Sandra Bernhard Collection on Letterman, Part 2 of 3: 1986-88

11. February 17, 1986. The Whoopee Boys."
12. July 7, 1986. "Elle" magazine.
13. September 10, 1986. With Zippy. Chicago's Park West.
14. October 28, 1986. Hosting "New Music Awards."
15. December 18, 1986. Boston's "The Paradise."
16. January 29, 1987. My Father's Place.
17. July 16, 1987. Hosting "Friday Night Videos."
18. November 27, 1987. Soon performing on Off-Brodway "Without You I'm Nothing"
19. February 10, 1988. "Without You I'm Nothing."
20. July 1, 1988. With Madonna. "Without You I'm Nothing." (Hal Gurnee's Network Time Killer included for later call-back)
21. October 14, 1988 (with Tonight Show and mispronounced voice lead-in). Autobiography "Confessions of a Pretty Lady."
Part 1 (1983-85) is here: • Sandra Bernhard Collec...
Part 3 (1989-98) is here: • Sandra Bernhard Collec...

[@CMC_Productions]

this compilation will never be beat. bravo

[@singlesideman]

She craves the attention, but she deserves it. Incredible.

[@mulemule]

Well put

[@tnt01]

100%

[@effinyu9554]

Nothing wrong with wanting, and getting attention as long as you have talent. I love her too. And the poplar opposite is the Kardashians.

[@magnificent6668]

She's coked out of her mind.

[@re7416]

@@magnificent6668 U've obviously not seen Sandi perform very often..... ▪︎ 1stly...she's so anti-drugs it's unreal. ▪︎ 2nd of all...U wanna see.. 💳🍙👃🏻🤡....go (early) Tom Arnold, Chris Farley, Rick James... ▪︎ U may return when u've gained some knowledge & experience 🧑‍🎓😉

[@tennyc]

there is just no late nite guests like her, Letterman was still young and hip , a great time, haven't seen these since they aired , thanks for upload

[@christopherramon-reid9841]

Don you are great! I’ve been waiting for a Sandra/Letterman collection and you given us a high quality look at all her appearances. FANTASTIC! 😍👍 Sandra and Dave together always seemed like wild improvised entertainment.

[@garygaden1130]

i would have liked to see her sing more, she was really entertaining as a singer.great guest all around.

[@johnfritsky3859]

Her appearances of more than 30 years are timeless and still relevant, brilliant!

[@endlessnameless6494]

Yepp, she was "Broads Next Door" style female comedy 30 years too early. Nobody seemed to "get" this in the 80s, she was great.

[@cincimoney]

She is just so funny. A true performer and comedienne. Couldn’t stop laughing. A delight!

[@scottiescottie1]

I've waited years for this- thank you!!

[@zacharyrodriquez2277]

Thank you 🤣Thank you 😂 Thank you 🙏 for retaining all these gem appearances of Sandra on Letterman!!🥳 I have my own tiny collection in vhs that I haven’t viewed in decades. You compiled so many I’d never seen! Watching these give me such joy and non stop laughter! Like watching Divine and Carson, if that combo appearance were ever to be real. I appreciate your long hours and dedication to saving these and chronologically sharing them. You are generous, friend!! 🤩🤗✊🌟✨

[@jpetes9046]

How can you not love Sandra?

[@StevenCarinci]

Easy...VERY!

[@user-rq2ts7dx1z]

She's fabulous!

[@voicetube]

Don… I just want to say I'm a BIG fan of your channel, "heavily subscribed" and so thank you for posting this and so many of your other videos which I've enjoyed thoroughly.

[@dongiller]

Thanks!!

[@gardensofthegods]

I agree , this is really a great channel .

[@singlesideman]

God, she just got even better. Seriously, the performance art that this is is almost in Andy Kaufman territory, but pop, celebrity and consumer culture critical (man, that's a mouthful), charming, sexy, spontaneous, improvised - extremely well - and unambiguously, openly bisexual, which is still very rare. I wish she had done more with this and with the same reach. This is the perfect medium for her, and boy, did she shine.

