CBS | Letterman

[@ChrisPollone]

I was there in the audience. It was incredible.

[@229BlackHat]

As someone who is too young to have ever had the chance to attend a Letterman taping, I am legally obligated to like this comment.

[@FredLord-sp4ym]

Wow! That had to be something to bare witness to. It was an EPIC Event. Thanks for sharing.

[@rockturtleneck]

Dave's CBS debut is basically as long ago from today as it was from the Beatles appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in the same theatre--amazing.

[@GD-rd6ig]

Fun fact!

[@nl5828]

😱😱😱😱

[@wvu05]

Longer now. The Beatles appeared on Ed Sullivan 29 years prior, and 30 years for the CBS premiere.

[@darthvirgin7157]

probably why they posted this on youtube this week.

[@scribblesthejuggalodenver3009]

Thank you for making me feel older than i ever thought I would be!

[@Andrew-Antioch-Kim]

Dave is (still) what late night is missing!

[@johncornell3665]

What a great program. Paul Newman, Bill Murray and Billy Joel. Wish it was still on. Thanks Dave, we love you!

[@rr7firefly]

This show had a dynamite energy that remains legendary. David ruled for so many years. No one came close.

[@davidsandall]

The tonight show beat him in ratings every year.

[@FredLord-sp4ym]

@@davidsandall From 1995 on.

[@ejflor1313]

@@davidsandallonly idiots think that matters. Letterman was the better show

[@TeamCat1128]

The night after watching this, I woke myself up from a deep sleep laughing. I was remembering what was said during the show and actually laughing in my sleep! I was 23 at the time. Good memories. 😊

[@porcorosso999]

30 years already!!! Oh man time flies by

[@nl5828]

paul newman: “where the hell are the singing cats?” 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@SPTO]

This was awesome. I remember staying up late way past my bed time to see this. This was a momentous and great moment in TV.

[@americangiant1003]

Yup. Changed the TV Industry in America, especially Late Night Entertainment Talk Shows right after Johnny's retirement forever.

[@dongiller]

Fun fact: Dave’s first greeting to Paul Newman was a reshoot after Paul had left the theater.

[@purplefuku]

Just wanted to say thanks for everything you do on this channel, Don! These clips are always a highlight of my KZbin feed.

[@dongiller]

@@purplefuku Thanks, but my involvement with this channel is minimal. Walter Kim is the gentleman you should thank.

[@purplefuku]

@@dongiller: Well, that’s a bit disappointing! But Walter Kim is doing an excellent job & at least the channel is in good hands. (I have to admit that I quite miss your longer montages & curated compilations, though!)

[@dongiller]

@@purplefuku I miss making them. :)

[@progmot]

I remember the reshoot and also that Billy Joel used cue cards during his musical performance.

[@Baegitte]

Once letterman and Conan left late nite, I fall asleep by 11 ❤❤❤

[@muffinman4353]

Long Live the memories of Larry "Bud" Melman!!!

[@trevour]

I remember this like it was yesterday. This video was uploaded not even an hour ago and I’m now commenting exactly 30 years to the day of The Late Show’s debut. I hope Paul Newman made it in time for the singing cats.

[@ytzpilot]

History in the making love you David Letterman ❤

[@jamesbaxterinsideoutsideim1765]

Damn I miss this man and show

Paul Newman did look like a million bucks. Great times.

[@noidea26]

most consitently handsome man ever.

[@kinsmed]

Fortunately I forgot how good we had it. I'm going to try to put that in a conversation today; "Where the hell are the singin' cats".

[@FomorViceroy]

Several weeks later, Brokaw appeared during the cold open of Conan’s first show telling him that he better be as good as Letterman “or else.” 😂

[@kevinzhu72]

This brought back so much memories! Thank you Dave. You are the best!

[@giovanni7410]

Where the hell are singing cats? Love it

[@lorip.1110]

I have this and the 'Conan running to his first Late Night' episodes on an old VHS tape somewhere.

[@ThamiumOne]

Conan's first skit for the opening of "Late Night" was more like a casual stroll, as people keep stopping him to put pressure on him to be good at the job. That running segment you're talking about was sort of an expansion of that, which was used at the beginning of his first Tonight Show years later.

[@nathanc6204]

Tom Brokaw was 53 (and Dave was 46) when this aired. I'm 53 now - how time flies!

[@pegonz]

To the team that makes this KZbin channel possible, thank you!!

[@WTFG78]

For years, the opening intro sequences for “Late Night with David Letterman” would culminate with a shot of 30 Rockefeller Plaza. In a bold statement right off the bat, one of the first shots of the intro sequence for the “Late Show with David Letterman” involves flying OVER 30 Rock on its way to the Ed Sullivan Theater (seen at 0:09) with the “Surround CBS StereoSound” logo overlaid on top for good measure. THIS… is CBS.

