The Panicky Guy Collection, 1984, Revised

[@cory3518]

I was a junior in high school and never missed an episode of Late Night. Chris Elliott was the one thing I always looked forward to. A creative comic Genius.

[@chrisvincent7999]

Me too!

[@rockturtleneck]

Chris Elliot - national treasure. Thank you so much for posting.

[@leonardstilwell1894]

Dave was the master of seeming not entirely complicit with everything

[@bijibadness]

i can only imagine watching this back in 1984 . . . was there even anything else like this on the air? maybe _Saturday Night Live?_ i dunno, this seems much weirder. especially with them bringing him back ON to discuss the upcoming sketches at some length afterward. it's amazing. thanks for this, Don.

[@acarnold]

Bijinius Cross Its the birth of meta comedy. Or rather meta-meta comedy, So abstract and so awesome.

[@trs4437]

Comedy has gotten much less sophisticated. But Letterman was pretty cutting edge, and very cool. He had some weird guests too - Harvey Pekar, for example. Incidentally, Chris Elliott’s dad was Bob Elliott from Bob and Ray. Their humour was absurd and very dry.

[@gregb8565]

Anyone else watch this show just to see what chris Elliot skit would come up next? The flowers and taking bows - like Sir Laurence Olivier after hamlet - always and still made me LOL Monty python sctv and later early SNL was my cutting edge go to - but between dave and Conan it was a golden time for network tv

[@johng618]

Nope. The Letterman show was one of a kind

[@Ron898]

38 years later and it still makes me laugh out loud.

[@ronniechilds2002]

Same here. Chris Elliot is possibility the funniest person on Earth.

[@bijibadness]

i love how the Panicky Guy is constantly screaming at people to get out of his way, despite the fact that nobody is in it.

[@markeggins890]

That's real panic!

[@mckinleymorganfield8494]

Letterman in the 80's, nothing better on T.V. A big part of that was Chris Elliot.

[@OhanaFilms]

THANK YOU for organizing and sharing all these incredible clips!

[@crs290]

Dave seems rather glib about some very well-placed fears of Panicky Guy.

[@alrivers2297]

In some weird way, it's hard to believe this show actually existed. If not for these videos I would think it was all a bizarre dream or something.

[@IamCatharinemme]

Very well put

[@brianmoore5498]

oh,..it was real.

[@jungastein3952]

If you think this was strange you should take a look at General Hospital from the same era. I watched it recently and could not believe that the sets had not been designed to look as fake as possible

[@richardpowell1772]

@@jungastein3952Remember the one when they were on the island? I was totally addicted to that storyline at the time. Now it seems ridiculous, but to my then 10 year old self, it was awesome!

[@Jeremiah7-ox2nj]

Letterman feels the same way. But his stacks and stacks of cash from creating lame humor reminds him it did exist despite his being a huge douchebag.

[@jimmyguitar2933]

I love how you could hear the production assistant's voice on the second Gordon Cooper call.

[@Raaaaaaaaaaandy]

As a fan of Conan, I always loved Brian McCann's "There's no reason to live!" character. I see how heavily influenced they were by Chris Elliot's genius.

[@angelthman1659]

Chris Elliot is the comedy superstar that never was. He should have been.

[@quad5186]

I’m going to have a Get a Life marathon very soon. I don’t know, but has he ever done any conventions? Would love to get some chance to meet him, just a ‘hello’ would have me losing it .

[@bijibadness]

Dave really plays "trying to go on despite disturbances" well.

[@caniican]

Several years later .... after Dave had handed over the show to Conant I got to roam around in that studio on a Saturday night when no one was there because my friend worked on Saturday Night Live and as his guests he showed us around 30 Rock. What an unbelievable thrill just walk on that stage sit in Conan's chair and interview my friend for a few minutes who was sitting in the guest chair. And since Dave was right in that spot creating all that magic it is just so wonderful of a memory. So much great comedy and music in that room it's astounding ! Thank you for posting this my good man! You put in a lot of time archiving this stuff and we appreciate it

[@FoxRivers778]

The look on the poor Penny's face when Chris runs from the studio is priceless.

[@bijibadness]

good lord, these bits just get better and better. the final one with The Colonel "screaming" and Dave wondering about a stray cat hair is probably the best one of all. that's amazing - a straight line up in hilarity with each one.

