Dave Rygalski Part 2

welcome once again to the Letterman podcast my name is Mike Chisholm I am excited about uh shooting this intro here for part two of Dave rogalski uh I just loved part one so much I love the stories of of how folks uh like again is there a more quintessential story of of how Dave got into the entertainment business and and uh it started with Letterman and Letterman is always going to be a part of what he does um and everything but it went in some crazy directions we're gonna find out in part two here um it's very very cool you know he was the college student that Dave appealed to so much so that he went to New York and and and the whole um Strange In a Strange Land becoming the receptionist The Writer's assistant the writer and then where we left off in that episode uh Dave said right around the time where the late shift was happening and Jay Leno and David Letterman were fighting for The Tonight Show uh throne and um just it was it you know it got too hot and uh and and and uh writer Dave had to leave the employee of uh broadcaster Dave and it was just um we we get there right away um I can't wait to have him on again and we can talk about more of those years where he was working for late night I mean talking about Calvert the banana the Pan American Goodwill tour uh lots of meat on on that Bone Alone never mind uh all the other things that he was a part of but but really I love part two here because it goes into other stuff and that other stuff is uh it includes him working for Jay Leno uh on a couple of different occasions including when the second late shift happened he was there for that and talking about Jimmy Kimmel's response and and things like that I I love I love his perspective um and there are different perspectives in folks who worked for uh folks who are enthusiasts of David Letterman we've got all sorts of different perspectives when it comes to uh that of Jay Leno you know I think about when Dan Callison was on and and you know would you like to see him as a guest on my uh or uh yeah as a guest on my my next guest needs no introduction uh no definitely not definitely not you know staunch like really really opinionated about that and there's a lot of people who feel the same way and then you look at at Dave Rogowski and it's like okay would you like to see him on Medics guys he's the top of the list it's just like he's the top of my list by the way just so you you're all aware uh I would love to see those two have a Frank discussion if they were both to be vulnerable and Frank about things uh not polished not talking points that's what I would love to see and and and and it was it's just neat seeing the different perspectives within the camps that were there I I love that I'm endlessly fascinated by it uh Dave is a great guy and and very excited to present uh part two of the Letterman podcast with Dave rogalski uh I hope you enjoy um okay so you become a writer uh how long are you a writer for for Late Night with David Letterman I was there about a almost two years the uh I when I left uh was when Leno Got The Tonight Show okay and uh there seemed to be a cloud around the office it was sort of a darker period and uh just that the Dave's rejection rate went up and it just from my own uh mental well-being I I needed to take a break yeah so I I I I I I took off uh I have regrets about it and but at the time uh I I just had it was the right thing to do just for my own mental health status well I got my podcasting shots my wife is building I mean you and I haven't talked about this beforehand my wife's building a men's mental Wellness app I host he cast the official podcast of he changed it um and and and so you know we've done a hundred and some odd episodes of he cast and and uh I mean you know men's mental Wellness um you know has been something that a lot of times stigmatized and a lot of the time people are you know they don't like talking about it that kind of a thing um I salute you for being in you know what many would a job that many would give their right arm for um and and and knowing that whoa I'm hitting my limit here uh I'm hitting some Governors I need to I need to actually take some time for myself to rebuild myself that kind of a thing the atmosphere you're talking about I have wanted to talk about this I haven't talked about this with anybody um on the show yet and and and I think inadvertently uh we we've we've kind of stumbled onto the subject you were actually working for the show when Lena was your lead-in it sounds like or at least it's right around the time where where you were about to leave I yeah um I think Carson was still on the air and Jay was the permanent guest host yeah and but it had been announced that he was going to take over right and uh it was uh it was palpable to me yeah anyway I can imagine just the it was a high pressure job and it got even higher and you know every waking moment was spent trying to think of stuff to get on the show weekends were uh not enjoyed you know it was uh and you know probably I that's on me for not putting a governor on it as you said but uh it just you know you're under a 13-week