[@OMGWTFLOLSMH]

Until Letterman the sourpuss rained on her parade.

[@forgive7449]

the coke helped

[@JosephScott-ct9sw]

didn't do drugs, just a silly billie

[@anthonymurphy2449]

WHEW! I honestly think Dave got a kick out of her being there, because she's his match and he ALMOST can never get a handle on her! GREAT stuff, my friend!! :-D

[@yes-gm5ts]

Dave was initially enthusiastic if a little perplexed by Sandra Bernhard, but he gradually soured on her as the eighties progressed. It seems like at times he really resented that she was so charismatic and brilliant. I would say that she easily outmatched him, and his only defense was that he could cut to commercial when he needed.

[@terranniet]

@@yes-gm5ts Are you presuming? He once talked about how guests like Sandra made his job easy. It was much worse for the host when the guest is bland.

[@yes-gm5ts]

@@terranniet Speculating, sure. It's a read.

[@ilovetati91]

@@terranniet he definitely soured on her

[@Cmc995]

She is incredibly witty and clever

[@purpleninja6024]

I love her energy, her being herself, carefree, wild.

[@richardyoon4209]

July 16th, 1987 is the first show I remember seeing Sandra. She seemed to be famous for only being on Letterman.

[@Qolus]

She's so amazing, and so is the band (as always).

[@Scrumpilump2000]

I adore this woman.

[@brewer921]

She calls Seattle the alternative city in 1986. So hip.

[@roberthrodebert9263]

it was

[@brewer921]

@@roberthrodebert9263 I'm aware.

[@brewer921]

@@roberthrodebert9263 I'm aware. She said it five years before the rest of the world knew though.

[@chepad1]

We need more originals like her:)

[@terranniet]

Dave stuck his hand down the back of her pants! Positively Steamy! lol and how he pulled her back onto his lap oh my😳😳😳 15:43

[@lisaa8795]

She's funny as hell. I couldn't stop laughing at her non-stop humor, antics, and Dave's reaction to it all.

[@Scrumpilump2000]

Many thanks for this compilation! I adore this woman.

[@singlesideman]

What I wouldn't do to see Sandra Bernhard and Richard Simmons together with Dave. The universe would implode.

[@theiceman6941]

😆!!! what a great combination that would be! 🤣

[@vj.joseph]

I can see madonna in her. And she is the sassy music, just the best to represent the 90s. She shaped the music and the fashion at the time. The humour sense, the love. What a time to be alive. 🥰😍😍😍😘😘

[@brewer921]

Yes, thank you for these.

[@anotherjoshua]

miss her insanity so much

[@mariaa.5829]

Miss her? She's not retired you know? My brother just sas her in concert around Thanksgiving (2019) last month ... Miami.

[@mulemule]

Yeah, you know? Why weren't you at the Miami show instead've at home spending time with your family over the Holiday?

[@duckhive]

always good when things went off-script

[@lisaward60]

She's so electric,I love her!

[@diamonddave16]

🥇

[@viviandarkbloom100]

God I cannot imagine living with her. It's 100 MPH all the freaking time.

[@pmambientworks4727]

Paul and the snake was physical improv comedy gold :D

[@gooberthoreau]

Following this the watching of this video, I did some research into why Sandra's record label did not push her album. The results were alarming: It blew ass.

[@cameramanzoomit]

These are great! Always enjoyed her on the show. Sandra mentions Tama Janowitz at one point. Be nice to see a collection of her appearances. She was always interesting.

[@nelsonitaliano5095]

Omg, I love her!!!

[@Strimbles]

15:44 Where did Dave PUT HIS HAND???? Look at his face, and Sandra's corresponding reaction!!! Hahahaha!!!!

[@terranniet]

Down the back of her pants! ♨️😅 Checking to see type of panties, if any! 😳

[@diamonddave16]

Dam! 😂😂

[@singlesideman]

Don, you're so good. And your editing is fantastic. So, so good...