[@pizazzpizazzpizazz1]

Don’t we all wish we had a Colonel Cooper in our lives to call us up when times are bad and lift us up outta our funks?

[@acarnold]

Mulch What would Colonel Cooper think of the COVID 19 situation? Oh, if he were only here to give us a rousing speech!

[@PittsburghMarky]

YES! YES! A THOUSAND TIMES YES!

[@johnl5350]

The vacuum running him over {presumably} brings the steamroller in Austin Powers to mind, two decades earlier. Ahead of its time. Edit: Excuse me, apparently its a floor waxer!

[@PaulNissenson]

I wish I knew about this years ago. Thanks for creating this compilation.

[@littleone1353]

Love your Letterman collections! Thanks!!

[@hughmcaloon6506]

so glad you put these together. Thanks for sharing!

[@ernestolombardo5811]

What a stupid concept! Then the power and the pathos hit, and you, caught with your guard down, are powerless to stop them. You have been SERVED, yet again, by the genius of Chris Elliott in his mid-80s phase, his best phase!

[@MrThermostatic]

My mother would yell down the stairs and say "what are you laughing at" and now I'm laughing just as hard! You are right, mid eighties Chris Elliott can stand up against the greatest comedy ever!

[@yaywhewclips242]

this was vintage Dave and Chris. I loved this show in this era, I had several tapes of his show (along with Friday Night Videos, that was on Dave's 1980s slot)

[@JeffBergkamp]

Thank you Tim!

[@kuziokundera]

Meta humor way before there was a phrase for meta humor.

[@seaoftranquility7228]

Absolutely.

[@Longshot_NYC]

I cried at the end.

[@WTFG78]

Slight peek into the making of the show can be faintly heard in Col. Cooper's 2nd call to Chris (in the dressing room) at 12:40, where a staffer at the show is reading the lines to Gordon at about the same time Chris is delivering them on air. Slight audio flub, but a cool way to see how the bits were constructed. :)

[@dongiller]

Good catch! All of Col.Cooper’s calls were prerecorded. True, we can hear a woman reading Chris’s lines to him, but it wasn’t live with Chris and Dave.

[@dougie0109]

Colonel Gordon Cooper. Masterstroke.

[@jrcflaus]

Today's shows don't even come close!

[@jeffdawson2786]

80’s Letterman, always an adventure.

[@tedkier3264]

thank you Don for uploading this assemblage of panicky guy.including the flashcard reprise near the end.

[@dongiller]

Thanks; grab what you can: last night I received 12 bogus copyright takedowns, and with it, 12 copyright strikes. They're bogus because all of the claimants are anime-related interests. Needless to say, there is no anime content in any of my videos. I've contested the claims, but if You Tube doesn't make things right, my channel and account will disappear in six days. Infuriating.

[@tedkier3264]

Don I've meant to bring up your shortage of animes in yer late night compilations for quite some time!

[@dongiller]

This used to be cute, but my channel is scheduled to be no more next week. All 900+ videos, 21,7 million views, and nearly 19,000 subscribers, and you think it's funny.

[@tedkier3264]

don..i dont think its funny at all. you know me. i was under assumption 'they' purge copyrighted material often. how can i help, brother?

[@dongiller]

Know the facts as I stated them: these are fraudulent claims, and I'm going to lose everything because of it. You can't do a damn thing about it.

[@seanwelch71]

This, a top meme of my childhood. I love Chris’s post performance towel. The towel could be a prop of its own.

[@daudidaudi]

The jokes were wayyyyyy ahead of their time.

[@dhpbear2]

9:23 - I LOVE this sarcastic take! I 'm curious why this was the 2nd one in this collection. I would've figured it would be about 4th or 5th.

[@johnellizz]

That dog reaction shot at 31:47

[@jaysmith3095]

Colonel Gordon Cooper. They were so hilariously obscure.

[@dongiller]

I put up the complete Gordon Cooper phone calls in two versions: The Gordon Cooper Phone Calls Collection on Late Night, 1984, 1989 (full): kzbin.info/www/bejne/bGqriamKmKeMjdE The Gordon Cooper Phone Calls Collection on Late Night, 1984, 1989 (Edited): kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZ6zhKqhl8ilnNU

[@chrisfreemesser5707]

How great is it that those two got married in real life about 2 years later?