contract and uh uh I got I gotta get picked up again every 13 weeks and like I had to stop I just needed to take a break yeah um were you married by this point no uh I was living with my girlfriend yeah and there was that that was probably adding to the stress anyway yep uh and who I actually met she was an intern on the show uh and uh I remember no one knew we were dating right and uh one night we were out on the street on Third Avenue uh goofing off and we ran into Bridget Jackson and she goes Dave Rogowski nasty hot man are you guys dating oh no I didn't want people to know this yeah uh which is funny um going back to writing one of the bits I had on the show that was recurring was when Bridget Jackson uh left the show to get married uh I came up with that idea of uh Steve O'Donnell named it uh Bridget Jackson's TV nest egg but my idea was to have her on the show every day uh to get an after check and so uh I realized uh oh if she's just in a bit it's this if she tells a joke it's a stand-up payment and uh so I I just came up I think it was like nine nine appearances before she left I think she got like three thousand dollars so we would keep a running tally of it each uh night that she was on so that was fun oh that's hilarious that's a total Letterman sensibility type thing he's he's talked about uh you know getting somebody either goes to a wedding gets somebody a set of tires and wrap up all four tires because you know he's got four presents like that's exactly what he gave Larry Jacobson for his wedding yeah okay there you go you should and you should talk to Larry Larry Jacobson yeah all right he's out here cool well I appreciate I would appreciate the endorsement and uh any anybody who wants to come on the Letterman podcast who is part of this we we would love to have them on to talk about all of these amazing things um I want to okay so that point that point where it's funny too because you could tell at that point when it's time for you to take your break uh that you've never been working harder you can totally tell because at this point in the background you know Dave knows he's not getting the Tonight Show that's when Ovitz and all those guys got involved the courting of Dave you know and anyone who wants to read about this can read bill Carter's book um and the late shift and talk he talks about that extensively um but the show had never been hotter you know the show had a it and it did it you talk about palpable the show itself felt I don't quite want to use the word dangerous but it was just it had an energy to it um Dave carried it with him when he would go and do spots on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson just you know the last few spots that he did uh coming up to even the very last week and the things you guys would do on on on on late night um I mean it was it was it was sharp as attack um and and and and and a little bit edgy and and it's funny how you know your uh recollection of that time was yeah burnout and and I'm certain you're not the only one um you know one of the most pivotal pivotal times in broadcasting history because Dave you guys Dave and Company none of you knew that you were actually going to create a franchise that would end up competing with The Tonight Show you didn't know how it was going to go and it just seemed you know Dave in the background saying to people well I think my life in TV might be over because I don't want to follow Leno after my career after my contract's over like I don't I don't I don't want to and and that's a very very very uh it's not talked about very often how Jay Leno was actually David Letterman's lead-in for for quite some time while that contract ran up before he went over to CBS yeah and um it's a chaotic time and it was a chaotic time for the show I appreciate you you opening up about that sure it was uh the other thing that was going on was that the writers that I grew up with on the staff we're also leaving so Adam and Chris Elliott left to get a life uh Kevin currently going to marry with children Matt wickline and Sandy Frank left I think they went to do Living Color yep um who else was there but but it was like that was my my mentors and my uh that was my my click uh they're all going and all the new people that came in were Steve Young Paul Sims they're fantastic yeah hilarious Spike forest and yep uh uh it just was a different dynamic in the room and add it to the upheaval so yeah what a crazy time um okay so so at that point now where did you go after absolutely you leave you leave Letterman he goes over to CBS and then you know your your your comments kind of um um um Go in different directions at that point but at the same time you know when I talk uh when I talk to shecky oh you gotta talk to her to Riggs you got to talk to like the affection that you guys all have for each other we talk about this the idea of this big gigantic family that you all were um you still have these bonds after all these years with these people it's fascinating to me that that is the case yeah shecky and and Ed Hall and Brian were they took me under their wing and those they're the guys that