Eddie Brill and the Last Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Hey, it's me, John Feckerman, and you are watching the Letterman Podcast with Mike Chisholm. And coincidentally, I am Mike Chisholm. That's your bit, right? That's your bit. That's my bit. You're doing your bit.

Thank you.

Welcome once again to the Letterman Podcast. My name is Mike Chisholm. All right. At a time we haven't released any episodes for a little while here. I'm hoping to rectify that and get a few in a row here to come out. Been going through some stuff. Doesn't matter. It's all good. We're just figuring things out. But in that time, I've been shooting a lot of episodes of my other podcast. HeCast. It's a It's a men's mental wellness podcast. We've shot like it was like 30 episodes in 45 days. It was crazy. And and that's been a lot of fun. I've been really enjoying that. But boy, do I ever miss this show. But we've got a collection of people who are going to be coming on and we're coming back on. And it's a weird time. It's It's It's I don't know if it's It's everything's meant to happen at the time it's supposed to happen. But at the end of the day, watching what's going on with the Late Show with Stephen Colbert and this franchise at CBS ending. It's It's It's sad. I'm really sad. I don't know how other people are feeling.

I certainly in our community people seem to be upset about it. And and the cool thing though is that people are posting memories of different memories of not just Stephen's show. And again, how do you take over for David Letterman? Well, guess what? Conan did it and Stephen Colbert did it and did phenomenal jobs and and and watching the Late Show, the franchise that Dave created ending is is is is difficult for those of us who depended on that franchise for a long time. It's a thing that tucked us into bed. And and the whole medium's changing and we understand that, but it's cool watching some of these people come out of the woodwork and start sharing memories. Well, today is Eddie Brill. Eddie Brill's coming back. Uh you know, if you don't know who Eddie is, well, he was the warm-up guy, essentially, for Dave for a huge amount of his time at In fact, the lion's share amount of his time at CBS. Um Eddie would come out and warm up the audience.

Uh he's a comedian himself. Uh he was the comedy booker for Late Show. Um many comedians got their start on Late Show with David Letterman because of Eddie Brill. And um Eddie's been on the show a couple of times. He's a friend. We're both big hockey fans, and we'll we'll we'll message each other uh from time to time, and I just appreciate him. A couple couple of days ago, he put out a couple of posts on Facebook um about his memories of of working with Late Show. And um and and and one of them, he he put a a list of a bunch of things that he appreciated and he he got to experience while he was there. And so, he and I go through this list uh some of this list today, and I get Eddie just uh unlocking the vault and telling some stories about his time at Late Show with David Letterman. Um Late Show uh the Letterman podcast, I should say, has one sponsor, one sponsor only. It's hellodashdeli.com.

Rupert G may not own the Hello Deli anymore, and I don't know what's going to happen when the theater closes, but but boy, um Rupert had a phenomenal run. Rupert is amazing. He's a good friend. I appreciate him and Irene very, very much. And uh you could still go to hellodashdeli.com and get Letterman merchandise. And uh you know what? I think now's a good time to do it. Now's a good time to do it as we think about what uh Late Show means to all of us, and I just want to say um thank you, Rupert. I thank you for your friendship. I hope you enjoy uh this returning episode of the Letterman podcast featuring our good friend Eddie Brill. Uh it's good to see you again, Eddie. I appreciate seeing you very, very much. I love the stuff that you put online, and I I don't I don't see you enough. So, welcome back to the show, and I'm just I'm I'm I'm sad that you're here.

This The comment The reason that you're here is because Late Show is ending and we've been talking about that, but I'm really happy to see you again, buddy. How you doing? I'm all right. It's great [clears throat] to see you as well. You know, I've done a couple of these already and I don't know what I've talked about. So, you know, I'm going to leave it up to you, but it it is sad that the franchise is going away and you know, proud to be part of it for all those years, you know, 17 years and I was there and especially at the Ed Sullivan Theater, which I don't know what they're going to do there, but uh they have not had, you know, I remember before Letterman, they had Kate & Allie, the the sitcom was filmed there and you know, I actually did a television show. There's a great interviewer in London called Jonathan Ross. Yes.

a he did a week or two weeks of guests and they were live in New York at 1:30 in the afternoon or half one as they say and then 6:30 or half six in in London live. And I got to be on the show with Lily Tomlin, which was incredible. And so I was on that stage before Dave was there and so there's a lot of things going, but I don't know what they're going to I don't know what they have planned. I know Jackie Mason did some shows there, too. Oh, the history of that

were on that stage. Absolutely. Well, I was you know, talking with people about the music just the music like um at the time by the way, the time of we're we're we're recording this is actually the 11-year anniversary of the last Late Show. Uh May 20th. Uh it's also Robert Morton's birthday. Happy birthday, Morty. Um and and and and and you know, the idea of the music that has been seen. Last night on Colbert, um his his not it's not the penultimate show, but uh I guess tonight is the penultimate show. It's so weird that it's going away. Um you know, um um, Byrne was on and he did Burning Down the House and it was an amazing musical performance.

Amazing and then he came Colbert came out. You know, um, what's his face, uh, um, the director that was on my brain is all over the place, was on the show as well last night. Steven Spielberg, yeah. Yeah, and my son is in the new, uh, movie that's, uh, that's coming out on the 12th. Disclosure day? Disclosure day. My son has a good part in that film. So, uh,

funny or is he acting? Um, both. No, he's he's acting. He's mostly acting. He's acting funny. Oh, that's fantastic. I I love hearing that. That's that's that's that's wonderful. Yeah.

He's done a He's done a few films. He was in the Friends and Neighbors, your Friends and Neighbors sitcom. He was He actually was in the movie, um, uh, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. He was in that film and he was playing, uh, uh, uh, the guy from Three Dog Night, uh, Chuck Negron. No kidding.

cousin. Chuck Negron was Taylor Negron's cousin. And, uh, so they were having Three Dog Night in at the pool party, but they ended up changing it and they didn't want to, I guess, pay I don't I'm making this up, guessing that they didn't want to pay for the Three Dog Night money for the Yep. music. So, they had my son Dan sitting by the pool with the guy who was, uh, James Brown. Yep.

Which was cool for me cuz James Brown's one of my big heroes. Yeah.

