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|name = David Letterman
|image = File:David Letterman with his Individual Peabody at the 75th Annual Peabody Awards (cropped).jpg
|caption = Letterman at thein 2016 [[Peabody Awards]]
|birth_name = David Michael Letterman
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1947|4|12}}
|birth_place = [[Indianapolis|Indianapolis]], Indiana]], U.S.
|medium = Stand-up, television, film
|alma_mater = [[Ball State University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
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Letterman also starred in a local kiddie show, made wisecracks as host of a late-night TV show called "Freeze-Dried Movies" (he once acted out a scene from ''[[Godzilla (1954 film)|Godzilla]]'' (1954) using plastic dinosaurs), and hosted a talk show that aired early on Saturday mornings called ''Clover Power'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Bzbq8X8qZE#t32s |title=Letterman morning show clips and & Jon Stewart cancellation -Jun1995 |publisher=YouTube |date=2010-01-22 |access-date=2011-11-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130203052315/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Bzbq8X8qZE |archive-date=2013-02-03 }}</ref> in which he interviewed [[4-H]] members about their projects.<ref>{{cite web |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20010620022309/http://www.indystar.com/library/factfiles/people/l/letterman_david/letterman.html |archivedate=2001-06-20 |url=http://www.indystar.com/library/factfiles/people/l/letterman_david/letterman.html |title=David Letterman |work=Indianapolis Star |date=2001-06-01 }}</ref>
 
In 1971, Letterman appeared as a pit road reporter for [[ABC Sports]]' tape-delayed coverage of the [[1971 Indianapolis 500|Indianapolis 500]], which was his first nationally telecast appearance (WLWI was the local ABC affiliate at the time).<ref name="indy">{{YouTube|8sMnBmHzAg0|Letterman's Network Debut}}</ref> He was initially introduced as [[Chris Economaki]], but this was corrected at the end of the interview ([[Jim McKay]] announced his name as Dave Letterman). Letterman interviewed [[Mario Andretti]], who had just crashed out of the race.<ref>{{factCite web |date=April2016-05-27 |title=Relive the moment David Letterman asked Mario Andretti a weird question at the Indy 500 |url=https://ftw.usatoday.com/2016/05/indy-500-david-letterman-sideline-reporter-mario-andretti-video |access-date=2024-06-12 |website=For The Win |language=en-US}}</ref>
 
=== Move to Los Angeles ===
[[File:The Comedy Store.jpg|alt=|thumb|Letterman's comedic career took hold atin Losthe Angeles's1970s at [[The Comedy Store|Comedy]] Storein [[Los Angeles]]]]
In 1975, encouraged by his then-wife Michelle and several of his [[Sigma Chi]] fraternity brothers, Letterman moved to [[Los Angeles]], California, with the hope of becoming a comedy writer.<ref>Gail Koch. "Letterman Evolved from Struggling Radio Host to Star", ''Ball State Daily News'', February 1, 2002.</ref> He and Michelle packed their belongings in his pickup truck and headed west.<ref>{{cite news|title=Piers Morgan Tonight: Regis Talks to David Letterman|url=http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1206/02/pmt.01.html| access-date=August 22, 2012|publisher=CNN}} Airdate June 2, 2012, Regis Philbin, guest host. Letterman: "In 1975 I did that. My wife and I did that, put everything in the truck and went to California."</ref> As of 2012, he still owned the truck.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=August–September 2012|title=Top 10 Things Fans Don't Know About David Letterman|magazine=AARP The Magazine|location=Washington, DC|publisher=AARP|page=13|quote=9. Still has the pickup he drove to Hollywood as a young comedy writer}}</ref> In Los Angeles, he began performing comedy at [[The Comedy Store]].<ref name="walker2012">{{cite web|title=How I Discovered Jay Leno and David Letterman|first1=Jimmie|last1= Walker|author-link1=Jimmie Walker|first2=Sal| last2= Manna|date= July 12, 2012 |url=https://slate.com/culture/2012/07/jimmie-walker-how-i-discovered-jay-leno-and-david-letterman.html | work= [[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]| access-date=May 30, 2022| quote= Sitting on the couch would be David Letterman next to Jay Leno next to Paul Mooney. Snacking on the food might be Robert Schimmel, Richard Jeni, Louie Anderson, and Elayne Boosler. Young Byron Allen would be trying to ignore the fact that his mother was in the kitchen waiting to drive him home. There were others whose names would never be recognizable to the public because they were not star performers, such as Wayne Kline, Marty Nadler, Jeff Stein, Jack Handey, Steve Oedekerk, and Larry Jacobson, but who would soon write for some of the most popular sitcoms and late-night talk shows in television history. All of them—all then unknowns—would gather at my home from one to five times a week because they were on my writing staff, commissioned to pen jokes for my stand-up act.}}</ref> [[Jimmie Walker]] saw him on stage; with an endorsement from [[George Miller (comedian)|George Miller]], Letterman joined a group of comedians whom Walker hired to write jokes for his stand-up act, a group that at various times also included [[Jay Leno]], [[Paul Mooney (comedian)|Paul Mooney]], [[Robert Schimmel]], [[Richard Jeni]], [[Louie Anderson]], [[Elayne Boosler]], [[Byron Allen]], [[Jack Handey]], and [[Steve Oedekerk]].<ref name="walker2012"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2010/03/the-late-night-hosts-before-they-were-big.html|title=The Early David Letterman 1967–1980 Beware the Blog|publisher=wfmu.org|first=Kliph|last=Nesteroff|date=2010-03-07|access-date=November 6, 2011}}</ref>
 