they wanted me to stay on with my internship and uh they they they got the Lindy's offer and uh uh yeah I nothing but fond memories of them and uh as you know down the line I wound up at Leno with Ed Hall as as the The Voice guy yeah the announcer uh so I eventually I'm writing bits with Ed Hall I'm traveling uh uh doing remotes with Ed Hall as the talent you know we went to we want to give uh Sonny Bono or no no Bob Dole we went to give Bob no Sonny Bono a birthday cake at the capitol or whatever office building I was gonna say he was uh he was a governor no not Governor but he was a congressman congressman and Dole was a Senator yeah there you go that was a silly little trip um the uh getting back to check in them guys uh the they should they showed me basically uh they made New York safe for me you know I uh I'm I'm from an I'm from Philly it's a big city but it's not New York no no cities New York yeah yeah that's very true so I uh I appreciate you talking about that and I appreciate you also segwaying it's like you've done this before um I I couldn't finish this without talking about the fact that you end up at The Tonight Show and that's kind of where I was going with that um was that well before the interview um well when I I was at The Tonight Show for two different stints from 94 to 98 eight and then I went back 2005 to the end of the show but in between the I I was on the Chevy Chase show uh I don't have that in my notes you were on the Chevy chase show yeah from beginning to end and day day one Today Show 29.

I think Dave not to be Devil's Advocate but I think most of the staff could probably claim that they were there from the very beginning to The Bitter End a couple people wow the uh but Joe Topman was a head writer on the Chevy Chase show along right and and he was another guy that left during that time yeah um but after after Chevy went off the air uh the uh I went and visited Letterman at the Ed Sullivan yeah and I brought I brought him a Chevy Chase hat he must have loved that well I have the thank you note that he wrote oh I don't know if you can read that it's backwards just wanted to thank you for the oh can you put it up there I just want to thank you for the birthday present oh wait no no I'm sorry that's the wrong one okay here this one there you go I have my series of Dave thank you notes sitting here since you asked me I always enjoy TV for repeatedly thanks for the Jimmy Jason all the best for the name of your friend Dave that's a great gift to throw to oh that's awesome yeah I know when I handed it to him I said I wanted to I wanted you to deliver his head to you but all I got was his hat because uh Chevy had called Dave uh to ask him advice on how to how to do the show and uh you know Dave made a joke about it saying we're just glad it sticks to the tape and uh but you know the chubby thing was basically he didn't come in until you know one or two o'clock in the afternoon so you know come to work I guess that would be my advice that's a good start right there yeah yeah that uh oh man that was a crazy time that was almost like uh like New Coke you know it was just one of those things a lot a lot of hoopla a lot of stuff and then the product itself uh literally fizzled out very very quickly yeah it was that was not a good place not not not good the writers were good the staff was good sure um the I I would write opening remarks and on the second show I wrote a self-deprecating line yeah about because the USA Today destroyed the show in a review yeah and uh the joke I wrote was uh Chevy saying I don't know what happened I I was looking for a USA Today today I couldn't find one to save my life and uh he said I don't get it what's that mean I said oh well they wrote a bad review of the show he goes oh well them I don't want to give them any uh advertising and uh his lawyer who was an executive producer on the show came up behind me and said to me in a menacing Tone If you ever give Chevy a bad review before a show you're fired okay I don't know that anybody's gonna write another bad review it's unnecessary saying that to a comedy writer just the quip is just sitting there ready to come back out yeah I mean uh one thing that I would I would submit out there if there's one thread that even Johnny you know you know him dancing when it when a joke wouldn't work um you know uh or or something like that self-deprecation seems to be something that is essential when you have a talk show oh yeah you know I mean yeah holy smokes okay so thank you for uh for for for throwing that part out because that was something I wasn't prepared for that is you were a part of uh well okay you know uh Riggs you're part of uh TV um you're famous and and infamy as well that is an Infamous uh uh show that you were a part of I think I can top it let's do it uh when I left the Tonight Show in 98 I left to go be the head writer of The Magic Johnson show magical oh man you you just add Pat Sajak to this and you got the trifecta man like that is crazy the uh yeah Pat was on simultaneously with uh the late late night so I didn't get there yeah um but they I got I I that was the worst