[@dongiller]

Thanks, but c’mon. While lengthy, the editing for this collection was pretty straightforward, one appearance after another. The challenging ones are those with just snippets, or combining different video sources due to particular glitches. Compared to those, this one was a breeze. The fun part is trying to edit the music outtro with the end of the break so that it’s as seamless as possible. In most cases, it’s just not possible, but there are happy moments when it works really well. My favorite so far is the break after Ray Charles’ performance on The Lobby Show in ‘96. I was really pleased with that one.. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qGqwhqFqird1bdU

[@singlesideman]

@@dongiller that's what I'm referring to. Your editing of the bumpers is perfect. There are times when you can't even tell that it's an edit, which is especially difficult with the music.

[@eagarde]

I love you Sandra you are so original.

[@Red_Rebel]

I love her energy, she was actually one of the first edgy personalities on tv. Sandra brought herself and never shy out.

[@diamonddave16]

👏👏

[@aturogs1954]

Watching Madonna and Sandra having fun together is such a joy seeing them so plain and down-to-earth creatures. So satisfying.

[@petermoore7796]

ah yes “down-to-earth” is definitely how i would describe madonna

[@timeddie3134]

@@petermoore7796 💀💀gotta love her tho.

[@michaelcovel3793]

@1:46:00 😁😅😂 That Robert Palmer joke. That whole entertainment segment was a burn! And that last interview was the coldest; she must have pissed Dave off before the show. 😕😠

[@OMGWTFLOLSMH]

Dave gets his panties into a twist a little too easily. SB is hilarious and she works her ass off to get laughs for the show and Dave smugly sits there like he hates his job and his life. Good grief.

[@thecoolg]

Was there some weird behind the scenes drama between Dave and Sandra after she appeared with Madonna on the show? In the final video listed here, he's extremely cold and distant towards her. Another weird moment between the two was during the Madonna segment. Before Madonna comes out, Sandra seemingly decided not to go thorugh with playing the message from the village voice writer. David urged her to do it though, and then seemed to immediately regret it when she actually followed through. I'd love to get inside Dave's head and see what he really was thinking during these segments. There are times it's obvious he finds her hilarious, and other times it appears he finds her overtly sexual come-ons and tendency to trash Hollywood celebrities tiresome and overdone. Still, it's a tribute to Sandra's professionalism that- even when Dave was frosty in the final segment- she transitioned into stand-up comic monologue mode, and just did her jokes to the audience, never missing a beat. What a legend!!!! 😍🤩

[@johnfritsky3859]

I’m a big fan!

[@ilovetati91]

Why did Letterman start getting so snarky with her halfway through? She even commented on it a few times. Once while they were going to break she made a comment about his "very warm" demeanor as sarcasm and he said "we'll talk about that later" under his breath so only she could hear. Would love to know why things soured.

[@c.t.4837]

He did start getting rude! She has said that too

[@yeoldtime5anddime208]

The last couple of episodes were a few months after the start of all the Margaret Mary Ray stalking incidents with David. I wonder if he was "off" because of the ongoing nonsense, and something she said triggered him.

[@AdamSmithMusic]

Shout out to Paul during the snake bit when he didn’t knock over his keyboards! He didn’t even bump into one even once. That’s just graceful.

[@budg.6094]

I remember in particular the show when Madonna came on. When she walks out and breaks into that dance, that was one sexy moment

[@mannybravo237]

Yes I believe what David did to Sandra 15:46! Hehe-Ha!☝🏻 Fun chemistry! I had one of her 💿 early 90's. Cool music

[@pauldavies5611]

Dare I say it? Carson never would have handled her as well as Letterman does.

[@Hauerization]

As a kid in the 80s Sandra Bernhard simultaneously scared me and fascinated me. Good times.

[@CopperNoir]

Her reference to Shelly Hack is funny because Hack was in Scorsese's 'King of Comedy' -- which Sandra herself appeared in.

[@jpetes9046]

ummm... I believe her reference was to Shelly LONG...

[@ilovetati91]

@@jpetes9046 1:06:49

[@WKRPinCINN]

She’s beautiful. A NYC Cindy Crawford.

[@jasoneverett]

When I would watch these new years ago, I always thought it would be so cool if they got married.