[@bigg-esmallz7911]

Happy 30th Anniversary to the Late Show frabchise

[@GreggReveeb-r4o]

Dave’s best line…” ya know, show or no show…I really enjoy drinking in the morning”

[@rockerseven]

Every night as a kid, I would be sure to tune in to Dave!

[@KungEMuller]

David Letterman knew what late night TV should always be about. Great entertainment. He and Johnny Carson will always be the best.

[@bravo1701]

Imagine a late night show and not one mention of politics or Trump

[@KungEMuller]

@@bravo1701 Well, Weeknight Update is the kind of late night talk show that you can watch without feeling mad. I'm focusing on the fun. It's a show that I'm hosting on KZbin.

[@americangiant1003]

@@bravo1701 Yup. I can’t stand Trump either. However at least not on every episode back then did Arsenio, Jay or Dave did every other damn joke/monologue on Bill Clinton and American politics as a whole either.

[@KungEMuller]

​@@bravo1701Exactly! Late Night TV used to be great back in the day. Now, it's just plain dull.

[@KungEMuller]

​@@americangiant1003I don't like politics at all. I mean, everyone on TV is already talking about politics 24/7. When can we get a break from politics?

[@jasonlavertu6894]

When Tom Brokaw took bake the NBC jokes! 🤣🤣

[@edwardhahn4911]

As an old person, I remember watching this live. 😂🤣

[@ruthecker399]

dave king of late night

[@229BlackHat]

As a person trying to learn drums, 10:09 will be very useful when I learn the Late Show theme

[@Jeff-zx3eg]

At 2:55 Paul with the perfect musical interlude. Made Dave laugh 😂

[@Picklesnot-co3k]

Paul Newman "easy on the eyes" and every bottle of Newman's Own salad dressing has a drop of "Newman's Own." Dave loved the guy. ❤

[@plaws0]

Better version of the theme, Paul - thanks! Paul put in a "news sounder" as Tom was leaving - brilliant as always. Sound mix was off for the first several months. Not as obvious here but ... not right. 30 years ago? But ... I had just turned 30 when this show aired ... that means ... _OH MY GOD!_

[@kingofmadprops]

That’s what confused me all along. Paul wrote the Late Night Theme. It’s on his Coast to Coast album. Why couldn’t they use it on the CBS show? Would that have drove the NBC lawyers batty?

[@StevenTorrey]

1993--30 years ago! Paul Newman is a riff on what Ed Sullivan would do, he would point out famous star in his audience....

[@worldmikel]

Very cool to be able to wrest away all this great IP from the Biscuit Company!

[@calebwashingtonproductions]

Happy 30th Anniversary, Late Show!!!

[@marks.3303]

So strange seeing this once again exactly 30 years later. I don't even want to think about how old I was when this aired.

[@thechuckjosechannel.2702]

Happy 30th Anniversary to the Late Show Franchise.

[@hottuna2006]

The good ole days.

[@rhyancoleman6462]

30 years ago today.

[@FredLord-sp4ym]

This was HUUUUUUGE! It was a very exciting Era in Late Night Television when Broadcasting was BIG!

[@damsell17]

Watching this now is just as great as it was 31 years ago.

[@integral]

My mind is kind of blown by how much, how many details I recall about watching this 30 years ago. Including Paul Newman's "where the hell are the singing cats" number.

[@CinHK]

I was thrilled when Dave announced he’d be joining CBS. I immediately wrote in for tix, and managed to get tix for the first week! Guests were Al Gore (funny) Kim Basinger (no comment) Chris Isaak (musical guest).

[@jerzeyguy71]

nice anniversary pick!! I dont think I have ever seen the answer to this, did Dave ever think about if he would move to do the tonight show to cali, or would he fight to stay in NYC if he was offered the job at the time? he had to have thought about it during the final year of Carson hosting.

[@americangiant1003]

I know on the HBO bio movie made on the Leno/Letterman rivalry, this was mentioned. In that scene when Jay's first Executive Producer and also Agent, right after he took over from Carson, had the live show in Summer 1992 suddenly cancelled, a few minutes before airing. It was cancelled because of the 1992 Republican Convention that ran late as Ronald Reagan gave his last extended public speech. NBC Execs was about to fire Leno the next day as Letterman was notified to fly to LA asap on standby. So to save his job Jay basically allowed that same EP/Agent and long time friend to be canned. And then soon after, NBC Execs made the decision to give permanently Leno, the "Tonight Show" gig. With Jay now long term in that old Carson seat for the next 20 years or so into the current century, CBS and ABC then made huge offers for Dave as they both wanted Carson type late evening shows. CBS won the bidding war as Dave stayed in his Midtown Manhattan home at the Sullivan Theater. Then from September 1993, onwards both Jay and Dave did very well. Both would end making Tens of Millions Dollars in profits in their separate 1130pm shows until their retirements in the Mid 2010s. Hope Jersey Guy that answers your question.