environment uh and they they canned me before the show even got on the air which was fine by me I got paid out yeah but just just not not good people so that was a syndication deal right I think it was Fox syndicated it was on all their okay so kind of looking at the Arsenio model from back back before that using the try to use that as the as the basis and it wasn't magic wasn't the problem it was the executive producer yeah and uh they uh we had six pre-production weeks and you know you're trying to compile comedy and get the tone uh and unbeknownst to me the fox Executives and the there was three executive producers on the show they somehow got a hold of all the comedy Scripts for pending bits yeah and sat around and read them in a conference room without me being there and basically decided none of it was funny and uh they they can be and they they brought for the pilot they had nickels and Vickers from the Carson Show yeah uh uh as writing supervisors I guess I don't know that they were head writers but they didn't get hired on the show yeah and then they brought them in as consultants a couple weeks in and we I didn't get along with them at all uh uh they were putting jokes in bits and I we had to have a meeting with the executive producers and I had I said to their face I said you know if this if these jokes came in a submission I would have never hired you and uh they just sat slack-jawed and I'm pretty sure that was the day that they they said we're gonna get rid of Dave and bring in somebody else and make these guys run the department and that was fine yeah you're telling it like it is um that's something else that uh I don't know if it was O'Donnell who said it but somebody said um Merrill and Steve um shielded you guys from that from the exact from from any of that stuff that exists and that was one of the secret sauces that late night had was that you had very little um oversight that would reach you know your level when it came to that because it stifles like what you just talked about there oh yeah now I'm feeling creative I'm feeling like I want to write something you know funny that's that it stifles creativity um the business of of show uh really really can can up the show that that's a Paul Schaefer line is it I'm pretty sure the business of show okay there you go and again they're just it's in my subconscious I have thanked uh many many of the folks uh from you from your generation and and and and and and Beyond thank you for uh creating the gray matter Pathways that are here for all to enjoy and you know that's that's what you guys did um okay so you know Leno and Letterman and all that stuff of course there's been nothing um but that that has been uh I mean it hasn't it started in the in the in the early 90s and it has not stopped we still talk about it to this day back to the Super Bowl commercial like all the way up like people still speculating oh would you ever have Jay on my next guess that kind of a thing when you went to work for Leno um was that weird did you have to do something in your brain to make that happen or was it something that you just know this is another gig it's a different atmosphere same job um it was no problem whatsoever um Joe toplan was the head writer at when and he basically got me the interview and uh at that point I needed a job and if I could get that I would take it it was I I uh this was my skill set and uh this was an opportunity and uh there was um positive and negative positive being this job security yep and then the negative being since your job's so secure you're not making contacts out in the world for the next job ah yeah and there's there's a certain air uh uh in town uh of Leno's comedy versus Letterman's comedy and and uh there's you know it's a little snobby for it pro pro Letterman I like to think that I brought a Letterman's sensibility into the Leno World yep um the I uh the Leno World gave me a chance to learn stuff I probably would have gotten to it Letterman if I stayed but uh going on the road and shooting and editing bits became my my strong suit um not not writing monologue jokes yeah uh so I give them credit for getting me that and you know I uh I I gotta I'm in the DGA because of them so yeah um the uh Jay was fine with Dave obviously that that wasn't a a two-way friendship at that point the uh you mentioned the Super Bowl ad uh Kathy Maverick has pumped me over that she uh oh I want to hear this story this is great okay yeah she emailed me the Friday before the Super Bowl just to say to me hey make sure you watch the Super Bowl this weekend Oh Boy and I said uh I was like oh no that's suspicious I don't know and I went to Jay and I said I don't know what Letterman's got planned but there's something going on I don't know if they're going to be making fun of you on the Super Bowl but just be forewarned so I'm watching the Super Bowl I see the ad I realized you knew what was going to happen my phone rings and it's Leno just laughing his ass off because he burned me too and I was like oh Jay I'm trying to protect you here and uh it's it was it's super fun I actually have a photograph of it that Kathy sent