Talk Show Hosts Collection on Letterman, Part 5 of 7: Merv Griffin

This is my own supplementary material to the six-part documentary "The Story of Late Night" that will air on CNN. I selected seven talk-show hosts who had guested on Dave. Fifth up: Merv Griffin..
The David Letterman Show:
1. September 23, 1980. _Book: _Merv_.
Late Night:
2. November 11, 1982. Book: _ From Where I Sit: Merv Griffin's Book of People_. Later joined by Brooke Shields.
3. August 20, 1986. Dave mentions Merv's last show.
Late Show:
4. 1995 to 1998: Montage of Dave wondering if Merv is still alive:
November 22, 1995. Monologue.
January 11, 1996. With Jason Alexander.
June 7, 1996: With Rosie O'Donnell.
December 12, 1996: New Books.
April 4, 1997: CBS Mailbag.
May 7, 1997: On Dinah Shore (died 2-24-94).
June 20, 1997: With Siskel & Ebert.
May 5, 1998: With disgraced man-child con-man.
June 5, 1998: Live Remote: Walter Matthau and his barber at Merv's Beverly Hilton Hotel.
5. June 9, 1998. Dave tries to call Merv.
6. September 23, 1999. Know Your Merv Griffin.
7. September 28, 1999. Nathan Lane: "Simply Mervelous."
8. January 31, 2002. Merv guests on Late Show for the first time.
9. January 8, 2003. book: Merv: Making the Good Life Last.
10. February 10, 2004. What Did Merv Have for Lunch? with Rupert Jee.
11. June 6, 2005. Biff hangs out on Merv's yacht.
12. Dave's eulogy: August 20, 2007.

[@WTFG78]

Merv Griffin’s tombstone actually reads “I will NOT be right back after these messages!”

[@Bill_Woo]

Yep, he wasn't joking - well, he was telling the truth.

[@johnsjohnson448]

Merv was the best. A Creator, Producer, Host, Entertainer, Singer, Composer, Business Person who understood what people wanted to watch on Television. Dave was brutally honest and this is what made him so funny and great. Legendary Broadcasters who became Icons in their own Right. This is marvelous work! Thanks for sharing.

[@amfm889]

"You start and you fail here, and they move you on to a better time period." Prescient observations by Merv on failure in show biz delivered to Dave on the morning show. And the rest is history.

[@janilindqvist2021]

This was great video again, thanks! I saw now the first time any interviews with Merv and I was surprised to see how he seemed to have a completely different level of rapport with Dave than anyone else. And also seemed to be a very funny guy indeed.

[@johnsjohnson448]

@@janilindqvist2021 Merv had the hots for Dave. LOL. His book was great and I still have a copy of it. Merv was terrific! This is a wonderul job of editing. Thanks for sharing.

[@rickarra1833]

Metv's success is not based solely on his talk show. His contribution to daytime TV is unmatched, period

[@troylowe814]

Wow, so much wisdom coming from Merv Griffin in just a few minutes. He knew how to play the game.

[@HHH-ye1ro]

What a great collection. I always loved Merv’s delivery and voice. Met him in Atlantic City when I was a kid. Nice man.

[@jimlaforte1755]

Merv was simply the best. Thanks for sharing! Merv never shared his Politics (even though he was Besties with Nancy Reagan) or Sexuality and kept his personal life and point of view private.

[@Student____2025__1]

How private did he keep it when he was assaulting young males?

[@gavinbrando8255]

Wow Merv was so right and the fact that Dave left the morning show to go to the greatest night show of allm time after this was amazing

[@jasminespencer3992]

19:24 when Dave says “no ma’am” watch Merv’s eyes! Awesome interviews Just started watching these ones with Merv and they’re fascinating especially to watch them spend 30 years

[@feggyduss6463]

Don, I both love and appreciate your passion. Thanks for sharing your work. Dave was terrific here and Merv was just great.

[@JackSilbert]

A really nice arc to this collection. Thanks as always, Don!

[@FredLord-sp4ym]

Nathan Lane as "Merv" was hysterical! "At the 'Uranus' Theater." LOL

[@slbenson8233]

Don I really appreciate these collections!!! Thank you!!

[@GregCurtin45]

Love this! Thanks for the compilation of Merv & Dave.

[@pattysherwood7091]

Why does Merv remind me of a quiet Richard Simmons?

[@jedblaugrund597]

I found another Merv reference: September 12, 1989. Dave facetiously implies that next night's guest Nanci Griffith is Merv's daughter and asks Paul if all of Merv's kids are in show business.

[@erik_griswold]

Don, I really appreciate all the morning show stuff.

[@stevecotov9026]

I forgot until now that I met Merv's ex-wife Julann. She got the radio stations as part of the divorce settlement with him and I was selling music on tape to radio stations. It was in the conference room at her attorney's office in Century City. I was a young guy, it was kind of surreal. And I didn't make the sale.

[@opencurtin]

God Dave is so raw with Merv Griffin ..

[@FredLord-sp4ym]

3:43 LOL! Thanks for sharing.

[@alwaysemployed656]

After watching this video, I immediately got gay vibes out of Merv Griffin. I google it to see if there's info on it and found that his closest friends did reveal he died as a closeted gay man. I did not know if he was or not before watching this video. I just got the gay vibes from just watching him on this video.

[@grioulaloula8594]

2:36 Merv telling Dave to lock eyes with him. 😀

[@nigelmarshallkenyonabbott8684]

Dave has the best genuine laugh in show business

[@brian_nirvana]

28:00 wow all of that culturally significant work, though just 'video/audio'; to be wiped. It's like when the Romans burnt the Library at Alexandria. Sort of a comparison, you can see it.