[@EricMcConnaughey]

I remember watching this. The move by Brokaw with the cue cards was classic!

[@myautobiographyafanfic1413]

That joke about everyone getting a brand new car is funny, considering the milage he got from Oprah actually doing that.

[@arthuralford]

Where the hell *are* the singing cats?!?!

[@Picklesnot-co3k]

❤ love ya

[@ChristopherDazey]

I’ve seen this monologue many times over the years and I’ve never noticed before now that Paul combined Thanks for the Memories with the NBC news theme for Tom to walk out on. Incredibly subtle. Here are my requests for future posting of Top Ten lists to this channel: Michael Buble Renee Fleming

[@vinko8237]

Paul Newman - what an endorsement!

[@peterddb1593]

After the original show aired, I remember doing the finger pointing gun thing for weeks until my family begged me to stop.

[@Picklesnot-co3k]

❤ cute!

[@Jimmersaunt]

Smartest thing CBS ever did was pick up Dave!

[@dianemartin8000]

After ‘Johnny’ I watched Letterman for years!!!!!!

[@XzTS-Roostro]

Those graphics (including the Top 10 opening) looked like they were rendered on SGi workstations. Also, they probably paid a quarter of the cost of what Dave had mentioned.

[@unclvinny]

When Paul Newman stood up I thought, “Weird, why is Rutger Hauer in the audience?”

[@sjm5482]

😂

[@MrAitraining]

Cool moment but NBC 1230 dave will always be the best to me.

[@djsmith2871]

THIS is C...B...Ssss Loved the continuity

[@stevekohl5351]

Oh and Tom Brokaw, a native of nearby Yankton, SD, had his first appearance as a TV news reporter as an intern at the NBC affiliate in Sioux City.

[@JoseTwitterFan]

30 years since late night TV made its triumphant return to the Ed Sullivan Theater after a 21-year abscence.

[@ronflatter1235]

If you are referring to Merv, he was in the Cort Theater, now the James Earl Jones. Cavett? The Elysee, now the St. Thomas Choir School. Johnny? 6B at 30 Rock.

[@maestromecanico597]

NO! THIS CAN'T BE 30 YEARS AGO!!!

[@walterwright7896]

Some great memories 🎉

[@eatonuter7113]

Happy 30th anniversary!

[@Meng4Now]

Answer: Just three blocks down Broadway at the Winter Garden Theater. 😉👉🎶🙀🎵

[@joshuasteward6097]

For years, Dave said the home office in Sioux City, IA because they were the only local affiliate that didn't play the show. They played Star Trek:TNG.

[@tatashady]

Larry "Bud" Melman

[@ThamiumOne]

Wonder why they edited out the piece where the ghost of Ed Sullivan "introduces" Dave just before he walks out?

[@bobbyk9815]

He didn't introduce Dave; he introduced Paul Newman.

[@mactheknife7049]

WWP doesn't own the intellectual property rights to that footage.

[@ThamiumOne]

@@mactheknife7049 - I realize they don't own it, but then they were given permission to use it to begin with, plus on any rebroadcasts of the show. Why wouldn't that extend to a situation like this? Unless the permission was only temporary? It doesn't seem to be an issue with the Carson Tonight Show - where the parts are left in when a guest uses a clip from a promoted TV series or movie. They just place a credit on the screen indicating where it came from, "Paramount", "Warner Brothers", etc.

[@mactheknife7049]

@@ThamiumOne Such things are negotiable on a case basis, and Carson Productions may have had an "in perpetuity" clause. The original WWP rights agreement may have only been for the original airing date plus a certain period of time after that by contrast. Background music used may also trigger edits; if you don't have the rights to publicly air a certain song through ASCAP/BMI/SESAC, that could be an issue. Hard to say in their case, but it appears they no longer have the rebroadcast rights.

[@ronflatter1235]

He introduced Dave and later Paul. The Dave intro was a montage of Ed’s intros of a guest named Dave and the singing group the Lettermen. For Newman, Dave pretended to channel the ghost of Ed Sullivan introducing Newman in the audience.

[@untexan]

But seriously, where the hell *were* the singing cats?

[@chrissibersky4617]

Please post that clip where Michael Richards (Kramer) say "Afro-American". That's so funny because everyone knows and it clearly shows that's not a word he usually use. 😆

[@S1L3NTG4M3R]

Happy 30th Anniversary THANKS

[@DrHalbesWissen]

Bill Murray & Billy Joel, they weren't messing around!