So, so they and they actually wrote another scene for my son cuz Tarantino really loved him. And unfortunately, when the film was cut down to size, they, uh, they cut most of the people who were sitting by the pool out and only had like, um, you know, the the gals from the Mamas and the Papas and they had you Steve McQueen, I think, was there, but there was, you know, James Brown was out and so was, uh, uh, Mr. Negron, Chuck Negron. Oh man, you know what it's I love I love how Quentin does that. He did the same thing for for for Kevin Smith's daughter. Kevin Smith's daughter was in that movie and and and he liked her so much that he ended up expanding expanding the role. But I mean, you know, when you when you make a masterpiece like that, there's so much that ends up on the cutting room floor. It's it's it's so sad about that. Um but yeah, like the music. I I have always said this. I I I it drives me nuts music rights. Music rights laws drive me nuts because man, if we could just the stage that you're talking about, the Ed Sullivan Theater, the history that it has has has has has been performed there, the music. I I always say this, when you walk into the Ed, when you walk into the actual theater itself, you feel an energy. And I I swear it's because of the music. I swear it's because of the history.

Yes, of course, the crowds and the reaction, you know, the Beatles, you see people going crazy. But but but the actual music itself that's in there. I think about all of the music for so many years from the Ed Sullivan Show, of course, from Late Show, both incarnations of the Late

see the documentary, the Ed Sullivan documentary? Yes. And you know, all the all of the knowledge that I got from that documentary about the music that Ed brought into that theater and fought for and you know, there's such a like you said, it's such a great history there. And then you know, Paul Shaffer who's a genius and hilarious, you know, it was he was there, you know, and then the band, everybody in the band was just the best at what they did and what they do. And then and then you know, even the people that would fill in for the the band like you know, Shawn Pelton from Saturday Night Live or it's some Todd Rundgren when Paul Shaffer wasn't there. I mean, you know, it was a thrill for me just to be near that or to hear, you know, Eric from The Animals, Eric Burdon, singing, you know what I mean? It's just like incredible. Never mind Warren Zevon and all of that. And and and the thing about you, like I love that you have put, you know, and and people who who you know, if you want to go back and listen to the two episodes or watch the two episodes that Eddie's been on this show, we go through his history and and and and and I mean it's it's unbelievable.

You know, what you got to witness for those you know, nearly two decades. But not just that, I love that you put out these two couple Facebook posts about about the late show and that time. And your career is so much bigger than that and you've done so many other things other than that show. Yes. But at the end of the day, the gravity of that show, what you got to do, you talk about being on that stage, you were front and center on that stage. And not just front and center, interacting with Paul, interacting with the band. And and and you know, them play you know, dance to the music, you coming out and and and and literally getting to do the bass part night after night after night as you warm up the crowd. I loved the Facebook posts that you put up. And for for those who want to go to the go to they're all in the Letterman podcast Facebook group. I try and post Eddie whatever he posts anything. I noticed that. It was nice. Oh, I I love putting your stuff out cuz you're such a good writer.

You know, the list that you put up with all the memories from late show and it's just a handful of them. Are you writing a book? Is are are you going to do it cuz you're such a talented writer? Is it going to happen?

that. Well, I have an agent who's out there job shopping, so we'll see what happens.

Okay. All right, so you can't say any more than that right now. Okay, well, you've got enough stories and I want to go through some of them with you today. I want to talk about that cuz again, we're celebrating

I'd be happy to do that, you know. And you we had talked we had talked before the we started recording this is that one of the thrills for me was, you know, my best friend Chris Phillips and I have been writing music together for, you know, 30 almost No, more than that, like 40-something years. And ad-libbing, playing, just goofing off and and doing that. And on, you know, one of the things people might not know is that you know, when Paul Shaffer was uh you know, would bring out when Dave would bring out a guest, Paul Shaffer would play a song that had to do with what the guest Like if the movie was had a certain title, there would be, you know, say it was uh you know, black sugar you know, brown sugar and the movie was like, "Hey, have a cup of sugar." And then Paul would be genius enough to create the music to open up for, you know, but with comedians, what I'm trying to say in all of my stuttering over my words is that the comedians got to choose the music they came out to. Yes. Which was really important. And um I got to One of ours Chris and I wrote a song called Crimson Days and we we got to have it on uh you know, we got to have Paul play that song as I came out.

You know, it was pretty great. My favorite The first song I had Go ahead. Go Was it one time or was it multiple times? Just one time. I mean, I wanted There were songs in my life that were important like Paperback Writer is one of my favorite songs of all time cuz they have that Frère Jacques that a lot of people have never heard, but once you hear it, you never not hear it. So, I had that song first. And I remember I had like the Gang of Four and one time, you know, my mom, of course, would be watching the show and so nervous. And I One of the things my mom and I did when we were kid when I was a kid, she would take me to concerts all the time when I was 2, 3 years old. And we used to clean the house to certain music and there was this one song by Barbara George called I Know. And I wanted them to play it, so my mom would like be thrilled because she That song means so much. And when I told Paul what I wanted to play, he was thrilled cuz he loved that song and and and so uh I came out to I Know by Barbra George. I said, "Mom, when I come out, I know you're going to be nervous and worried for me, but listen to the song."

And uh she did and she was like, "Oh my god, I know." You know, it was the so the again, the music was so important in my life and I was able to pick great songs. Um there was a whole set I did about lies and I had Paul play Lies. Burner burner burner burner. Nanner nanner nanner nanner. You know, so it was fun. I got to have a part in that music the music on the show. Um my favorite one and again, yeah, like like of course playing Julia for Julia Roberts uh when she would come out, things like that. They would do such an eloquent job, but sometimes they threw jokes into it. The idea that when Marv Albert came out, they played Dream Weaver um because he famously has a toupee or weave. You know, it's it's not a toupee, it's a weave. And they would play that when he

He would pay attention. On the set, he would see, "What is Paul playing for this guest and why are they playing it?" Absolutely. I uh you know, going through this list, you you you you the both of your uh of your posts that you've put up here um talking about um you know, the things that you have seen there and some of the memories that you have, I I just I'm astounded by some of these things. Um and one of them I'm just going to go through some of them and I want to just kind of get some backstory on some of them because again, I was I was just absolutely uh compelled by some of them. One of them, I'm a Canadian as as we know, we're both big hockey fans. You and I are both big hockey fans. I know. Oh, I have a Messier autograph. Okay, remind me remind me to tell you about Messier. I got a Messier thing I think might I might have for you. I want to send to you. Oh my god, that's great.

yeah, yeah, yeah. So anyway, remind me please remind me after this episode. Um Are you happy with Montreal? In the have a team? He's in a Montreal You know what? There's I'm not a Habs fan. Um I I I'm one of those people those Canadians There's a lot of people love to hate the Habs. I was born and raised to hate the Habs. I just I just I That That was me. And so, um that being said, boy, it's been a long time since we've had a Stanley Cup. In fact, the Habs were the last one back in '93 that Stanley Cup has been in Canada um for a Canadian team. Uh a lot of players bring it up here when they when they go up but obviously but But yeah, so um it's fun watching around my city the reigniting of the Habs and the Habs fans are very loud even in Western Canada. The Habs fans are very loud. A lot of original six teams are. But man alive, uh there that rivalry is alive again. People who are hate the Habs versus love the Habs.

