Staff Favorite Moments: Writer Rodney Rothman | Letterman

[@jimwaters1562]

This is gold. The Leno story about Homecoming is too perfect.

[@TheKarlos]

I really love how this channel celebrates the writers and producers.

[@christophermiller3031]

this channel has allowed my nostalgia for this period of my life to blossom. this was when media just came and went so... it's hard to wrap your head around maybe... but from childhood until I was out of university, letterman was there

[@gratefuldead2379]

Well said my friend

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

And _Gazebo_ magazine!

[@siriuzbiz]

absolutely!

[@C0C0_Nuts]

I loved the sense of humour Letterman and his team had. No one else has it.

[@longlivethefish]

I think the one that kinda gets close to him is Conan O’Brien 🤔🤷‍♂️

[@ct6852]

Yeah he definitely changed the game. You can see how much he influenced shows and hosts that came after. Especially Conan.

[@djm122270]

Actual FACTS!

[@teddyray8597]

I'm so glad this channel exists. It is such a delight to see these things that I either missed the first time or have just completely forgotten over the years.

[@SaltyChip]

Jay Leno’s music booker flipping out on not getting first dibs on a fake musical guest just made my day!!! Lollll

[@econhelp583]

The Chris Farley entrance is off the charts extraordinary! Absolutely Fantastic! I can’t believe this is the first time I have seen it! Thanks!

[@gigglekuh7640]

The Fresh Step joke and its escalation is hilarious!!!! 🤣😂🤣 I feel like I remember seeing the John Malkovich sketch live as a child in Australia. So many great memories and laughs from Rodney. Thanks for sharing!

[@aprylrittenhouse4562]

Fresh step is also appearing at your local Walmart as a kitty litter

[@Novaheart1998]

This was the best staff fave moments so far!

[@colwilliamnoydb4134]

The stuff that Dave was able to accomplish, and do on his show was historic. There will never ever be anyone like Dave and his show.

[@akfreed6949]

Sniff sniff Tito get me a tissue

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

@@akfreed6949 No, you need a diaper.

[@akfreed6949]

@@RideAcrossTheRiver yo mama

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

@@akfreed6949 Nope, yours, dingbat.

[@petewhite85]

LOVE Staff Favorite Moments. Thank you.

[@rocketreindeer]

I howled at all of this stuff. Legendary! The Malkovich "I put my jammies on all by myself, Mommy" etc. never doesn't make me laugh hilariously.

[@brianginn90]

My family moved to the town next to Kankakee the year it was gifted the gazebos. It was such a big deal. In high school, my friends and I would go see both of the gazebos, one at the train station, the other at a park by the river. My high school garage band even had a song dedicated to the gazebos. Legendary stuff right there.

[@tubeod]

🤣

[@kstepko]

It’s hilarious that The Tonight Show fell for “Jimmy’s Coming Home”. The ‘rinds for sale’ stand should have been their first clue.

[@HfnfNrnd]

Typical of Leno...out of touch

[@Area_Man]

"Does this look infected to you" became my standard pickup line.

[@MichaelLasotaMusic]

I love this. I definitely missed these episodes. Glad to see "new" / old content.

[@sean78745]

I love the idea of a 2 minute bit being outrageously expensive, and it was these random ideas that made letterman so fun to watch

[@ct6852]

Did you see the pumpkin launch that cost forty five thousand dollars...but they did it at night and no one could see where the pumpkin went? lol.

[@tommybarquinero7242]

Great segment! The Fresh Step/fake musical stuff is genius. And Malkovich’s top 10 is one of my all-time favorites. It doesn’t get any better than “Your glasses will be ready in about an hour, Ted Danson!”

[@dontrockwobble]

"we're only fresh together, we can't fresh apart" -possibly best lyric ever (written by Paul Shaffer, it should be noted!)

[@AhmedOnly1]

You were part of THE GREATEST guest entrance.