me a big glossy 8x10 photo of the app of Jay and Oprah I'll get it if you want yeah please do please get that uh by the way this is why we do the show like stories like this just don't come out um short form they just they just don't I love that story um you know a shout out if you want to talk about the Super Bowl ad George schweitzer's uh episode which came out I think four episodes ago he was a CBS exec um of marketing for the entire Late Show run and having that um you know we're going to talk a lot more about that Super Bowl ad uh for certain but having all of these different perspectives that come out and this story here the fact that you know you're working for you're working for Jay at the time you guys reference it to each other um and and it's when it happens I mean when that's when that ad came out you know the president of the United States at that point President Barack Obama he was you know he's like he's making calls going hey was that real at this point and as soon as it happens oh look at that Kathy sent that to you yes uh that not and I mean you know there's Oprah in the middle there but for you that pitcher has a real special uh a special Nostalgia to it because you worked for both those guys well here way do you hear this when I got hired in Chicago I uh I had a joke on that last show that was a mislead of a top ten it was uh top 10 jokes we haven't made about Oprah yet and the the punch line was oh wait there aren't any and then they went to another top ten so thanks Oprah um you're talking about the live Chicago show that's where Dave made fun of Oprah right yeah sure that whole I mean not uh there was a lot of vote for jokes no no no I I understand that but she referenced I think that particular show at one point as as the you know the rift and not Rift whatever I don't know if it was just that show yeah or just the community uh cumulative effect of all that week yeah since it was Chicago but uh and that remind a joke that I didn't get on because I thought of it too late in a tour of Chicago they had already mapped out the the remote schedule for shooting yep um I wanted Dave to take Bozo to the Dr Scholl's Institute to see if they could fix his feet there it is the math of Comedy yeah Chicago's bozos from Chicago Dr scholes from Chicago yeah that's uh together at last yeah um okay so it wasn't weird you working for Leno the idea of you bringing the Letterman sensibility um and and you were there during the Jay Leno show then as well that was in 2009 yeah yeah the 10 o'clock show yeah so and and again famously infamously uh you know brought over his staff from The Tonight Show over to that so you actually worked on that show I mean I again I would not be good at this if I didn't ask you a little bit about that I mean that's uh you know we're gonna we're gonna change Prime Time Forever the idea of of I mean it's it's you know people love to poo poo something that that that that didn't work and they love to pile on and all that kind of stuff um everything I've heard about that you guys thought no we're gonna change prime time that's what's gonna happen there's gonna be a five block of shows or was there in in within the staff already the idea that it might not work I'm certainly in that camp and um NBC is going back to that there's talk of NBC losing the 10 o'clock hour in prime time again yeah um it's I was glad to be welcomed aboard it was the hardest job I've ever had uh uh I was responsible for two tape pieces every week out of five out of ten I guess as well as I was like in charge of assembling the jokes for desk pieces right so I was sort of the head writers first lieutenant and uh it's this the the pressure from uh like Rick Ludwin and NBC Executives was yeah huge and the uh a lot there's just a lot of chefs in the kitchen for that 10 o'clock show yeah um I didn't expect to get back that hour of The Tonight Show I didn't I just thought we were gonna get canceled and that was gonna write it they would pay Jay out but whatever algorithm they used to figure out it's better to pay off Kona and bring Jay back yeah that's that's that pay and play contract that he had yeah um so I I yeah I I have I'm I'm glad to have been employed but boy I that that show was a beast yes because they added a from the standard format they had a a comedy bit so there's three comedy bits instead of two yeah um I did I worked with a comedian we went to Baltimore Philadelphia and Boston back to back to back nights taping a bit for each City because the ratings were low in those cities and we were trying to make nice with the Affiliates and showcase the city yeah and uh only let's see the Boston one aired and the Baltimore one aired the Philly one didn't air we were we were taken off the 10 o'clock hour by then wow so but fighting to the end though like I mean that's Behavior where again you talk about the business uh getting involved in the in the in the show um fighting right to The Bitter End with that um wow and then you and you were there for the rest of of Leno's run when he got the show back you were there the rest of the time that must have been a weird type of pressure