And I was rooting for Buffalo because they've sucked for so long and that it's New York State. Absolutely. And you know, but I was rooting for and they played well and I was very surprised they beat the Bruins. Um you know, but it's been great. My team didn't make [laughter] the playoffs which is sad, but I will still love hockey so much that I watch everything. I'm a Kings guy and so uh you know, I was I was grateful that we made our little run at the end to make the playoffs but getting swept by Colorado was uh Yeah, I mean, man, it's going to be interesting to see what we do when we rebuild. Um one of the memories you put into this thing is something the Canadian part of me was just so excited. Putting the kids in the hall together for an appearance on the show. I you guys know

never had a comedy group. And that was and I you know, had a talk I talked to producers and said, you know, these guys are back again. They're touring. And I would uh you know, just love to put them on. And it it took a little coaxing, but we got it and we were able and they said, well, we have skits that are really short and funny that with two of us. And then, want all five of you on and so we were able to do pull that off. And you know, a lot of work had to go into it. We had to set up the set, you know, we've again, we've never had a It's not that we haven't done things like fake musicals and all this stuff, but this was the Kids in the Hall and they were great. And unfortunately, they didn't their TV show didn't do well in America, but I'm was a huge fan of all of them and uh was able to get them on the show. It's you know, exciting and to see Kids in the

Hall, baby. Absolutely. Up here and up here in Canada, I mean, the Kids in the Hall are are are legendary. And in my the Gen X generation, um boy, you know, so many people up here would say, "Yeah, Saturday Night Live is good, but Kids in the Hall are great." And and and and it seemed like Kids in the Hall were um uh you know, almost like the sequel to SCTV is is is how I viewed them just with a with a with a Gen X edge as opposed to SCTV which had the baby boomer sensibility. Um yeah, that that is really cool that you would get them together. They were all probably all coming from different directions and stuff, too. Was that like You're you're you're the comedy booker for the show. So, is would that be kind of with that hat you were the Is that Is that how that kind of happened or was it just sort of a special one-off?

I I I I proposed that to the show and you know, it's I don't make the final decision, but they were agreeable to it and then, you know, they were happy that they were were doing, you know, we've never had a comedy group. And I go, "Well, let's let's do it." And uh you know, so I didn't work their airplane tickets out, but Annette over at the show, who was a great uh with in the office next to me, she worked all the tickets out and the travel and all that kind of stuff.

But yeah, I can imagine getting all five of them, you know, from different places, you know, I I can imagine that wouldn't have been the easiest thing in the world to herd those cats. So, that's that's A lot of the cats would be like like say a band that has five people from different parts of the country. A lot of times, if they were playing in town, it was a lot easier. They were all there together. But I I you know, so. The kids were in the hall. The kids were in the hall. You hugged Oprah. Yes. How did you hug Oprah? How did that happen? Well, it was very interesting because Dave and Oprah had a thing going for a while, or at least Dave had this notebook. Oprah didn't call back every day he threw the Oprah notebook. I don't know if you remember that part of it.

Right. Oh, yes. The Oprah walk. Yes.

and and we were And so Oprah was finally coming to New York to be cuz her play, part The Color Purple that she was producing, was across the street from the show. So, she agreed to be on Letterman to plug the the show and all that stuff. And everyone was like, "Oh, what's going to happen? Is it going to be fireworks? Is it going to be weird?" But it was great. It was a great segment. And you could see Oprah beaming from cheek to shining cheek, loving the experience. Dave was having a good time. And when the segment was over, you know, I go to the desk. And Oprah came saw me and she just gave me a hug out of the blue. We had never talked before, nothing. But she was so caught up in the moment and so happy and genuinely thrilled about how much fun they were having that I got this hug. And it was one of the most beautiful hugs in the world. I've had I say three hugs in the world that are uh uh Roberto Clemente's wife uh gave me a hug and it was one of the most incredible. And the the best hug I ever got was from Robert De Niro.

Uh and he to I think he thinks I was Danny Aiello. I'm not sure why I got such a big hug, but um but those three uh you know, Vera Clemente, Oprah, and De Niro are three of the best hugs I've gotten in my life. And um yeah, it was really great to you know, I'm a big guy and she was, you know, a little bit larger, I guess. Not larger than me, but just big. So, the two of us came together and it was like a Mallo Cup. You know what I mean? It was just soft and delicious and she smelled great and and she was very nice, you know. Curves coming together. There's another hug one on here that I want to talk about. Gordie Howe gave you a bear hug. Well, I

There's a back to hockey. You know, we're combining now. This is great. understand. [laughter] I became I met Dave Strader, the announcer of the the voice, as was his nickname. And him and I he I met him at a gig in the Cayman Islands. We became best friends. He brought me in to Detroit to to do benefit for the children's hospital. Yep. Which was really great and and I got to know the the Red Wings, you know, he sat me down in a chair during this thing and it was next to Steve Yzerman. And him and I talked and it was just I got to know all of the great, you know, Paul Coffey and I mean just I can name them all. And one of the Red Wings that I really was close with was Mark Howe. Um Gordie's son. And him and I were very close. Well, they were coming to play the Rangers and they had a night off. So, I set up a gig at Stand Up New York for the Red Wings to come and I put John Stewart on the show.

He wasn't famous famous, but he was a great comic and this guy Billy Jay, who happens to weirdly live in Canada right now. And the three of three of us did a show and um it was a great show. The club was only open to them. And so, Mark and I kept in touch and Yep. And then his father there was a show, which was a thrill for me and would be for you, where all the trophies of the all the sports, the the Stanley Cup, the, [clears throat] you know, World Series trophy, you know, Indy 500, all of the trophies were on the stage at Letterman. So, Gordie Howe was going to represent hockey. So, I all of a sudden I hear, "Where's Eddie Brill?" You know, before the show's taping, obviously.

"Where's Eddie Brill?" And I go, "I'm Eddie Brill." And he said, "My son said to say hello." And he hugged me and lifted me up. And I'm a big guy. And he just was a He was such a monster of a lovely man. And he lifted me up and it was And he was It was so cool, so nice, so great. Every hockey fan's wife had a crush on Gordie Howe. I'm convinced of that. Especially the ones who like like when you met Gordie I've met Gordie before. And and and Mr. Hockey, I mean, he is You talk about ambassadors for the game. He was a perfect ambassador for the game and kind. And what a thoughtful thing, you know, the idea that Mark would do that. I actually put on my If you go through my Facebook feed, um you know, I I I put up a public post not that long ago. It's Gordie Howe's last goal. And and he assisted off Mark. And it was against the Habs. And it was It was just It was It was such a cool thing to watch Gordie and Mark play with each other.