[@zatransis]

Everyone one of these bits is why I love this show so much.

[@Samlol23_drrich]

Mr Rothman is a talented storyteller. Mixed with the clips,, I really enjoyed every minute of this.

[@jenniferedmonds7069]

Late Show was way before it's time. Remember, it came on late at night and there was no other way to see the antics unfold live but to simply tune in. Brought my teenage daughter there for a taping in Dave's last season. It was awesome but she couldn't comprehend the history of that stage.

[@djm122270]

Man....I love Walter's reactions! He's always been so smooth and cool!🥰

[@andygonsalves2000]

So many amazing bits! That fake musical, Jimmy's Coming Home had me crying laughing.

[@videogameobsession]

This channel has quickly turned out to be the best thing on KZbin.. Or any tube for that matter! It's the best best thing to having Dave back in prime time again. Keep up the great work!

[@robertlantz2206]

I loved Letterman, I want to thank you for all your contributions. Good job. I truly enjoyed that show.

[@sarcasmo57]

That Lou Rawls thing was awesome.

[@williamworrell178]

This is one of the better Best Of’s I’ve seen

[@SidelerMN]

"say it with me folks, 'It's better to have Lou Rawls...'" I find endless enjoyment in rewatching this. RIP Big Red

[@johncopella3741]

Only good thing about having to isolate due to COVID was finding these Letterman staff memories videos. Was a big fan of DL during the NBC days, but missed most of the CBS run, and seeing lots of these for the first time. Pure genius.

[@philipp7156]

These skits are just great. Thx David and all staff involved!

[@bernlin2000]

So Rodney has both directed and written for multiple Spider-man movies now: safe to say he's the most successful writer outside of TV the show ever had, remarkable! That Farley moment is one I had never seen and, like everything with Farley, is instantly legendary.

[@DrTomMD]

Not one but TWO perfect cartwheels after all THAT!!??? WTF?!!! Chris Farley is a bonafide LEGEND. We miss you brother. May God rest your beautiful soul ❤️🙏🏽

[@timidbeauty2355]

👏👏👍👍 I love Chris Farley. He is so missed. Rest his soul.

[@SaltyChip]

I was gonna say the opposite! He used to bust 3 or 4 cartwheels and when I saw him have to stop after 2, I knew something was wrong and he was on a downward spiral. *im kidding and being sarcastic

[@markpr73]

Watching this reminded me just how much I’ve missed Dave and the wackiness of his show during the halcyon years. He was and always will be the best.

[@Memo2Self]

The fact that nobody wondered why a boy band was named after a brand of kitty litter makes the joke even funnier.

[@westleywest7259]

These writer's segments are my favorite!

[@Noname-xi7xi]

The "Fresh Step" gig is simply pure genius.....😂...how can you come up with something like that.....🤣

[@johndavis3921]

This demonstrates the Letterman team's brilliance. When Leno's team and MTV believe a bit is real, and it isn't, it demonstrates to me, from my observation, how pathetically desperate these two were to keep up with the Joneses.

[@marksasahara1115]

Fantastic! I love getting a peak behind the curtain and learning about the show, especially from the writer's room. What makes this so great is that "Fresh Step" is a kitty litter product. Me-e-e-OW!

[@JJ-gf5qs]

In 2015, the gazebos were torn down and a rocking chair was built from the wood, and was sent to Letterman for his retirement. This was organized by Kankakee students who felt the gazebos were symbols of a past they wanted to forget.

[@winonafrog]

Hope it was one of those gigantic Adirondack chairs

[@michaelmcdonald8452]

What past did they want to forget?

[@HHH-ye1ro]

@@michaelmcdonald8452exactly. What a terrible idea.

[@FunkmasterV]

you are reminding me why I loved this show so much

[@Blakeneyd]

I loved The wacky crazy stuff that went on the show. (Especially the celebrity top 10 lists!) It’s so nice to see where some of the ideas came from!

