The Shirley MacLaine Collection on Letterman, 1987-2011

[@ShaneCurtis-ru1zc]

I love Shirley MaClaine...eccentric? Maybe...but she is a brilliant lady and from a class of actors that are a dying breed. She's amazing.

[@voicetube]

You know Don, you are definitely one of my favorite KZbinrs - this video is a great example of the care and time you put into compiling, not just a bunch of clips (which would still be amazing) on a certain guest or subject, but how you add "spices" by even including clips from other shows, etc. Your videos are NOT just compilations but EVENTS, and I'm sure I'm not alone as a fan to let you know that I (we) really appreciate you! As it is just a couple days before "Navidad," allow me to say Merry Christmas to you, sir!!

[@dongiller]

Thank you!! And the same to you and yours!

[@KBTime]

That Costas/Letterman interview is gold. I could listen to the two of them all day. Thx for this, Donz!

[@dongiller]

Here’s the full, raw interview, pre-edits - kzbin.info/www/bejne/bqq2h5SGjpupeLM

[@spuzzlightyeartoo]

Oh what a great Christmas gift! Truly the best moment ever on LN. I remember that I taped this, and watched it the next day, and I was awestruck what just transpired in front of my 20 year old eyes. I'm pretty sure i showed this to everyone.. My friends, my family. It's an awesome moment. It's too bad Dave and Shirley didn't make up by the end of his run.

[@GeneBurnett]

I know her appearance didn't go as planned but I thought it was great. They both had some great lines. Their chemistry was not great but they didn't try to fake it. Unlike today with hardly a real moment on any of the talk shows.

[@GeneBurnett]

And...if she wasn't so invested in her ego and status, didn't take herself so seriously, and was a better sport, this whole thing could have gone smoother. ;~)

[@dustanjhlady]

Yeah. It wasn't a bad interview at all. I was thinking it was going to be a trainwreck.

[@carlodave9]

I guess I’m crazy, I thought Dave was more at fault since he started it. He refused to move on from the past lives thing when Shirley asked him to. He clearly wanted to keep ridiculing her about it, so she became a shit right back. Both refusing to back down. But I’m glad it happened this way too; it was great TV and Dave is so sharp and hilarious when he’s pissed. “Can I check for real things on you now Shirley?” That line alone was worth everything. I wish they had her on more. She brought out the best in Dave just by being her weird self.

[@kerinwills]

@@carlodave9 Dave's definitely the a-hole. It's like he got hung up about her not doing things according to plan when he could have just let it go. Yeah, it was probably stressful for him and the staff, but he got his ego involved. And saying those violent things to her, even in a joking way, was messed up. He needed to just chill, it would have been fine.

[@MsSlimFace]

@@carlodave9 I stopped watching Letterman after Rosie Perez was on. I'd had enough. I understand that his whole schtick is making fun of his guests, but he took it too far that night. He constantly made fun of her accent, and that would have been ok to a point. However, every time she tried to answer his question, he interrupted her with ridiculing the accent. She couldn't get more than a few words out before he was on the attack again, and again, and again. Decidedly unfunny, at least to me. As far as Shirley goes, it was heart-warming to see her make him squirm. I read somewhere that he ended the interview because he didn't know how to handle her. It's so annoying to answer a question, only to have it asked again and again, like the person asking expects a different answer. People like Letterman need to learn when to move on. The big turnoff in a nutshell: total lack of respect. I only watched this today because I wanted to see Shirley give it to him again. LOL

[@pault9043]

"In one of her previous lives, I was one of her slaves". Jimmy Walker kills it.

[@TadKingsbury]

I never was aware of Miss MacLaine. But I happened by happenstance to see ,Some Came Running". Her performance knocked me on my ass . I never missed another film she was in . Brilliant .Now if I could just learn to spell her name correctly .

[@joseh3564]

"I'd like to thank 2/3 of my guests for being here tonight." 🤣

[@johnsjohnson448]

Shirley was fiesty, passive/aggressive , and completely nuts which made her a great guest. In the End, Dave completely eviscerated Shirley. Hysterical. Thanks for sharing!

[@ilovetati91]

that's not quite what happened

[@mariedewitt5033]

Not from my viewpoint. He really was sweating.

[@jmd26]

I have a vague memory that around the time of Dick Tracy, Warren Beatty came on to read a top ten list. For number one, Beatty said something about "talk show hosts being mean to your sister." That would be one to include, if you ever update this. Unless it was a dream or something!