And to listen to the announcer and the sensibility of the announcer knowing the gravity of that moment, you know, you didn't know it was going to be his last goal, but the idea of it It just It was just a very very cool moment. Um fantastic that you had that. I I I love it. Oh, I I know I I still remember, you know, the all these great hugs and there's Yeah, it was pretty cool, you know. It was I had friends that I didn't know like I didn't know that many famous people. I knew people like some of my heroes I got to know before Letterman, like Carlin and people like that.

Yeah. But I got to uh you know, meet a lot of people at the show. And Rickles was one of them who became I became very close with, which was amazing and that's a another great happening in my life. But you had dinner with him and Dave, didn't you? Yeah. To be a fly on that wall and you like the idea of Dave and Don going up for for for for dinner and you being there as well like that is a crazy night.

I laughed for 2 and 1/2 hours. I laughed. I I luckily got to be part of it and but Rickles held court and we loved him anyway as a great human being and it was everyone was really comfortable and and you know, it was Chef was also there and Don's wife and his agent and we ate at this place called Remi's and they we were in a closed room and it was just a delicious dinner, great feelings, everyone was happy. I mean, laughter does that to you, you know. Absolutely. Let's go back to music for a second. Working closely with Elvis Costello. Well, Elvis Costello is one of my musical [clears throat] heroes and when Dave was on out because of, you know, he had rickets. No, he didn't have rickets, he had shingles. Yeah.

Onomatopoetically though, they're the same thing. Shingles and rickets sounds the same. It sounds the same, doesn't it? If you're using the word

Weirdly enough, I was I was born with rickets, I think. I have to remember, but he had shingles, so he had guests announcers, guest host every night and one of them was Elvis Costello. Well, for me, what I my job was to go to the desk and you know, I when Dave wasn't there, I would go to the desk and make sure that the guest was happy, comfortable. Did they need anything? Maybe calm them down if they were nervous.

Um, I remember I had a dream that Vince Vaughn was hosting the Letterman show and the next day I saw Vince Vaughn in the green room and I go, "What are you doing here?" and he said, "I'm going to be hosting tomorrow." and I said, "So funny, I had a dream that you were hosting." And he said, "How did I do?" You know, I said I said, [laughter] "You did very well." And then the next night I was went up to the desk and he looked at me and said, "Hey, is it going as well as in the your dream?" And I said, "Yeah, you're you're very good at this." And you know, so that was sort of my job. So, to be able to look after Elvis Costello, um you know, I remember uh what's-his-name was the comic on the show uh uh God, my brain is shot. But I you know, I was booking comics for the show. Every night we had a comic on those shows. And Mitch Hedberg, I booked him. And Eddie Izzard was booked by the show. And it was, you know, Elvis Costello, Eddie Izzard, and Mitch Hedberg.

And um yeah, it was pretty great show. And the Elvis was, you know, not nervous, but it just I I tried to not be a pain in the ass, but at the same time be there if they needed me. And it was really a thrill. And then every time I came to the show, Elvis was really nice to me.

Uh just as a to go off the you didn't put this as a memory, but like the idea of the guest host, um you know, I've talked to Morty about this a lot and and and actually a couple other folks who were head writers and things like that. The idea that that Dave bristled um so against, and it wasn't just Dave, but like you don't give up the chair. You know, it's not like Johnny with the guest hosts and whatnot. And and it was an extraordinary event whenever there would be a guest host of Late Show. Uh Tom Green was another one, you know, and and he and he and Dave knew each other very very well. And and one of but the idea of of of being able to go out there and kind of calm the nerves of somebody who was a player in the show. Well, now we've got somebody who is guest hosting. Yeah.

And Dave did not want to give up the chair. He had to give up the chair for for for for elements like this. And I can only imagine the trepidation that the guest hosts would feel and how much they would rely on everybody who was around there. Well, you were that guy who every commercial breaks, it was for whatever reason Laurie Diamond said to you, you know, whether you're a comic presence, whatever it is, you're one of the guys that will go to the desk during these segments and be a support for these that I'm certain that that skill uh would have been utilized a lot to calm these people down. Right. And also, I didn't want to be a pain in the ass, you know, I I didn't want to take over the situation, be a fanboy, which I already was. Sure. Um I you know, I just wanted So, it was kind of nice to be able to just be a calming person if they needed it. And and it was nice. It was nice for me, you know, it's another way of giving to the show and being part of the op- you know, part of the energy that was there. And it was great, you know, everyone was so great there.

And everyone was the best at what they did, you know. Dave Dorsett, the you know, the guy on camera two is

Going to ask you about Dave. Thank you. Let's talk about Dave Dorsett. We just lost him not that long ago. Let's talk about Dave Dorsett, yeah. And he was the guy who was the camera two for Walter Cronkite. I mean, he's the one of the greatest uh people in the world and one of the greatest humans in the world. And to have him there, that was really fun for me. Uh we would laugh and we would joke around and we'd be playful and dirty. And uh you know, just make each other laugh, you know, because because it's you know, [snorts] it's it's very intense job and a very important job. And we had to represent Dave in the best possible way. Of course. Um that was one of the beauties of the show that everyone who worked there was the best of the best. Best writers but from Harvard, best producers. I was in awe of the people I worked with. So, I had to bring my game up to match theirs. It was great.

Yeah, the the the collaboration that you guys all did. And and to talk and to stay on that, um I want a couple. I don't just want one. I want a couple cuz I know you and Tony Mendez were were were were were close and you guys were you were mischievous together. And I I love that. Um I love that you use that word when you talk about the memories of Tony. I think you and I have you you you've told me a couple stories off camera actually about I just the idea of Tony Mendez who he was Inky you know the cue card guy and there's so many people who listen to the show and watch the show that that that wish you know there was a way that they could have a conversation with him. He was so good the Dave Con people he was so good to them the people who would come in and and and he was he realized who he was to a lot of us enthusiasts who loved the show so much. He realized who he was and the idea that you two were were cohorts is something that is just so delightful to me.

Let's get let's let's let's honor Tony Mendez a little bit here. Well you know like I'm I would stand behind Dave for a certain part of the show.