[@ddburrows988]

These writers' picks are super fun. I had watched a lot of Letterman, but many of these clips I had never seen. Thanks for putting them together, they're one heckuvalot more entertaining than the compilations put out by the Lawrence Welk Show.

[@oldmoviesinbwwithsubtitles3501]

Dave needs a 2 hour special, it would totally blow away anything on late night now. I know it will never happen but in the mean time there’s this channel.. 😀👍

[@jdd1979]

Have you watched his Netflix series?

[@ct6852]

I wish he would've taken maybe two or three years off then came back energized. I really don't think he was done.

[@robinheil]

Wow I really missed out having never really watched the show. It's great that they're compiling all these epic moments together

[@kit2770]

"Hmm. We got them a gazebo. What else can we do?" - "Another gazebo?" "That's perfect." 😅 When they pulled the cover off and said "another gazebo!" Lol. So funny.

[@rhuephus]

Thank you Rodney. We all miss Dave and his antics. This is one of the few episodes I missed.

[@MM-vv5pk]

I could watch this for hours. Fantastic insight

[@Nocatsmusic]

Shows how epic the show was, the show of shows, thanks for this show about the show.

[@Redmenace96]

Top Ten things which sound creepy when Malkovich says them- one of the funniest bits, ever. It still gets me, and I've seen it 20 times!

[@Fredrikstbye]

This is the best 19 minutes on youtube.

[@rockturtleneck]

I've always considered the John Malkovich's to be the gold standard of Top Ten lists.

[@donpearson2076]

Great video, loved the insight; the clips were all hilarious.

[@rwhirsch]

i've seen a lot of letterman but i've never seen any of these things....what an amazing show.

[@texashammer4]

Just rewatched this whole video, just brilliant comedy. SO FUNNY 😂

[@johnheart6890]

Fascinating look at what made letterman work so well!

[@aussiepressconferences.4755]

That’s hysterical stuff. So cool that comedy becomes fantasy but reality as well.

[@MrJimpurvis]

So funny, I can remember all of these skits. They're awesome.

[@krawithan]

these are wonderful, keep em coming.

[@videogameobsession]

Haha.I love it! Fresh Step.. Isn't that a cat litter? 😆

[@JCO2002]

Excellent. Many thanks.

[@jurgostuff]

I still have my entire collection of Fresh Step CD's.

[@paulya1269]

malkovich’s top ten is the one of the best ever on Letterman. Laughed so hard first time I saw it.

[@LNSLateNightSaturday]

I think it tells you everything you need to know about the writers on Leno's Tonight Show that they LITERALLY DIDN'T GET THE JOKE. Very on-brand! lol

[@kben24]

Funny how he said a dummy was thrown in the dumpster, but it was actually him!

[@robclarkson5356]

All hilarious - thanks Rodney!

[@stan00ca]

I thought I was a pretty big DL fan - but had never heard about fresh step until now! 😮

[@redbirdsaraceno]

Lionel the intern was one one the funniest comedy segments on Letterman hands down.

[@dwartfarquart9590]

Gazebos was a great bit. Kankakee went along with the bit like a tough Midwestern town with a sense of humor. We went there on our motorcycles and took a group photo(with a camera!). Great people, great town.

[@NoellaScott]

Even the people who worked for Leno were hacks. It's unbelievable, and hilarious.

[@IONAPINKMOXIE]

9:40 he's got a short torso! Leave him alone! 🤣🤣🤣

[@arobsz]

This is the best one yet. Can you please upload Noise Boys?

[@daus975]

I'm a conan guy, but dave is my 1st late night host and damn I miss him! Legend

[@ankhor9252]

Great stuff! Gold Rodney!

[@Koldeman]

You were the guy Farley threw in the dumpster?! I remember that night & I lol'd so hard. I was Letterman obsessed and recorded a lot of shows on VHS so I could enjoy these bits over & over. I had the foresight decades before YT!