[@dongiller]

Not a dream. June 13, 1990: Dick Tracy’s Top Ten Peeves. #1. Talk show hosts who pick on your sister. Damn. Wish I had remembered that. But you did, thanks. :)

[@hyunglee243]

Thanks, Don!

[@charlescary6917]

Letterman was entertaining unlike today's late night entertainment.

[@DippyHippie]

Don’t watch!

[@westvideo]

that was a FANTASTIC interview.

[@melaniewood3506]

I forgot about the "Hitchiker" series. I use to watch that while babysitting after the kids went to sleep.

[@paulkevinkoehler9490]

27:38 Paul, always on it, has the band play Instant Karma.

[@theflorgeormix]

Lettermans writing is easily the most clever ever in latenight. Wordsmith mastery. Always surprising.

[@NoName-yn5bh]

The beginning is hilarious… Love the old Hitchhiker show

[@spuzzlightyeartoo]

So let's debate! Who was more at fault here? I say they both are at fault, but for some odd reason, MacLaine seemed annoyed early on when dave just mentioned the title of her movie, and it really goes downhill fast from there. But Dave really just should have moved on from his obsession about Past Lives when Shirley wasn't budging.

[@ajdc88]

i agree. dave picks at the whole thing wayyyy too long. sure, shirley was too peevish too soon, but dave didn't do anything at all to smooth it over. plus, making fun of the whole reincarnation thing was tired already at that point, anyway. the joke was done to death.

[@johndalton3180]

This was bound to go badly. Shirley MacLaine is a talented woman who takes herself quite seriously. At this time, Dave took nothing seriously. Had they first met later on, say on Dave's Netflix show, things almost certainly would've gone differently. That said, the blame for how badly it went goes to Letterman. She was invited as a guest on his show. When your guest asks you to move on, you move on. Her feelings that she didn't want to dwell on that aspect of her life were understandable. And, you know, here's a woman who won an Oscar, worked with Hitchcock and Billy Wilder, hung with Sinatra and the Rat Pack- there were literally dozens of interesting topics they could've broached.

[@superaa6779]

I feel Maclane was at fault.If she is so spiritual, could she not kindly refuse to talk about the subject instead of calling him an asshole?

[@pauldavies5611]

@@superaa6779 Yeah, kind of what I thought. Calling him dirty names and making fun of him just created bad karma for herself.

[@patriciamooney928]

David Letterman AND Shirley MacLaine were fighting having a conversation. The reading transcript showed how she came off. Dave came off as the interviewer who did not want to interview and had no idea what to say if it was not in his notes.

[@carlodave9]

“Can I check for real things on you Shirley?” God, I miss Dave’s on-the-spot brilliance.

[@driftkrinsky6537]

Thanks for uploading! I'd heard of the incident, but I didn't realize it went that badly. David liked making fun of goofy comedy club names. I feel like if it was anybody but Jimmie Walker the name "Mr. Rips" would have gotten ripped.

[@saxefoner]

Shirley was definitely out to get him. The daggers were out, she didn't like him at all, that was obvious. Unfortunately Dave wasn't ready for the attack. Shirley bullied him with her star power.

[@DanielGarrett0123]

He was the one who was acting the fool. She was about as gracious as you can be in a situation where someone is trying to goad you.

[@tlmoscow]

Either that or it was an act.

[@thomasmccann3679]

he was trying to amnush her and make her look like a fool. she wasnt dumb and acted accordingly

[@vampirerobot]

This is the greatest moment ever broadcast in television history! #1

[@thegrimyeaper]

"You're a middle class conservative, you wouldn't understand." Charming woman....

[@bulafritz]

I have such respect for these two so it was sad to see them not get along. I think they were both in bad moods so it turned into a disaster.

[@TadKingsbury]

I was contemplating ,in the eventual death of Miss MacLaine , and standing before God Almighty , He nonchalantly informs her ," Shes never had more lives than the one He gave her ". Priceless moments in the ethereal dimension .

[@Obiter3]

I love Elliott, he roasted everything possible

[@starduck8014]

I like the contrast of medical Shirley to ditzy Shirley :)

[@cosmicwanderer891]

Goddamm Dave is so intelligent and articulate.I could never talk like him . How do you become so articulate?

[@lindastokes1334]

I love her sarcastic sense of humour. I don't think she was offended, but more teasing David to make him think she was 😅

[@joseh3564]

Jimmy Walker is hilarious 🤣

[@DippyHippie]

I sure do miss dear David!😢DEAR GOD…NO CC ? WHY?