And like Tony would come up behind me with a cue card that he had in his hand and put it between my legs and and bring it up you know just you know like goosing me during the thing or we or he'd pick some girl out in the audience and say that's your future wife you know of of course none of it was true or anything to do with anything but he would just he was very playful and so was Dave and so you know so the three of us were actually behind the camera while the show was taping and occasionally we would do some you know like say something or be quiet you know do something physical to each other like I would sneak up to Dave behind Dave and I go you know Dave I'm very close to you right now and just try to sort of make him giggle but not ruin the show and have him mess up the camera but we had a lot of fun playing around and it was uh you know it was really fun I you know I look back and I'm surprised that we weren't and didn't get in trouble for that but I was going to ask I was going to ask if you guys ever went too far and producer would ever come up to you or anybody ever uh ever ever called you on it.

I think we went too far a couple of times, but no one said anything.

Um let's talk about Alan Kalter a little bit cuz I mean we talk about, you know, the legendary Ed Sullivan Theater. Alan Kalter, I think, is up there as as one of the greatest announcers of of of all time. Um when you were when you were hanging out watching the show, you would kind of be you'd be where the where where where the doors were. You were right beside Alan essentially for a big chunk of your post during the show, right? Um more like the in between. Alan was on the outside. Sounds like a horse race. Then Alan was on the outside and then it was uh you know, whoever the executive producer was at at the podium and then I'd be on the other side of of them. So, but you know, Kalter and I got very close. He's really funny. I I would do a lot of benefits. We would do a lot a few of them at the Friars Club and I'd invite Alan to bring me up just because I wanted, you know, people to bid on certain items or whatever and Alan would come in and just be so generous and so wonderful. And he would bring me up and he was hilarious. He would write pieces be to bring me up and to you know, it was just such it was such a pleasure.

And we would do a dinner. I don't know if I've mentioned this in other shows where the crew would just I mean, we'd always do we still do dinners a lot of the the people who worked at the show. And we would do it like Jerry Foley and um you know, Dean who was the cameraman and Dean Mairfeld and Al and all the all the crew and uh Dave Dorsett and Kalter would join us as well and we'd have these dinners. And it was just everyone was really funny. Uh I guess that's why we're all in that business and we all fit the you know, what was going on at the show. So, it was just pretty cool. Al Chez has a lot of very cool uh Kalter stories. He he used to go golfing together. Uh there was a foursome there was a foursome. I forget who the other who the other two were off the top of my head right now, but but they would go golfing and Bruce I think might have been one of them actually now that I think about it. Yeah, and they and he would talk about Alan a lot. But Colter was brilliantly funny and also really smart. And he would do um we would I think I might have mentioned this to you, but I mentioned it to somebody where I would say willing to wear the dress is what people say.

Yep. Yeah. That because that's what Milton Berle would do. And he'd be willing to wear the dress. He would be willing to do whatever it took to to make the thing really funny. And he went all the way. He wasn't tepid. He was hilarious and great at it. Yeah, the writers talk about the writers uh who I've I've become friendly with talk about the um uh the versatility that he had and they could always count on him no matter what. He was game for everything for anything. There wasn't anything that he wouldn't be willing to do and and um and to me like there was a period of time where I remember saying to my friends that like Alan Colter's my favorite part of the whole show. Yeah. And they they they they used him just enough, you know, just enough. It wasn't like it was every night, but they used him just enough and and and and some of the recurring segments the celebrity interview. I mean the celebrity interview, I don't know how you would stand there with Alan doing the celebrity interview, you standing a few feet away. I don't know how you would be able to hold it in. Like it was just

It was difficult. Difficult.

[clears throat]

But you know, yeah, I yeah, I made sure it most of the time that I was out of the camera shot because there's no reason for me to be in it. And occasionally I'd be in it because they'd run past me or whatever. But um so I would you know, put go a little bit further away because otherwise they would probably hear me laughing, you know. Uh but yeah, no, Colter was was really funny. And also Jody, you know, have you Jody who was who was the you know, you guy or Jody Ebert, yeah. Yeah. Love Jody Ebert. Yeah, me too. So there's a lot you know, again, there's so so many incredible people on the show. The the the young kid who Alan Alda acted as his father, um who was a star in uh Mrs. Maisel. Yep.

You know, that kid was really funny. I mean, it was we were so blessed to have the best of the best. Uh asking Jimmy Webb all the questions I ever wanted to ask. So, now curious about some of the questions that you asked. Okay.

I'm sorry. Asking uh Jimmy Webb all the questions you ever wanted to ask.

Oh, some of your memories. Yeah, okay. Uh but it's Jimmy wrote um my favorite song of all time, which is "Wichita Lineman". And uh I always wanted to know I had always heard that he had written a song for the Hollies. And uh and uh he said, "I I did, but I didn't get it in time for the cut of the album." And then there was also another question. I said, "I heard that MacArthur's Park was the beginning of a trilogy." And he said, "Do you think that that song needed more music?" Cuz the song itself was so long. Yes.

And uh it was you know, it was a few things I asked. I said, "You know, when I was a kid growing up, I would always think I'm a lineman for the Cowboys instead of a lineman for the county." And he laughed really hard and he said, "Oh, damn. I wish I would have done that cuz I would do it live." And then he I guess he started doing it live a little bit. Oh, you give him a tag. You give him a li- That isn't that isn't that lovely that you can give Jimmy Webb a tag. Oh, I love hearing that.

such a nice guy and so you know, just so talented and and and wrote my favorite song of all time, you know. And I love Glen Campbell and I love all the stories that Glen would share about, you know, working uh with the the brothers, the the the that great band who again, my brain is shot. Can't I can't remember. But he was one of He was one of the Beach Boys, uh Glen Campbell, you know, he was like the fifth Beach Boy and sixth Beach Boy. And um yeah, it was you know, the the fact that I was sitting there with Glen Campbell just chatting with him and saying, you know, telling him my favorite songs and just talking about his life and how he was his health was and his family. It was you know I mean, it's just every just saying the stories to you out loud, it's like it's I'm so thrilled that I got to do all this, you know. Oh, well and that they came across in the posts. The the the you know, there's a lot of that going on right now.