[@CliffWentworth]

Sorry to hear you were on VHS. Hope you are sober now

[@ononearts]

The parodies The Late Show did were hilarious, sheer brilliance. That bit about Leno - what a tool he is!

[@lynntalmon]

I love this!! So interesting

[@indieeasmr7101]

This just goes to show how ahead of the curve these writers were. People weren't laughing then, but its funny as hell now. The satire and playing it straight attitude is definitely a more modern style. But Andy Kaufman is still the godfather of it.

[@davidlynch8509]

This Geraldo guy sounds amazing, I wonder what ever became of him and his comedic style.

[@phyllisgarrison7450]

This is great. I love it!

[@GingerCC-he8be]

All of this is what made the show unique, the sincere disrespect and disdain for "pop culture" or any fake "culture"

[@markread7333]

Nobody questioned that Fresh Step was a kitty litter brand?! 😂😂

[@MattTee1975]

It's Paul the Teenage Driver again! He's a legend.

[@DanielleCyr1]

Dude couldn't drive (or parallel park) but they had to give him the driver's license because it was live!

[@1in6win]

The John Mallcovich top ten is an all timer Letterman moment.

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

Okay, if you're getting Walter Matthau to giggle, you're not doing wrong ...

[@didsomebodysaydmt8193]

We were 100% robbed of many years more of Chris Farley!! The man was an absolute giant of physical comedy and an absolute gem of a human being. R.I.P Chris Farley.

[@davidnorth3411]

Theirs only one Dave , great years of watching these skits , felt part of a group , the secret sauce in the kitchen of comedy

[@Ultradude604]

Watch the stunt when Farley opened the door and went outside to dump the guy. He dumps the guy. He turns around to get back in the building. That door was half a second away from closing. He made it back in in the nick of time.

[@UnkleBen]

OOOOOH !!! Fresh Step 🔥 never 🔥 🧡 forget 🧡

[@kirkstable]

That luggage bit gag has a touch of mystery science theater 3000 to it.

[@chrisghikes1693]

I lost count of how many times the show would prank the audience and they wouldn't get it. I also recall the two separate times the show gave a gazebo to Kankakee. The first time, the show had the mayor on video, live from Kankakee, and you could not envision a downtown area that was more dead than Kankakee. The mayor was the only person down there.

[@rr7firefly]

Poor Chris Farley. He could be genuinely out of control. To all appearances, once that adrenaline kicked in his speedometer was broken. Part of our fascination with him was his boyish charm and lack of pretension. But we also wondered how far he would take things. In the end he went too far. Rest in Peace, Chris.

[@MarkKanaster-ev6pq]

So good

[@EgaoKage]

I remember Fresh Step! It was like a super creepy late-night produce commercial.

[@ericmalone3213]

When the "Fresh Step" parody becomes indistinguishable from the legitimate music industry standard, you know your popular culture is in big trouble!

[@oldstockwhitecanadian2492]

I recall watching, when it aired, the Malkovich skit... OMG! It was hilarious then, the idea is still gold today! So many insane awesome moments that Dave and his crew birthed to late night TV... Fresh Step...What a kitsch joke lol I still cannot believe, to this day, how it went as big as it did!!!!! Ahahahah! Just awesome gold moments, well worth a watch! I think it's cool that Dave allows his staff to share their memories and perspectives on what they felt was their best work. Am amazed the amount of views on this channel and very little thumbs up! C'mon guys? We're talking an entire carreer here shared, FOR YOUR PLEASURE! A little sollicitude to appreciate would be nice. SMASH THAT THUMBS UP!

[@tvviewer4500]

Way to go lou rawls for going along with that - what a bad ass bit

[@curtislindsey1736]

They should take all these stories from the staff and make a documentary.

[@the406seadonkey6]

Well, they kind of are dude.

[@AiMR]

My cat was a huge fan of Fresh Step.

[@Joe-bs2gv]

Underrated comment

[@FloridaJack]

Great video.