[@taissalada]

OMG! I remember being drunk on wine coolers and in high school watching this! EPIC!

[@Red_Rebel]

Outrageous Fortune haha love that movie!

[@andrewcharles1734]

She was a hoot live in concert. Imagine her and Fran Lebowitz together 😂

[@craigplumlee]

Love her. Great job! @18:11, I wonder if "Zippy" would be running around so freely in 2021? At any second, Zip coulda flipped and Sandra Bernhard didn't seem too thrilled about it

[@energyasylum997]

WOW!!! @1:03:00 Dave Sanborn is a BEAST!! Great sax player!!

[@ritter1808]

First segment was part of the famous dubbed episode. My favorite conceptually .

[@MrGrillosClass]

Why aren’t late night appearances like this today?

[@MeathookCinema]

Only Sandy can make 80’s Madge look pedestrian

[@johnjohnson3709]

I fucking love her!!

[@robertoaudiffred7936]

She's like a real-life Bugs Bunny

[@ElectraAlan]

This is why television was invented.

[@ChadRiden]

If I'm not mistaken the bumper shot of Joe G's Pizza at 28:40 is right there by the Ed Sullivan Theater on Broadway years before the show would move there.

[@mangore623]

Makes any talk show out today look as exciting as a knitting circle. Why is everyone so sterile and boring nowadays?

[@theiceman6941]

Oh God, thank you for this; I can't stop watching the appearance from '88 with Madonna! (1:21:02) So much fun! (and Sandra's so sexy there). Very funny, wild

[@krisray5686]

she was on fire! nothing and nobody could stop her!

[@grggsctt]

She brings it. She leaves Letterman speechless. So much sexual tension between them.

[@DD-sr9xm]

Never knew she was so great.

[@AhPhoey]

"One of them is nuts...goofy as the day is long...and the other one seems like a pretty nice person. "

[@Bitshitter]

The perfect description of Sandra Bernhard and Zippy with his Late Night Monkey Cam.......in that order....

[@AhPhoey]

@@Bitshitter Hahaha Yes. Zippy was great.

[@mildredhighcock7333]

I never found her laugh out loud funny, she would often quote song lines and have things that were already rehearsed BUT she was always fun to watch and kooky and her own person

[@sloburnjo]

Simon Beshevis Singer may be her best bit on Dave 39:30. Yes indeed.

[@GaryPhelpsII]

I spent about a half an hour searching for the ‘they boost your yay’s’ comment; gonna watch it again. Then scan for her appearance with Madonna; those two and Grace Jones caused me to start puberty about two years early😻😻😻

[@dongiller]

The appearance with Madonna begins at 1:18:18.

[@leonardstilwell1894]

Hey, Don. How many times was Zippy on the show? My fave memory is of Dave asking him what he thought of Dr Ruth and Zippy responding by blowing raspberries.

[@dongiller]

Three times: April 19, 1983, March 19, 1986 (with Dr. Ruth), and September 10, 1986 (with Sandra Bernhard), the latter two wearing the Monkey-Cam.

[@monkeytrousers]

What was the story behind the edit shortly after the Suzanne Vega joke at 1:12:00 (?). They reused the shot of Dave making the face he made after the previous joke and then there was an edit. @Don Giller Any knowledge of the story there?

[@dongiller]

I have none, sorry.

[@voicetube]

I LOVE then women and was always attracted her (even when these aired). Some of my friends may have considered her "odd looking" but I always thought of her as quirkily gorgeous.

[@pwebb9927]

I've probably watched the Sandra on Letterman collections 3 times each, plus seeing them when aired. This time, the last segment, when she took off the black flowers jacket I thought. Is she wearing a Todd Rundgren blouse? Her top looks like the cover art for Something/Anything. Just an aside, all these years later. Cheers, Sandra, You were my second favourite regular guest (Don't be offended, Sandra. You're only behind Warren Zevon. Who else in Late Night history has come on in full public knowledge of their terminal diagnosis, and given us their last performance as bravely as that)

[@Zroolmpf_Celmbror]

32:58 Paul Schaffer is great. She isn't singing the song in its original key but within seconds he's right with her.