It feels it feels similar to 2015 when when when the Letterman show was finishing their late show run. There there's there's a lot of similar feelings, but Colbert did a good job of of of creating an identity for their incarnation of the late show, but the one thing that I think really really ties the two together and then it goes back to Sullivan again is is the music part. It's it really really is that it's you know, everything changes, you know, tone changes, the different types of comedy change, you know, whether it's variety, whether it's you know, there's there's there's the Americana you know, that that that come in as guests, you know, um you know, the political part. Do we are we slanted in in how the show, you know, the voice of it, but the one thing that really has tied them all together

[snorts]

is the music. Is the idea that we have music new and old, you know, I just I find it so crazy that Burning Down the House is one of the songs that that that that Stephen is using, you know, as a sort of a swan song, but then guess what? Dave did the same thing with American Pie and Stand by Me, Tracy Chapman doing Stand by Me and and and you know, these are songs that clearly mean a lot to the host from their particular perspective of time and place. And that's just one of the things that I I'm going to miss so much about this show. I hope Morty and I were talking about it not that long ago. We hope Netflix comes in and buys the theater. Because I mean you look at Netflix. I want to actually talk to you about comedy as well. Like you look at Netflix and and all the streamers and what they're doing with comedy specials. Stand-up has never been as big as it is now. Here you have this amazing theater that they could use at their disposal that is a not just a theater, but it's combined with a beautiful television studio or broadcasting studio as well equipped for it's loaded for bear. I want Netflix or one of these streamers to buy the theater so they can put up some of their shows.

Yeah.

where Bill Burr and Jim Gaffigan are all part of that. Yeah. You know, Colbert didn't have many stand-ups. In fact, it took him a really long time to get stand-ups on the show. I remember I think Jim Gaffigan was one of the first and uh yeah. Um I think I forgot who the uh And but they didn't really do stand-up. They came and sat down and did their stand-up. Amy Schumer was like the second one on the show, but it took a long long long long time. And it was Letterman, we didn't have that many stand-ups on the show either. You know, Conan show had a lot of stand-ups. And uh you know, and we were close to all the different comedy bookers and everything. Um there was some years where I had 11 to 15 comics out of the say 4,000 who wrote to me or auditioned for me. You know, and you have to say no to 99.9% of the people. And uh it's pretty in-t- tough and Morty will be able to tell you that story, too.

Um you know, it's uh but that stage the at the Ed Sullivan is the best stage I've ever done stand-up on for television. I've done There was a show I did in Edinburgh during the festival and it was one of maybe the second best stage I'd ever worked on. But the Ed Sullivan Theater is the best theater because there's the balcony and the people are downstairs. 492 people. It's very intimate and and you know, and shot well. Cuz Jerry Foley was a genius, you know. Uh yeah, well, like you said, they all were. Like I think of Tim Kennedy as the as as the technical director as well. I mean, you've got you've got people who are just again masters of their of of their craft and and and at the highest level.

Tim Kennedy and I grabbed dinner in not long ago. We have to catch up again. These are people not only were great people, but great at what they did. The combination was so good. And they cared. Foley was like, well, you know, there there's a situation where the audience is laughing, the comic is standing there and on the screen. So, what he did is he put Dave Dorsett in the back of the room with a camera so that once if the audience was laughing too long, he can cut to that shot of the whole audience laughing. And it was just, you know, they everyone cared about everything because again, we were working with the best of the best and their creative minds made that show what it was. Um I want to go back to a couple of a couple of kind of dream come true moments. The idea of like I think about who who who my my my childhood crushes were. Um you know, growing up and and how many of them were featured on that show. Sophia Loren and you got a chance to to to to have a little face time with her.

Yeah, when I was a kid growing up, all my friends had the poster of um what's her face in the orange bathing suit? Farrah Fawcett. Farrah Fawcett, yeah, sure.

And you know, that was the poster of my generation of boys. But I had Sophia Loren because I first of all, she was gorgeous and brunette Yes.

and smart and funny. If you ever see her on Dick Cavett uh on the Dick Cavett show, she was so flirtatious and funny and and smart and everything, you know, I would want in a dream come true. And when she came on the show, I happen to be near her and I she looked at me and I told her that story and she kissed me on the hand and I never washed that hand again.

But she it was such a thrill and at the end of the segment, she waved to me and it was like, "Oh my god, my poster." It was so incredible and you know, again I I I still think of her as one of the most talented and brilliant performers, actors of all time and and she radiated beauty and I Dick Cavett said, you know, I was so flustered when I was interviewing her cuz she was so beautiful and lovely and fun and great and I was married and I'm trying to just be a you know, Yeah. I don't think he said that he was married, but he was so he was being you know, it's just she that was incredible for me and one of the greatest thrills of my life. Uh, I love that. How's Dick doing? He's all right. He's good. He's still funny as hell and I think he's 87 now is the I know. It's pretty great. That's one of the biggest thrills of my life. I think we shared that. Well, we very much. I I I I love Mr. Cavett. Having him on the show here, I mean, that was a I've still I'm still stunned about it.

It was a couple New Year's ago. You Do you Do you go there every New Year's? Um, no, it was Thanksgiving. Oh, Thanksgiving, that's what it was. Thanksgiving, yeah. And that's American Thanksgiving. American Thanksgiving. Yeah, isn't that crazy that like like think about that? Like think about, you know, Eddie Brill, you know, making your way up, imagine the Boston Comedy Club, all that sort of stuff and then yeah, okay, later on in life, you're going to be doing Thanksgiving, you know, with with with with with Dick and Martha. Like like it just it's it's an amazing thing.

I I've been so blessed. And I don't use that word often. It's I have been, you know, the relationships I've made and the people I've dealt with and, you know, Dick Cavett and you know, Sophia Loren and Don Rickles and David Letterman, you know,

Well, we're not Yeah.

with him. We're finishing with him. So, we'll get to Dave We'll get to Dave by the end. But, there's a couple more that I want to go through here. And one of them is going to be uh our boy Shecky. Uh you know, Rick Sheckman. I miss him I I think about Shecky every single day. I saw him I saw I was in the theater the other day watching a film and it was the theater which had the Shecky uh tribute film to the other day. So, I was thinking of him a lot. And what an incredibly generous and nice guy and funny and you know, you know, Shecky.

uh You know, at the uh the Film Forum, there it is right there. That was the day that we were there. And uh

I was in that theater. I got a big hug from you that day, by the way. I remember that. And and and I'll I'll I'll say it to the audience, too. Eddie Brill, fantastic hugger. Um

[clears throat]

But, uh the one thing I would ask Shecky about and the people that he met, and he was mostly like, "Eh." You know, he does he didn't He was really unflappable. Except for this one here. And I think you guys met him at met him at different times. Shecky might have met him twice, but Hank Aaron. And that was a huge like, I mean, you know, he told me about his experience meeting Hank. He actually fanboyed a little bit and and and whatnot. Um tell me what your experience me meeting that legend. Hank was kind of stoic, you know. I think he's maybe a little bit nervous on the set. But, he was just very kind to anyone who He wasn't like, "I'm Hank Aaron." And, you know, all this stuff. He was really just a kind man and I was able to talk to him for a little bit, you know, and I just mentioned my relationship with the Clemente family. And he was really just like, "Oh my god, it was like one of the greatest players I've ever played with." I mean, it was all about other people and not him.