[@IamCatharinemme]

This is timeless comedy

[@ZBot47]

Damn fine show. One of the best things about America. So good.

[@paulcarpenter999]

I loved these skits, thanks for posting!

[@dongiller]

Thanks! I've also put together in here the complete collections of The Conspiracy Guy, The Guy Under the Seats, Kenny the Gardener, and Merrill Markoe's My Dog Bob (and Stan). More to come.

[@paulcarpenter999]

+Don Giller Great, I hope the Fugitive Guy is in there somewhere too!

[@dongiller]

+Paul Carpenter It will be. :)

[@axeman6598]

My favorite part is Chris promoting where he will be panicking in the near future.

[@christopherdowns8365]

This video has changed my life I can I can

[@Michael-xe3dn]

"Moose Murders" reference and Colonel Cooper. Terrific.

[@vjstv0101]

Current discussions about conspiracy theories make Chris' character relevant even in 2022.

[@estebansteverincon7117]

29:47 What he says here, _still_ holds true, even 38 years later. It's really sad :(

[@christopherdowns8365]

Now that is fine television.

[@NagasakiBladers]

Absolute genius development

[@FoxRivers778]

I would have asked Gordon Cooper if he was calling from the moon. Then I would have him say, "No Dave I never made it to the moon. That was the other guy". Anyway it sounded like transmissions between Mission Control and space. Good sound effect. You gotta love the part where Chris got his ass handed to him by Gordy.

[@beatlesdog1]

He is also Roland Schitt the Mayor Of Schitts creek (This is a comment from future man 2020)

[@FoxRivers778]

Whenever a Chris bit ends, like when he's on his death bed, they always have to to a reflective tribute. Oh, wait but not before Gordy calls again. Oh, but were not done with him yet, and his ghost appears. And then Gordy again and then he dies. Now that was bit well done.

[@kengruz669]

I can't help but wish the panic meltdowns built up over 30 seconds or so and weren't so rushed through.

[@terrywright8731]

This stuff is great. More, more!!

[@WTFG78]

40:21- Dave: "Well, at some point last week, [The Panicky Guy] suddenly passed away..." Audience: Wooo! [applauds] Vicious. Hilarious.

[@gordongekko2781]

[35:12] Who would have guessed that decades later a thing called social media would exist and it would make George Takei even more popular with geeks than when he was on Star Trek!

[@salgoud12]

I wish Col. Gordon Cooper would call Don Giller to thank him for his great public service in developing this channel.

[@dongiller]

A kind sentiment, but Col. Cooper passed away in 2004.

[@salgoud12]

@@dongiller RIP. Also, was it really the Colonel calling in? I always thought it was an impersonator

[@dongiller]

@@salgoud12 Honest to god, the real deal.

[@salgoud12]

@@dongiller that's awesome! Thanks Don

[@ForbinColossus]

@7:01 Gordo Cooper! love his voice @20:01 Don, please make a clip of Gordon Cooper calls. His voice is iconic astro-speak

[@greatmcluhansghost7134]

So out there, meta quirky. Nothing like it before or since.

[@HerosTheme]

This is probably what inspired Conan's "There's no reason to live" guy

[@oledevo]

So this is where Norm got his ideas from.

[@ignorecorporatenews]

GREAT POST

[@padraig29]

This might a dumb question but, Is that the real Col. Gordon Cooper calling in each clip? or just a Letterman staffer? Thanks for sharing Don.

[@dongiller]

Padraig Glennon It is. Back in 2000, Steve O'Donnell told me that he thinks it was Matt Wickline's original idea. Steve would call Cooper in Colorado and ask he he would provide the voice for a future segment, and Cooper obliged. There were 16 calls in total, all but one of them in 1984. The last would be five years later.

[@padraig29]

Don Giller Thats absolutely amazing. Some really well timed jokes. The last one, were he fake screams is especially funny. Great Video Don

[@dongiller]

Padraig Glennon More from Steve O'Donnell: He was extremely apprehensive in asking for the scream, but Cooper said no problem.

[@padraig29]

Don Giller Talk about a dream job!! Steve O'Donnell should be running one of big network talk shows, All that experience and talent. Thank you so much for the cool story. ✌

[@dongiller]

Padraig Glennon The best part is, he's a super, super nice guy.

