Summary
- David Letterman interviewed countless celebrities over the 22-year span of his show, with some guests appearing multiple times.
- Despite some controversial interviews, many celebrities returned to be interviewed by Letterman, including Sofia Vergara.
- Regis Philbin, once rumored to have feuded with Letterman, appeared the most times on the show, totaling 125 episodes.
After being on the air for so many years thanks to The Late Show with David Letterman, David Letterman interviewed countless celebrities. The show spanned 1993 to 2015, and in that time, David interviewed thousands of people through over 6,000 episodes.
Letterman earns the top spot in terms of appearances on his own show, but his most frequent guest may be somewhat surprising, especially as he was rumored to have feuded with the famous personality over the years.
The Average Celebrity Appeared On David Letterman's Show A Handful Of Times
Given the nature of David Letterman's show, it made sense to have a revolving door of celebrities to chat with the renowned host. Whether David's team reached out or he asked celebrities for favors (at least in the early days), there was no shortage of big names to choose from.
Yet not every interview was a slam dunk, and Letterman did catch heat for interviews that were often deemed inappropriate. There are probably hours of interview footage that are uncomfortable to watch today, even for Letterman himself.
Fortunately for the host, that didn't keep celebrities like Sofia Vergara, who called Letterman out for some awkwardness, from coming back for multiple different interviews over time. Tons of other celebrities appeared on The Late Show a handful of times, and a dozen is not unheard of.
However, there are a select few who racked up more appearances.
Will Ferrell, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Samuel L. Jackson all joined the show repeatedly throughout the years. Even Donald Trump appeared on the show more than 20 times, more times than Julia Roberts, Michael J. Fox, Kelly Ripa, and many others.
Celebs like Billy Crystal, Bill Cosby, Robin Williams, and Martha Stewart appeared more than 30 times, as did Barbara Walters, Tom Hanks, and Alec Baldwin.
As the number of interviews climbs for some celebrities, it only makes sense that those celebrities either have a specific draw for David's audience or he's friends with them personally—perhaps both.
Guests Like Jack Hanna And Bruce Willis Returned To The Late Show Dozens Of Times
Plenty of David Letterman's guests graced his stage more than twenty times, but only a select few hit 50 or more. Jack Hanna is one guest who has appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman a whopping 68 times, from 2002 to 2015.
Jack sometimes appeared on the show as a guest, but he also appeared numerous times as an "Animal Expert" who interacted with other guest stars or delivered animal facts. Unlike other celebrities, his interviews didn't seem to involve any drama.
Another return guest was Bruce Willis, who came on The Late Show 43 times over the years; Bruce's appearances began in 2002 and lasted through 2015 when David retired from The Late Show.
David Letterman's Most Frequent Guest Was Regis Philbin
They were once rumored to be on the outs, but the guest who appeared most on The Late Show with David Letterman was renowned late talk show host Regis Philbin. Before passing away in 2020, Regis appeared on countless shows, including talk shows, as well as his own series.
Regis graced Letterman's show for a whopping 125 episodes, often as a guest but other times under a "cameo," sometimes during surprise appearances. Regis' first time on the show was in 1993, during the show's first season, though he previously appeared on another late show with David Letterman, too.
His last appearance was during the show's final season in 2015. The only shows Regis appeared on more than The Late Show are his own (Who Wants to Be a Millionaire) and Live with Kelly and Mark, as he was formerly a host/co-host.
What's surprising is that David and Regis were said to have feuded back in the day, so it's odd to think that Regis would continue to appear on his enemy's show if that was the case.
Did David Letterman And Regis Philbin Get Along?
Philbin also appeared on Late Night with David Letterman back in the '80s through the '90s, which was the same timeframe when the two were rumored to be feuding.
The story goes that Regis inadvertently snubbed David backstage, and then David gossiped about it. Letterman ultimately flipped Regis off when he came on the show, something that Philbin wasn't sure was a joke.
Ultimately, it seemed that the two worked things out, because, as David noted in a tribute after Regis' passing, the late talk show host was "on our show a million times, always the best guest we ever had."
There's also the fact that even after moving shows, David continued to have Regis appear on his show regularly, only saying good things about him in public and on the show. Whatever the case was with their long-ago feud, the drama was done and over with by the time Regis passed away.