[@gameshowguy2000]

Bill Wendell!

[@RevWillTheThrill1974]

I remember watching this the night it aired. Has it really been 30 years?

[@Mark-hc8ek]

Talk about jumping the shark!

[@brycelandon6387]

Nothing like getting upstaged by an NBC News star on the first show on CBS. Well played, Tom Brokaw!

[@ronflatter1235]

I take it there was no clearance here for the Ed Sullivan clips.

[@michaelmcdonald8452]

It's always tickled me the people who have Paul Newman five feet in front of them and they're more interested in seeing themselves on the monitor. 😂😂😂

[@daleproctor3723]

If I remember right, Dave got a standing ovation every night for something like a month after this first show on CBS.

[@TheTRUANTSlive]

This is Bill Scheft. I did the audience warm-up. The nightly standing ovations would have continued, but Dave became embarrassed by it. So instead, I began to instruct the audience not to stand "Because it screws up the audio in the theater."

[@daleproctor3723]

@@TheTRUANTSlive Thanks for this info!

[@tvbeastie]

wouw! :) this is paul :) caramba! : ) thanks :)

[@tvbeastie]

mayby waw, but this paul! janks

[@TFinSF]

Is that Adam Sandler in the yellow cap behind Paul Newman? 🤔

[@tonystone1016]

I loved no beard Letterman.

[@DelightLovesMovies]

People really loved him.

[@_PrimetimePranks]

Larry Bud Melman ❤

[@joshuasteward6097]

Leno would tell people he wouldn't book them if they went on Dave's show.

[@realmackle]

It was really sad to see pat sajak's show not really last long but at least cbs got dave.

[@StevePemberton2]

I need some help with a few of the items in the Top Ten list. #4 _"IT'S THE SAME SHOW. BETTER TIME. NEW STA--OH, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, STOP SAYING THAT!"_ I'm guessing that this must have been a reference to the heavy promotion that CBS was doing for the new show that Dave alluded to in the monologue, although I can't really see CBS or local affiliates saying "Same Show. Better Time. New Station" in a promo. #3 _"I'M MORE FOCUSED SINCE MY BREAK-UP WITH LONI"_ This one I got, I'm sure it's a reference to the highly publicized and contentious divorce of Burt Reynolds and Loni Anderson that was going on at the time. #1 _"A WHOLE NEW WARDROBE FOR VANNA"_ ?? I assume this is referring to Vanna White, famous for her endlessly changing wardrobe. Currently she is the co-host of the syndicated game show Wheel of Fortune. In 1993 she was the co-host of the syndicated game show Wheel of Fortune. What am I missing here?

[@jeebleswatch3785]

Hilarious!

[@stevekohl5351]

And I still live at the original home office. Sioux City got the home office gig back then because the manager of the local CBS affiliate refused to carry Letternan claiming that the station made more money with Star Trek reruns.

[@raymondm.9954]

Was there old footage of Ed Sullivan removed from this clip? And what was the other edit?

[@EinsteinsHair]

Wait. They cut out Ed Sullivan's introduction of Dave? I remember that for the first show in the Ed Sullivan Theater they stitched together old clips of Sullivan introducing various acts. "... ... ... a trained monkey act ... David ... Lettermen!" (Apparently the group, The Lettermen had appeared on his show.)

[@creynolds094]

Monday 30th August 1993

[@IrOnCuRtAiN61]

I can understand of opt out the clips of The Ed Sullivan Show due to licensing issues. But why removing the "woman who kept breaking into my home" bit at 4:27? I don't see anything wrong with that though... 🤔

[@CalinFR]

the man had karisma

[@mannybravo237]

Ooh, this is the b-o-m-b💣 😎👉🏽💨💨have a happy blue moon evening, y'all🌚

[@chriholt]

Back when Dave still funny and wasn't a grumpy old man

[@UpstateMediaNY]

Bernie Worrell didn't last that long on the keyboards for the CBS Orchestra. When did Bernie depart and the horn section arrive? Did he get an actual goodbye or was it in one day and out the next?

[@Jumpondees]

Dammit, I would watch the f**k out of this show if we could ever get it on say PlutoTV!!

[@atariblue]

That's what we need! Seriously, there's so many episodes of the Late Show that they could run it 24/7 and you wouldn't see a repeat for a long time.

[@johnathanmcdonald4378]

If Hugh Grant-gate doesn’t happen, does Leno still overtake Leno in the ratings owing to stronger lead-ins?

[@ricknibert6417]

#6 must have inspired Oprah.