[@chewycenter7690]

30:48 CC: "another installment in the popular segment we call stupid Patrick's"

[@alann5003]

Bless you sir!

[@pwk22]

I pity those too young to have seen Dave Ver. 1. Show was so damn funny.

[@yuriydisman6829]

Chris is so good!!!

[@queenslander954]

I think the panicky guy in the future morphed into Tucker Carlson.

[@wuhaninstituteofvirology]

this is 90’s humor (but pioneered by letterman in the 80’s ~ way ahead of it’s time, & way influential to all comedy that would follow)

[@greenthom]

You get sucked into these. Into the progression and madness. I almost watched it again and got two clips in. The excessiveness is almost easier to digest on the second viewing. It is not unsimilar to watching a movie.

[@jdhutche35]

Woah that was scary. I've never heard colonel cooper so upset..... I'm glad it all worked out, I'd hate to see what he could be capable of when he's agry.

[@dongiller]

All of Gordon Cooper’s calls here - kzbin.info/www/bejne/bGqriamKmKeMjdE

[@ranatlas]

Dave read a letter of mine on Viewer Mail during the very early years of the show, maybe 1982 or '83. More than likely 1982. If you can find it and upload it, and let me know about it, I'll send you $20. My name is Randy A. and my letter had to with Dave's show on cable TV vs. network TV. A friend who saw it said Dave's answer was something like, "Don't you read the papers?" and he showed a newspaper with a fake headline. Thank you, sir.

[@dongiller]

Haven't found it yet. Searched within "Viewer Mail" for "Randy," then searched again for "newspaper," and again for "cable." I checked all of the shows with each sub-search but no match. I'll keep looking. Do you remember anything else that might help pin this down? Like the time of the year, anything in your personal history (such as your school year, or anything)? I'm eager to track this down. And not for the $$; hold on to that.

[@skipperiffic]

@@dongiller Did you used to work for Dave or something? Thanks for all the uploads. I was\am a big fan.

[@dongiller]

skipperiffic Nope, never worked for Dave. And thanks!

[@LordMarlle]

This is in my opinion one of the better Letterman running gags from back in the day. The guy under the floors probably worked much better for regular viewers back in the day, but this holds up as a collection even for a first time viewer as myself

[@mercster]

His bride was gorgeous! Hey thanks for the uploads!

[@dongiller]

That's his real-life wife Paula Niedert.

[@mercster]

You know what...when I saw them interact, especially the 2nd one with her (where they share a kiss), I could sense a lot of chemistry between them. She looked in love! What a great story! Thanks for the post and for the info.

[@larslarsen1444]

He was killed by the floor cleaning machine.

[@danielpoitras1858]

also, i noted that the last clip, #12 is dated before the death clip... typo? might it be the 26th?

[@nickwindolf4523]

Hello Mr. Giller - slightly ridiculous question but I know you can be very on the ball with this sort of thing. Do you have any idea what the "panicky guy love theme" is, for lack of a better name? I tried Shazaming it to no result. I'd guess it's some sort of generic film score. If you have any information I'd really appreciate it; I'm a huge fan of light music, which was so well-showcased in these early episodes. Thanks very much, Nick

[@nickwindolf4523]

also, did Hal do the voice for Gordon Cooper? ha ha

[@nickwindolf4523]

I hope you're well

[@dongiller]

I live for ridiculous questions, but, unfortunately, not a clue what that love theme music was. I suspect it’s from a 1940s film.

[@nickwindolf4523]

@@dongiller Hahah, well thanks very much anyway.

[@poec3292]

Sounds like 'Somewhere' from West Side Story?

[@vinayseth1114]

I bet Chris was greatly inspired by Andy Kaufmann.

[@janets9179]

I think Andy used to make Dave nervous. On the other hand, you can tell dave really likes Chris.

[@gallery7596]

Maybe it was the choice of music but that death scene really was kind of grim to watch. Good thing Chris came back as a ghost and made it funny again. "The Fugitive Guy" (I think) is still his funniest running bit, though.

[@janets9179]

Did you watch Chris's show, get a life? He died at the end of most episodes.

