David Letterman's Full Biography
David Michael Letterman, in 1947 in Indianapolis, Indiana, is one of the best-known television talk show hosts and comedians in American entertainment history. He’s best-known for hosting long-running late-night television talk shows, "Late Night with David Letterman" and "Late Show with David Letterman."
He grew up admiring his father’s humor, and ability to always be the life of the party.
He began his career on Ball State University’s student-run radio station when he attended the school, only to be booted for treating classical music with “irreverence,” according to Indiana Public Radio’s station history.
After graduating, he says he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, until another radio host inspired him. Within a decade, he turned his radio hosting career into regular television appearances, and by 1980, he’d host his own morning show, “The David Letterman Show.”
His show developed a cult following, but wasn’t the ratings hit the network wanted, so he moved on to host an evening show instead, so he moved on, hosting on an evening slot for "Late Night with David Letterman."
He continued hosting late-night television until he retired in 2015, and even then, he wasn’t done. Instead, he proceeded to take part in further endeavors, including a climate change documentary, and a Netflix show.
David Letterman's Early Life And Education
Letterman was born on April 12, 1947, in Indianapolis, Indiana, to Harry Joseph Letterman, a florist, and Dorothy Marie, a church secretary. He had one older sister and one younger.
Letterman was a young child when his father had his first heart attack and grew up afraid of losing his dad, for whom his admiration is evident. He would grow to cultivate his own dry wit that would enthrall audiences.
Letterman attended Broad Ripple High School in Indianapolis, where he describes himself as an “average student” – he’d later start a scholarship fund he described as “for C students,” which relies more heavily on creative endeavors than GPA.
His own grades were not good enough for his first choice, Indiana University, so he turned to Ball State University, where he graduated from the Department of Radio and Television.
David Letterman's Career
1970s
After graduating college in 1969, Letterman started as a weatherman and radio host on WNTS and WLWI, grabbing attention even in this role for his humor. In fact, according to Mental Floss, he once told Larry King that audiences learned he was not the guy to watch for serious weather reports.
At this time, he was also involved with other projects, including a morning show featuring interviews with 4-H kids showing their projects and a late-night TV show called "Freeze-Dried Movies."
In 1975, he moved to Los Angeles in hopes of becoming a comedy writer, a dream that would come true when Jimmie Walker saw him on stage at The Comedy Store.
In 1977, he began appearing on (and writing for) the CBS program, The Starland Vocal Band Show.
He also appeared on Mary Tyler Moore’s variety show, and several different game shows.
1980s
In 1980 he launched a morning comedy show on NBC, The David Letterman Show. The show would be canceled later that year, but NBC knew they’d found a star, and keep him contracted for another time slot.
In 1982, Late Night with David Letterman debuted and would be a comedic success for the following decade.
1990s
In 1992, after disappointment over not being chosen as Johnny Carson’s successor as host of The Tonight Show, Letterman moved over to CBS, where he hosted the Late Show with David Letterman in the same time slot – at double his old salary.
It would run for more than two decades, ending only when Letterman decided he was ready to retire in 2015.
Throughout this time, Letterman and NBC’s Tonight Show would battle for top ratings.
During this period, Letterman also hosted the Academy Awards in 1995, causing some negative feedback by making jokes about some actors’ unusual names, in what some of the audience deemed too irreverent and inappropriate for the event.
2000s
In 2002, Letterman had the opportunity to take over ABC’s news program Nightline, but ultimately decided he didn’t want to replace Ted Koppel, and re-signed with NBC instead.
In 2006, it was revealed that he’d signed on to continue the show at least through 2010.
2010s
In 2014, Letterman announced that he’d be retiring the next year, and later joked that he’d been fired. His last episode aired on May 20, 2015, and Stephen Colbert took over as host.
He would later say that he’d been happy with his decision to retire until the moment Donald Trump announced he was running for president, and “I have made the biggest mistake of my life, ladies and gentlemen.”
In 2016, he appeared as a celebrity correspondent on the climate change documentary Years Of Living Dangerously, traveling to India where the nation was trying to expand its energy grid.
In 2018, he premiered a Netflix show, My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, on which he’s interviewed such guests as Barack Obama, Kim Kardashian, and Billie Eilish.
2020s
In 2022, Letterman aired a special episode of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, traveling to Ukraine to interview President Volodymyr Zelensky, amid the Russian invasion.
David Letterman's Business Ventures
Aside from his entertainment career, Letterman started a production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated, in 1991, which also has its own record label.
With Bobby Rahal and Mike Lanigan he’s the co-owner of an auto racing team, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
He also has The Letterman Foundation for Courtesy and Grooming, a private foundation through which he donates to charities serving cancer patients, the Salvation Army, and Doctors Without Borders, among others.
David Letterman's Personal Life
Relationships
Letterman’s first marriage was in 1968 to Michelle Cook. This marriage ended in 1977.
He then had a long-term relationship with his former writer and producer, Merrill Markoe, running from 1978 to 1988.
His relationship with Regina Lasko had an overlap with the previous one, beginning in 1986. They were married in 2009. They have one son together, Harry Joseph Letterman, born on November 3, 2003.
Religion
Letterman is a Presbyterian.
Health and Pregnancies
David Letterman has shared certain health matters publicly, including his tinnitus and a heart surgery in 2000, which barely kept him off the stage for a month, allowing guest hosts to take his place in the interim.
He’s also shared that he struggled with alcoholism, starting to drink at age 13 and quitting in his 30s.
David Letterman's Net Worth
His net worth is estimated at $400 million.
Jobs
Letterman continues to release episodes of his Netflix show, despite his retirement.
David Letterman's Activism
He continues to support a number of causes, including his scholarship program and donations to charities centered around cancer and other medical needs.
David Letterman's Controversies
Letterman has a handful of controversies under his belt from more than five decades on the air in one form or another.
These include a 16-year feud with Oprah Winfrey, who first appeared on his show in 1989 and said his style was so uncomfortable she didn’t want to submit herself to it again. They made up in 2005.
He was also roundly criticized for making a joke involving MLB player Alex Rodriguez, Sarah Palin’s daughter, aged 14 at the time, and statutory rape.
One would-be scandal Letterman cut off himself: when he was the victim of a blackmail attempt by an anonymous person who threatened to go public with the revelation that Letterman had been in sexual relationships with female employees, he revealed the truth himself on-air.