too I mean you got It's The Talk of the Town uh Dave famously uh you know cynically refers to it as the Golden Age of Television which I thought was hilarious I mean okay so you're on staff while this is happening you're seeing all this happen real time I assume you're watching Letterman every night are you watching Kimmel when he what like the 10 for 10 segment with Kim oh my God yeah holy cow you've seen some crazy Dave completely unexpected that was because Jay and Kimmel had butted heads before yeah and and uh uh Kim will admitted that you know it was sort of manufactured that he took Stern's advice to have an enemy and uh uh so they reconciled and Jimmy was a guest again yeah and then uh Jimmy just had an attitude or a a take on what he thought went down and uh between uh Conan and Jay the thing I always say is you know Conan had Ari uh uh Emmanuel and Gavin pallone yeah on his team and Jay had nobody he's represent uh his lawyer was Ron Berg who's my lawyer who by the way was a big part of Gilmore Girls as well yeah Gavin blown that's right it's all full circle Dave wow but anyway yeah so so so that's that's a great Point um but at the same time a shitstorm and you guys are all just there doing your jobs and seeing this happen in front of you you weren't in the studio during that that 10 for 10 uh uh moment were you sure in my office watching the live through the feed yeah it was it was weird yeah and Jay just uh you know he fought through it and uh you oh he took it on the chin yeah uh yeah and I'm sure they Kimmel and him have reconciled at some point yeah again camels seem to have really matured I guess he's so much he's he more I don't know what the word is but just his whole thing through the Trump years uh uh yeah has been more uh kind yeah it seems and I don't know if that's the because of his kid and when he went through with the illness and all that yep but he's he's definitely changed me he's gotten softer in a good way not oh you're comedy soft but oh yeah no no no well there's some emotion there as opposed to the like there's a vulnerability that's there I think um that didn't exist before with Kimmel um and and I guess during this time because I mean as this is happening uh for those two or three weeks where it was The Hot Zone over there um Dave every single night just going up there in the first segment after after uh the the monologue you know he might have a nice blue card with a comedy piece on it and he just he just went off and started talking about it you've got ties to the old show still I mean I I assume you guys are all watching that every night right um what they did the writer's assistant at Leno uh or two two of them they would watch the uh they dvr'd or vcr'd the uh Letterman and Arsenio or whatever else was on so the point of it was to not uh replicate jokes so they would send out the monologues from the other shows that morning from the night before right uh uh so if we didn't see it we saw it in paper form uh right what the cop what the comedy was uh so yeah we were very well aware of it laughs well it was a crazy time and and you were at the epicenter of it uh with a with a with um a beginning that led to Evol evolving to where you were uh a very unique position in in the history of broadcasting um Dave we gotta I mean you've been so generous with your time here um I would love to have you back if ever you start cataloging some stories and stuff that we can bring back to the show but as as we do that oh first off by the way the Lettermen podcast brought to you by the hello Deli Rupert G and the hello Deli our only sponsor Dave our only sponsor is the hello Deli good for you do you have a sandwich named after you not yet but we're hoping um there's hope we're we're going to New York here uh fairly soon and Rupert and I are gonna to do some things out there and it's gonna be a lot of fun um yeah we're pretty based right now what's that where are you right now I'm in Kelowna British Columbia Canada sir oh okay so you're natural a natural host uh that's where I should be I'm gonna I'm gonna show you one last thing yeah please do that I put I don't know how to fit this in Late Night with David Letterman 101 best written TV series the writers really of America had something where do you keep that usually where's that hanging I actually uh it was laying next to my cabinet of CDs I had I I took taking it down off the wall to substitute another piece of artwork uh uh an underdog cartoon uh poster the old Underdog cartoon that sounds about right too yeah um we we they we didn't even scratch the surface as the stuff that you have gotten on the show and things that you're proud of and all of that stuff um I guess as we finish up here uh there is a question actually okay so let's let's talk about just real quick is there anything um that was on late night again we talk use the analogy about how you guys were mining for gold every day most days you would find uh you know sometimes it was a little bit of gold sometimes it was a gigantic Boulder of gold and then of course you cast it aside you don't even think about it unless it becomes a reoccurring bit