[@realdalegribble]

Is it just me? Every gag, skit, joke Dave seems so unsure of himself in each, spanning so many videos.

[@FoxRivers778]

Chris should have gotten on his knee and handed the page lady a ring before meeting his demise with the floor waxer. Oh, heck wait, he skipped the proposal and went right to the wedding. Then after that he has kids and the whole family is taken out. Honestly, I thought the wouldn't survive the high voltage room.

[@rogerallen6644]

Fun fact, that was actually his wife. Makes it even funnier.

[@jasonfullerton7763]

@@rogerallen6644 Funner facts: they weren't married when those sketches were filmed but are married to this day.

[@davesworld7961]

I am thinking about selling another one of my official David Letterman Show Pannicky Guy Calendars with Chris Elliot magnet heads. Look for it on Ebay.

[@kolst8406]

Your channel is great. Do you have Gallagher's appearance?

[@dongiller]

Thanks; he appeared twice -- March 30, 1983, and April 9, 1985. Not that eager to upload his schtick.

[@kolst8406]

I'm not a fan. In one of his appearances he got really defensive and behaved badly while talking to Dave. That's what I want to see.

[@dongiller]

kolst8406 I'd have to see the specific segment, but I'll bet it was all part of the act.

[@kolst8406]

It's been 30 years since I've seen it, but, no, it wasn't part of the act. I've been looking for it for years. If you've got it, please post it. I think it would have been his second appearance because I missed the first couple of years of Letterman.

[@dongiller]

+kolst8406 Well, not knowing the specifics, it'd be impossible to locate. But Chris had appeared on the show countless times by the time you may have seen it (going by your memory of having missed the first couple of years. Having digitized and thus watched every show up to the beginning of 1986 as of today, I can tell you that everything he did on the show was an act. If he appeared disrespectful, it was part of the bit.

[@mikeway2223]

This sketch reminds me of the “I nave no reason to live” guy on Conan.

[@plissken2156]

Nowadays, this type of behavior is just considered common sense.

[@acarnold]

So totally random and bone-desert dry. There was just nothing else like this at the time. Colonel Gordon Cooper! Ha! He reminds me of that creepy cowboy character in Mulholland Drive ( kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJWYeXiAmch1ra8)

[@BURCHDOGSHOW]

So I guess the woman Christ married on the show is his real wife

[@dongiller]

Correct. That's Paula Niedert.

[@jonhohensee3258]

burchdog - Christ?

[@garyfoster3854]

Christ got married?!? That’ll make the news!!!

[@johnellizz]

Gordon Cooper sounds like Forrest Gump.

[@starrshine5976]

Was Chris Elliott a writer on "Late Night"?

[@dongiller]

Yes.

[@FoxRivers778]

@@dongiller He started out as a page, right?

[@dongiller]

Fox Rivers No, as a production assistant.

[@FoxRivers778]

@@dongiller I got the feeling pages and production assistants had similar duties. Sort of like interns. Did you work in TV?

[@dongiller]

Fox Rivers Far different. Pages worked for NBC. They had no input at all in the production of any show. Chris worked for Late Night, and he was allowed much input in its production. No, I’ve never worked in television or any other media. I was involved with my college radio station as a student, but that was 51 years ago.

[@Gregatseasonalsteins]

Didn't he become the Fugitive Guy too?

[@dongiller]

Also compiled on this channel.

[@josephbarclayross6216]

Chris Elliot (and his partner Adam Resnick) are comedy geniuses. But, unfortunately, very, very sick.

[@dongiller]

Panicky Guy was pre Adam. This was an Elliott-Wickline collaboration.

[@josephbarclayross6216]

Thanks for the clarification, Don. Wickline and Elliot are then be congratulated for classic hilarious stuff Thanks for the laughs!

[@dhpbear2]

11:43 - Julia Louis-Dreyfus?

[@dongiller]

Sandra Furton.

[@chrissullivan40]

The conspiracy guy is today’s Twitter (X).

[@banzobeans]

19:05 pray what is a dickie?

[@dongiller]

Google is our friend.

[@MOTOPAC]

Seinfeld at 33:00?

[@dongiller]

Yup.

[@laurabraniganwas33intheyea25]

LOL!!!!! Eat your heart out Pee Wee Herman, Jerry Seinfeld!