It was you know, he was just a really nice guy, you know. Again, and because of my relationship with the Clementes, I've got to meet some of the greatest baseball players of all time and be friends with some of them and uh you know, I would host the Roberto Clemente Foundation event in Puerto Rico every year and it was crazy but see, meeting all these different people I I there was a few people who I was like, "Oh my god." And then there were most people who were just like so nice that you never thought that it was a a big deal because they were just happy and sort of entertainers as well.

Yeah. I'm very it's so cool. Like again, because it it's not like you don't have this other side where you're doing these cool things, these big events that you host. You still host the the Johnny Carson um Well, no, that's a whole situation. I started that festival in 2008 Yes.

ran it for 10 years. In fact, Martin Short was one of the guests on the very last year. And then the people in Nebraska, you know, uh sort of turned on me, you know. They they wanted to run it themselves. I was charging a lot of the money to run it, but I ran it

well, because I would book the comedians for the festival who I thought Johnny Carson would have booked on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Got you.

And it doesn't mean it's the same comics that we would book on Letterman or they'd book on Conan. It was you know, and I put on some of the greatest comics on the planet before they were famous. I, you know, Roy Wood Jr. and Joe List and you know, all these incredible comedians that gave gave them their break. So, the it's one of the proudest things I've ever put together is the festival in Nebraska honoring Johnny. And and also Thurl Ravenscroft, you know that is Tony the Tiger. Yep. Yep.

So these both people from Norfolk, Nebraska. So we put this festival and I was I was very I was really hard work but had incredible team. I learned working with Dave to have incredible team and some of the greatest comics in the world comedy actors like Ed Asner and Cloris Leachman and Paula Poundstone and you know Robert Klein and you know Martin Short and just put the greatest comic comics in the world in this tiny little town who had never had comedy club or or a lot of them had never met people of different colors or you know different religions. It was a very small sheltered town and I got them I was very open with them about how you do the booking and all this kind of stuff never knowing that they would take it over themselves. And then you know unfortunately and I'm not saying it out of glee cuz I am proud of that festival is that it went downhill really quickly because they didn't know how to book someone who was going to be good enough to be on the Tonight Show.

Right.

kind of thing. They were just like oh he she is my favorite comic on TV. I want that comic and that's how that that worked. So it was kind of disappointing. Not everyone's fantastic in show business. But this small town they they bit the hand that fed me and they hurt me by you know doing that thing. You know they could have said hey you know we're paying you too much. Will you take a little less money or whatever it was. I was so tied to it and proud of it. Barry Miller you know the Steven Wright you know

[clears throat]

I mean David Steinberg. I brought the best of the best. Um I I wanted to mention that one in particular because I wanted to get a little bit into the the sensibility of of comedy and the sensibility of certain shows in the tone. We've talked about that before. Um, but at the end of the day, you know, we're talking about late show ending or the late show now with Stephen Colbert ending and and and and the thing that's going in a to replace it is Comics Unleashed. It's Byron Allen. Um, and I mean, a lot of people have a lot of different opinions on that show and and how things work. Byron unequivocally an absolute um student of the game when it comes to broadcasting, understand how it all works. And I mean, what a what a thing that he did to make this happen where he basically took network television and kind of made it syndication in in in a way uh how he did this. And and it's with a show with stand-ups ironically calling it Comics Unleashed when when you're on network television, you're anything but unleashed. It's it's it's it's very very interesting. Um

It's a better better name than Comics Leached, I guess.

It is. It is. It's a better name. Um and you know, Byron goes all the way back to, you know, Dave and Byron being in a in a writing room back in the day. Like Byron Allen's first Tonight Show appearance, he was really really young and and he was in that group. Um, and now he's he he's doing this. Um, any Did you ever have any encounters with him uh throughout the

enough, I never did. I

did. Okay.

I respect him for, you know, putting comedy out there, you know, he it's a business and he treated it well and he gave a lot of comics exposure and uh you know, and he created a format that hadn't been done at the time. And so, I have all this respect for him and I wish him well and you know, I just you know, to me comedy, I'm old school, you know, the you know, having Jonathan Winters on Jack Paar and you know, doing [snorts] the stick, that 6-minute piece that is one of the greatest ever. You know, that's an interesting thing. I don't know if I said this on any of the other ones. You know, when Dave would do the warm-up, his part of the warm-up, he would take questions from the audience. And one time someone said to him, "Hey, who's your favorite comedian?" And in that moment I was like, "Why don't I know that? Why didn't I ever ask Dave that question?" And without skipping a beat, he said, "Jonathan Winters." Yes. You know, so in my telling tales out of school, he had said that to the crowd. And then him and I talked about Jonathan Winters and how incredible he was. So, I I think there's a lot of great comics today. There's tons of great comics. And you know, people Bill Burr and you know, to me is just incredible and there's just so many great comics out there and it's fun to watch um them do what they do. And it's a different market. It's a lot of internet exposure.

And um so, I think Byron Allen's doing, you know, something good for stand-up. And people are will enjoy it. It is a forced scenario where you're sitting in a chair, but it was the same thing with Letterman. A lot of the guests would have questions, you know, ready and they'd have questions Dave would ask them. The questions set them up and they knock them down. And that's what Byron Allen does. And again, he loves the arts. He loves to make money. He's very good at both. Yeah.

So, good for him good for him. You know, I'm happy for him and the comics that get the exposure. Well, and the the exposure is you know, you can't you can't argue that. I mean, when you look at the hungry machine that he is going to be feeding with this show, you know, I mean, how many of the comics that are out there, how many how many are working comics are there out there right now? A thousand? You know, they're making a living doing stand-up. You know, and so so you're going to get a lot of exposure for a lot of these people and it's great. And and yes, it's going to be in a format um might not necessarily be ideal for what they're doing but but the exposure itself and and and and getting the getting the experience of of being able to do panel and whatnot. Again, um he's keeping that alive. That's the way I'm kind of looking at it. I'm sad about Late Show going away but but the idea of giving these people this skill is is is is a good one and I'm not I'm not trying to I know there's a lot of people with a lot of opinions on it but it's uh it's certainly fascinating. Um I know you've got another interview that you got to do here and you've sandwiched me and I appreciate it very very much.