[@dianewinters8628]

I remember Merv being one of those, "I can't believe he asked that star that question", interviewer.

[@scottzilla1979]

I want to see Merv interacting with Interpol.

[@uberhund72]

There was a sequence when Jeff Altman was a guest on the NBC show and he one time he brought with him a clip of himself with Merv Griffin, and Merv would meow intermittently, claiming he always had a speech issue, and that they would edit out the meowing in post production. Anyone remember that?

[@dongiller]

October 2, 1986.

[@uberhund72]

@@dongiller That's good to know I was remembering correctly. It was so strange to see the two of them interacting the way they did, but Merv was especially hilarious.

[@dongiller]

@@uberhund72 I should have included it here. Drat.

[@FredLord-sp4ym]

In the first segment, Merv seems to have the hots for young Dave. By his last visit, Mr. Griffin had beome a bitter old queen. LOL

[@govinda102000]

Merv like Dave had great taste in music. I remember seeing Gary Newman perform on Merv's show. I sensed Dave at times was a bit uncomfortable with Merv.

[@FredLord-sp4ym]

5:37 Epic! LOL.

[@user-ru6ln9er4g]

Some of those old black & white Popeye cartoons are incredible

[@MrRoboto1963]

I've been wondering why in the Steve Martin appearances I've seen in your compilations, every time I hear Dave list Steve's movies, I've never heard them mention The Jerk or the Man With Two Brains. Those are still two of my favorite Steve Martin movies. I bring it up here, because Merv Griffin was in the Man With Two Brains. So that's another movie he was in. That movie came out when Dave was on NBC. I just wonder why I never saw it mentioned or promoted. Were they maybe embarrassed about it? It wasn't his best movie obviously, but I liked it because of how stupid it was, and I have fond memories of watching it.

[@jimlaforte1755]

1:10:25 1:27:48 The Grand Entrance of a Legendary Author, Television Pioneer and Businessman. Ryan Seacreast had a great mentor and friend.

[@user-vg2eg7oo5n]

Watch Merv talking to Craig Ferguson about kilts. It seemed quite uncloseted.

[@phaser4686]

Don, you mentioned that "The Story of Late Night" Documentary will air on CNN. Do you know when it will air?

[@dongiller]

I don’t yet.

[@wolfchrt]

It was supposed to air 2020. Then they pushed it back to Winter of 2021. Then Summer of 2021 I think. Makes me think it'll never come

[@LerockJohn]

Did the Smithsonian Institute call you recently Mr. Giller?

[@dongiller]

Any reason why they would?

[@tur74d56]

He grave does actually say I will NOT be back after these messages

[@ihavefallenandicantreachmy2113]

Nathan Lane is great, in, "The Mervcage." (in case i forget)

[@pillettadoinswartsh4974]

I wish Mr. Griffin hadn't had to live his entire life in the closet. He's such a sweet, kind person. Would have been nice for him to be himself.

[@dongiller]

Maybe he was being himself by choosing to be where he was.

[@govinda102000]

I am thankful that people who knew didn't push and ruin him. Merv was a legend and wonderful person.

[@nigelmarshallkenyonabbott8684]

@@dongiller Great point that nobody considers. I'm gay, and I don't feel it necessary to tell everyone. I pick and choose to tell some and others either have to figure it out, or they will never know. I don't come across as a stereotypical gay man, so some are either in disbelief, or stunned

[@yyyyyyyyyyyy7036]

That really is on his t stone.

[@johnsjohnson448]

1:01:36 Paul was always Hillarious!

[@sugarjoe50]

Eva Gabor was his beard in later years.

[@johnsjohnson448]

37:53 LOL

[@RunawayPancake1]

The first clip - probably sometime in 1980 - from early in the run of The David Letterman Show. If so,, Dave was 33 or 34, and Merv was about 55.

[@dongiller]

The first clip - and all subsequent clips - are identified in the video. Also, there’s a description that no one reads.

[@RunawayPancake1]

@@dongiller Oops. You're right, of course. And thanks for including the descriptions of the clips.

[@jimlaforte1755]

1:59:30 Paul Shaffer. HYSTERICAL...

[@rickarra1833]

Merv, Mike Douglas, and Dinah Shore were total pro's

[@jimlaforte1755]

Merv, Mike and Dinah all came up the ranks as live stage performers and recording artists.

[@cindykaywebster4643]

Why am I’m seeing ‘Wordwide Pants’ superimposed?!

[@dongiller]

It was that or no video.

[@GeneBurnett]

I don't know if I'm just more germ conscious with this virus going around but in that scene when they went to the deli to get a "Merv Griffin" sandwich, that cook back there with the gray hair was uh...not exactly complying with board of health regulations...

[@prmaninla]

Thanks for pointing that out Karen.

[@jimlaforte1755]

@@prmaninla GUFFAW! LOL! Hilarious! Obviously, "Karen" has never worked in a restaurant.

[@nigelmarshallkenyonabbott8684]

@@jimlaforte1755 I have, and covid would be a step up for the germs in restaurants

[@djs2356]

Merv was gay and very much closeted. In his older years, when he was already successful and very financially secure, he could've helped a lot of younger gay people by coming out. Successful, loved, and gay; America didn't put those traits together at that time. He would've been a good role model.

[@steveconn]

Closeted gay I guess but charming, erudite man; few and far between today (charming and erudite I mean, not gay people).