and then you go in mining for more gold every day um this show is is is helping to specialize in uh finding those gold nuggets and and re-showing them and putting them on display a little bit was there anything that uh that you're particularly proud of that might have been a one-offer or something that that you wrote that you got on there or has a special place in your heart um that might not have been we might need a Don Giller to go and archaea uh do an archaeological find for it was there anything there that that uh comes to mind as I'm saying these things well the very first a joke that I got on and approved was a Halloween costume okay yeah and uh it was and Susan hum I believe made this it was uh the rat in the chicken uh box of chicken did you ever see that yep all right well the the back story to it was it was my first bit when I first gagged I was I wanted to watch and hear the audience and get the endorphin rush if it got a laugh and uh right before it uh it was that joke's turn to come up in the bit yep uh Eric Anthony had a seizure in the hallway next to me and I I ran up you know it was Split Second thinking oh no my joke oh no he's having a seizure I ran up the nurse's office was on the seventh floor and we were on a six and I got the nurse to come down because I didn't know what to do and uh uh but you know I I like to think that my Humanity survived that data I I took the right uh uh choice of going for that you you read the right choice but it's a greater example for life right there that is uh my big moment's coming but then life happens this is happening here and then suddenly you know there's an analogy there for for something that's uh oh that's lovely um I can't wait thank you so much for doing this by the way I can't I've had so much fun talking with you about this stuff I certainly hope it's been uh you know well at least bearable for you sure I if if you can edit out any any of my flumpfering and brain deadness uh that'd be great well we do very little bit of editing a little editing in the show because people love the conversation style that's that's the thing to beat about long form but I'll tell you this you were great you were fantastic okay there's gonna be a lot of people who are really excited about this um I finished most of the shows by asking um I'm not sure if you're if you're up on uh Dave's Netflix show my next guest uh needs no introduction or not um but he's doing the Tom Snyder thing now he's doing the long form thing with folks and I um you have a uh all of you who work there have a very unique perspective and so we asked the question if there was a couple of people maybe three people uh at the most people that you would love to see David Letterman sit across the table from uh across the stage from and then maybe you know a long-form conversation with some video pieces who would those three people be for you number one would be Leno because yep that that I think Jay would want to do that in a heartbeat uh hmm that's that's a thinker he's on my list too by the way who's out there that's uh anybody that Dave has sort of been combative with uh and the easy ones are Sharon Madonna sure but uh you know I think Madonna he'd have a good conversation with Madonna I think Madonna's a really good that hasn't been uh that actually answer hasn't been given here yet and I mean when you think about you know Jay-Z or Billy eilish or some of these other gigantic stars who have music stars who have been on Madonna as an icon there's no question um Elvis Costello oh you're not the first to say it by the way uh that's a that is a I love that answer so much that would be a fantastic show um uh Riggs Dave rygalski I can't thank you enough um for for taking time to be on the Letterman podcast today I'm gonna do a quick outro and then you and I can say our our goodbye privately if that's okay great um man this conversation today is exactly why we do this uh the Lettermen podcast gaining uh momentum at uh at the pace that we are but it is moving forward it's it's not and it's not just inch by inch either we're actually moving bona fide feet here uh this is fantastic I really enjoyed this thank you so much for everybody who has given us um the kind words which most of them have been and the critical ones which are making us better uh we've got some cool things happening the studio is expanding and changing around or we've got one of the old Letterman Bridges that's coming up and and this is all this is all Happening Here uh very very very excited about this if you wouldn't mind mind and I'm going to keep saying it until we don't have to say it anymore if you wouldn't mind whatever platform you're consuming us on if you wouldn't mind liking us leaving a comment sharing um apparently if you're watching us on the YouTubes actually downloading it there's a metric for that apparently I don't know much about these things but keep doing all those things so I don't have to ask you to do it anymore that would be fantastic I appreciate it uh this has been another episode of the Letterman podcast with Mike Chisholm coincidentally I am Mike Chisholm thank you and good night