Of course. I want to I want to throw an idea at you and just see what you think and I want to finish talking about Dave cuz it is the Letterman podcast and Late Show is a a franchise that CBS in my opinion they're throwing away something very special because they didn't have a late night franchise because of Johnny and because of the Tonight Show and and and Dave was the guy um you know, to unlock uh that door and and and gave it to them and after these 32 years uh 33 years, whatever it is, um you know, they're losing it and it's sad. I I think about when Johnny retired and everyone talks about the Bette Midler moment. That's one of the most, you know, um I think for Dave, I mean, we've got 11 years now to look back. There were two for me. Um one actually greater than the other. Well, okay, yes. I was going to say the Adam Sandler song and but the more important one is Norm Macdonald's last sort of set. If I was to say that Dave had a Bette Midler moment, um it would be Norm's last set which for those of you who haven't watched it in a while or hadn't ever watch it, go watch Norm Macdonald on the on his last appearance on Late Show. It is absolute perfection.

Um might be the best television stand-up set I've ever seen. Um and and again, one of Dave's favorite comics at that time which is, you know, a a beautiful moment.

when I tried to book him on the show and he didn't he would didn't like flying and I you know, I had to talk him into coming to do the show and he loved it. I worked with him a lot and he was, you know, brilliantly funny and wiener dog and he was, you know, Canadian and but just a really great guy. We worked together a lot and um yeah, it was just very emotional to watch that set and you know, it was pretty terrific. And to watch him get emotional at the end of it, which is very unlike Norm. And you know, you can tell he's an emotional guy, but boy was he a pro at at at putting that boundary up. Not that night and it was just it was astounding. I dream of I Dave is in a lot of my dreams all the time and he's always like my father figure in the dreams, which he was back in the day, you know. It's it's very interesting and it's very fun, you know, I I get to see Dave every once in a while late in the late in the night

tucked away. I I I I ask that question often with guests on this play on this thing. Do you still dream of the show? Now I think that Dave is Steven's Bet Midler moment. I mean, when Dave appeared on the show last week I really feel like, you know, the idea that they got to the closure of going back up on the roof and throwing stuff down, the the bit about them saying, "Okay, let's go to the audience and do some stuff, moving things around." It felt like when Dave came back there and he had, you know, again, the fourth last guest, I guess, maybe the fifth last guest on the on on It feels like that was the last show because I felt like you did that he was that was Bet the Bet Midler moment for him. And Dave was brilliant and he was himself and he was having fun. He talked about his mom. He was very vulnerable, sweet and then they were playful, you know, Dave's always was a playful and you know, throwing the stuff over the roof, you know, you're you're 12 again and uh this little kid who loved to laugh and be a, you know, rascal.

And he got to mock CBS and and and and Colbert, I think, all things considered, um you know, I believe Stephen has been classy to a T. Um like just absolutely classy. And and and and the idea that Dave could come in and and, you know, let's uh you don't want to poke an eye out. And when they throw stuff off the building, it's going into a CBS logo. I I I love that. It was so good. And I I honestly feel like I feel like um this might be Stephen's Bette Midler moment. Now, we got two more shows. We got tonight and tomorrow night. I don't know uh you know, there's still time to figure what out it might be, but it does feel like that. And it sure felt good to see Dave go back to the Ed Sullivan Theater again. It's only the second time since Stephen took over that he had been back. Yeah. Um I thought that was a beautiful beautiful moment. Um as we kind of close up here and you're going to jump into another one here, I mean, dozens, hundreds of times you went to the desk.

Um and it was you and and and and a couple other people and Dave, you know, going to hockey games with Dave and and and some of these things. You got a lot more face time than staff members who worked there longer than you, who came from the old show and worked there till the end. You got a lot more face time with him.

took it for granted. I loved every moment, and I tried to be there for Dave, whether it was to, you know, come up with on my phone something we were talking about and figure the answer, like you had done with me for certain names. And I was also we were there for chatting about we loved the Beatles. And you know, he was never was a secret that he loved the Beatles. And we talked about everything. And all often times he would say, "Hey, what song do you want to hear? Let's hear some great song." And he would I write it down on paper, run over to Paul, give it to him. He told the band. The band played the best version in the world of the songs. It was pretty great. One of my favorite songs was Hats Off to Larry by Del Shannon. Now, it's a it's a funny name. Hats Off to Larry. You know. Yeah. And uh we loved that song, and it was silly. and I think hey, let's play hats off to Larry. He goes, "Enough. We played it so many times." And you know, it was it was pretty fun. I I I'm very blessed and uh I think of the tonight tonight show the the tonight show the late show. I made a mistake that we're not supposed to make. Um

Cuz I think I always think of Dave as the late show. I don't even think of him as late night even though he late night was great. But on you know, it's the it's the end of this franchise that he created. Yes. And uh so I wanted to put what it was like to do the warm-up and not say, "Hey, here's all my stories about I just put little things about you know, name some of the cool things that happened. But I didn't talk about booking. I didn't talk about any of the other great cool stuff that I did the performances on the show. Um you know, one of the the greatest experiences in the world was doing stand-up and hearing Dave laugh behind me at some of the jokes and uh it's great. I uh that's what our show is for. See, the thing is like you said um the staff uh are all the top of their game when it comes to what it was they did. What however long the season was that they they they they lasted there.

Um and and and that's what this show is. We celebrate the greatest body of broadcast work in history that of David Letterman and company. Eddie, you were a big part of that company and a lot of us who were enthusiasts of the show, we were every bit as fascinated with the people who made the show as we were the host of the show. And that is one of the unique parts of what Dave's legacy is. It wasn't just him. It was him and company. Yes, he was also the best. He was the best broadcaster, no question. The best the best razor-sharp wit, you know, interviewer, all of that stuff. Yes.

Yeah, I always put him in the category with Johnny who's the one of the best and Jack Paar. Absolutely. You know, and Cavett was different it's a different format, but those are those are the host the best hosts in the world for me. Absolutely. And and and I just want to say thank you again. Thank you for our friendship. I love I love being able to just message you at any time. That's a dream come true for me. You know, being able to to message you and and and Morty and Steve Young and some of the people that have become like friends, good friends of mine. Um I appreciate you. I appreciate your friendship. Thank you for putting out these uh these posts here and and and helping all of us kind of mourn, you know, it's the Viking funeral for for for the late show. And uh I just want to say thank you for being you. Thank you for your friendship. And uh remind me about the Mark Messier thing. Go to your interview and then remind me about the Mark Messier thing. All right, sounds great.

Appreciate the heck out of you. Take it easy, Eddie. Have a fantastic day. My love to the missus. Thank you, sir. I appreciate that. All right, bye-bye. Bye-bye.

Let let let let let the fun end.

They don't talk to me. Yeah. I don't talk to them. Bang. Zoom.

All right.