[@dongiller]

Shaffer; Paul Shaffer. :)

[@johndalton3180]

Don, would you post the Valerie Perrine interview from that episode? I've always loved Sandra's comments on her here. "'I just got back from Europe' what a great excuse for her to be INSANE and wacky! 'I just got back from North Carolina and I'm a BASKET case!' What is that CONcept?" Also, I could swear the "spread those legs and I don't mean maybe" like was partially bleeped on the broadcast. Am I wrong?

[@dongiller]

I don’t hear any edit or bleep during that moment; the version here is from the broadcast.

[@johndalton3180]

@@dongiller yeah I was thinking maybe on a rerun later on, or on E they bleeped it.

[@dongiller]

John Dalton I checked the SSIDB: this show (July 16, 1987) never aired again, anywhere. Not on A&E, not on E!, not on Trio. Nor was it ever repeated on NBC. I also checked the two other broadcast sources I have for this show (the one chosen for this collection came from my own videotape in NYC), Chicago and San Francisco. All three left the comment intact.

[@johndalton3180]

@@dongiller Wow. Maybe there was some similar line in another appearance and I'm conflating them. Poor Susanna Hoffs broke up The Bangles to do a movie career- didn't quite work out.

[@sarahbanks2355]

“The Sade of the comedy world.”

[@diytom3448]

❤️

[@michaelz9892]

Love 15:30.

[@civilizedsatyr]

Imagine a time when late night network talk shows were unpredictable and a little bit sloppy.

[@Bitshitter]

@15:30 - when Sandra sat on Dave's lap, he puts his hand down the back of her tights and does whatever. You can see a glimpse of her tights pulled down her backside......

[@Momlifebren]

I saw it too

[@jpetes9046]

Zowie... I saw it too... now I understand Sandra’s reaction... she LOVED it! (and I loved her for loving it).

[@maddymud]

Did Zippy appear after biting Sandra? Listening to Dave on Franken’s pod and he seemed to indicate that show was the last straw for Zippy

[@jeffkoons001]

Love Sandy's extempore mashup of Pebble's GIRLFRIEND and PUSH IT at 121:26

[@nicogee230]

She’s such a breath of fresh air and absolute pro at doing what she does including these appearances. I always loved seeing her on the show and let’s face it - so did Dave. Madcap, irreverent and wild.

[@pmambientworks4727]

Don: It's probably an Impossible task, but I would love it if you made a compilation of all Letterman musical performances that you have stored. :)

[@dongiller]

There were thousands. It would be tempting the copyright holders. I lost the channel two years ago because of two live performances by Prince. So, no, it won’t happen.

[@pmambientworks4727]

@@dongiller Ok, I understand!

[@Walrus563]

Damn Dave actually did it didn't he?

[@firouz4296]

01:39:45 Rachel London flower coat! You are welcome!

[@johndalton3180]

Hmm the substances start to kick in here. Wooo!

[@unclefunkle2834]

good heavens………….

[@sloburnjo]

41:15 "Sally Kellerman..." Haha she was an assassin.

[@Cmc995]

11:40 lots of sexual tension in this one, Dave seems into it this time

[@nellitaleva9709]

Lol.. Sorry, I'm Coming Only 4 Madonna 👑

[@ludwigfan3013]

She's the closest thing to being a female Mick Jagger

[@MeathookCinema]

She’s more Pete Burns than Mick Jagger

[@Bitshitter]

@42:35 - actually, the original Corningware with the blue clover design is actually collector's items these days. At least the cooking ware is - don't know about the coffee pots....

[@pauldalnoky6055]

Whoopee boys cost $8 million made 500k.

[@codedread]

15:32 "I'm finally the sex kitten I always wanted to be" "Well, S-S-Sandra, as a-always..." ... "You won't believe what David Letterman just did to me" "No, no-no-no" "Whooo! Whooo!" "We'll be right back! (good lord!)"

[@Michael-di6ss]

Cocaine is a helluva drug.