[@DAEDRICHHHH-TUCKER19]

I think honestly this one was on David because he was sort of making a joke out of the whole past lives thing when it's something she takes very seriously so he should've known that his approach wasn't gonna end well lol

[@dongiller]

All of which might have been avoided had she lowered herself to do a pre-show interview.

[@DAEDRICHHHH-TUCKER19]

Yeah good point very true! Both are at fault I think at least partially lol

[@philippeh3904]

Letterman is a beast, like damn he just kills, even when he interviews difficult people he owns them.

[@tzinanechumah]

Such a shame she did not continue the role in the Broadway remake of the film.

[@patrick2338]

I really do not think the interview went that badly, honestly. It just seemed like they were being playful with each other. I mean, calling him an asshole was definitely stringent for the time for TV, but I feel like regular every day people used that kind of language. For not having any preshow stuff worked out, it really could have gone WAY worse. It was still entertaining and funny. Maybe I'm just viewing it through a modern lens where baselines have shifted.

[@mackstewart4203]

32:48 shows you how adversarial it actually was. Look at her face when she declines the handshake. She is pissed

[@eddiemautone209]

😊Shirley maclane is the greatest

[@wiedep]

@ 20:38 "Vito" Samaha trying to get things moving, guess Biff was not around.

[@gluecement]

re: Andy Rooney. The interview was not that bad. Only awkward moment is at the very end when Dave brings up Joe Piscopo's imitation of him.

[@dustanjhlady]

This is a great time capsule

[@michaelcovel3793]

There was so much more ABOUT the interview than the interview itself. She should have went on a few more times. Even Crispin Glover went on (3 times?) It was a great interview - I think Dave would acknowledge that now.

[@danb6838]

Hahaha...they hated each other. 🤣

[@quincywagstaff1243]

Could tell at 22:45 when Maclaine got visibly annoyed at Dave's question about her film that this wasn't going to go well. By that and Dave revealing she brushed off a discussion earlier in the day about what topics she wanted to discuss, she probably never liked him and was half-thinking about cancelling it.

[@jackiewhitehouse1230]

"a pizza delivered to ike"? can someone help me with this? what am I missing? or is this just another of dave's remarks that don't really mean anything but are funny?

[@ZenFox0]

I think it was a sideways reference to how people who claim to be reincarnated are always royalty or some other exceptional profession or personality. They never seem to be peasant farmers from Ukraine or Chad. So he just picked an unglamorous profession and a random historical figure to both poke fun of himself and make fun of reincarnation.

[@peregrino9154]

It's a type of humor that can't be explained to someone who doesn't get it. Most people, especially today, wouldn't get it. This show and its humor was very specific to the 80s. Could never have aired or been successful in any other decade.

[@joanwilliams5837]

Love the big bang.

[@dianewinters8628]

Wow I usually like Shirley Maclaine but she was a real dud. She could have helped him out steering the conversation to what she wanted to talk about but she was just rude.

[@patriciaatkinson2435]

Letterman had not bothered to research his guest, a woman who has lived a fascinating life. As far as leading the conversation away from the only subject on his to do list, that was his job. Normally I enjoyed his shows. Certainly he had the last word.

[@rr7firefly]

27:55 Part two of the segment with Shirley. David really wanted to smack her a good one. Her air of condescension is not appealing. Shirley is often sympathetic in the roles she plays in movies (The Apartment, Two Mules for Sister Sara, Sweet Charity, etc) but in real life she likes to put men in their place. A prickly personality.

[@ShibaMomma143]

@8:58 was surreal 😢

[@Cerph]

44:17- Craig Ferguson must have been watching ;0)

[@briankelleywastaken]

Before astrology and your friend's tarot readings there was Shirley Maclaine

[@Cerph]

Shirley Mack, and Shirley MacLaine- is this real, or what?

[@billythemountainbear]

I think this was funny, but the audience did not.

[@fosbury68]

Dave just has no patience whatever for self-aggrandizing bullish!t. And that exactly what Shirley’s past-life “stories” are.

[@jchow5966]

LOl.

[@pereraddison932]

... i watched a lot of Letterman shows, and saw 1, only 1, where he was actually "ON", for the whole thing. I don't remember when it was, but it was structurally, sound, properly scripted, very funny, from start to finish. He didn't seem to give fig about anything, and it just flowed, and that gave me some hope that things were picking up. I never did see another show as good as that 1, but i kept watching, hoping that i would. Fool, me...

[@SixteenTonesStudio]

Why would he give Anton Fig anything?