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=== ''Late Night with David Letterman'' ===
{{Main|Late Night with David Letterman}}
[[File:Jerry Lewis with David Letterman.jpg|thumb|left|Letterman interviewing comedian [[Jerry Lewis]] in 1982]]
NBC kept Letterman on its payroll to try him in a different time slot. ''[[Late Night with David Letterman]]'' debuted February 1, 1982; the first guest was [[Bill Murray]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Bill Murray @ David Letterman #1, 1982, 1 of 2 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7US7PU6tidM |publisher=YouTube |year=1982 |access-date=December 8, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422224920/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7US7PU6tidM |archive-date=April 22, 2012 }}</ref> Murray went on to become one of Letterman's most recurrent guests, guesting on his later CBS show's celebration of his 30th anniversary in late-night television, which aired January 31, 2012, and on the final CBS show, which aired May 20, 2015. The show ran Monday through Thursday nights at 12:30&nbsp;a.m. [[Eastern time zone|Eastern Time]], immediately following ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson]]'' (a Friday night broadcast was added in June 1987). It was seen as edgy and unpredictable, and soon developed a cult following (particularly among college students). Letterman's reputation as an [[wikt:acerbic|acerbic]] interviewer was borne out in verbal sparring matches with [[Cher]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBgDHhmSrAo |publisher=YouTube |title=Cher on Late Night (part 1 of 2) |year=1986 |access-date=December 8, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111111023335/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBgDHhmSrAo |archive-date=November 11, 2011 }}</ref> (who even called him an "asshole" on the show),<ref>{{cite news | last=Hunt | first=Stacey Wilson | date=May 14, 2015 | title=Cher Pays Tribute to David Letterman: 'I Called Him an Asshole on the Air' | work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/cher-pays-tribute-david-letterman-795447/ | access-date=May 30, 2022}}</ref> [[Shirley MacLaine]],<ref>{{YouTube|uh2UVul29CM|Shirley Maclaine on Late Night (1988) (Part 1 of 2)}}</ref> [[Charles Grodin]], and [[Madonna]]. The show also featured comedy segments and running characters, in a style heavily influenced by the 1950s and 1960s programs of [[Steve Allen]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Steve Allen Remembered|url=https://www.tvguide.com/news/steve-allen-remembered-36211/|author=Michael Ausiello|work=TV Guide|date=November 1, 2000|access-date=May 31, 2022}}</ref>
 
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=== ''Late Show with David Letterman'' ===
{{Main|Late Show with David Letterman}}
[[File:Ed Sullivan Theater - Late Show With David Letterman (3619184146).jpg|thumb|The [[Ed Sullivan Theater]], where ''[[Late Show with David Letterman]]'' was recorded]]
In 1992, [[Johnny Carson]] retired, and many fans, and Carson himself, believed that Letterman would become the new host of ''The Tonight Show''. When NBC instead gave the job to Jay Leno, Letterman departed NBC to host his own late-night show on CBS, opposite ''[[The Tonight Show]]'' at 11:30&nbsp;p.m., called the ''Late Show with David Letterman''. The new show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was taped at the historic Ed Sullivan Theater, where [[Ed Sullivan]] broadcast his [[The Ed Sullivan Show|eponymous variety series]] from 1948 to 1971. For Letterman's arrival, CBS spent $8 million in renovations.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1995-03-31-9503310282-story.html|title=Letterman's Neighbors Discover Spotlight's Chilly Side|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|author=Mark Albright |date=March 31, 1995|access-date=May 30, 2022}}</ref> CBS also signed Letterman to a three-year, $14 million/year contract,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/1993/01/29/david-lettermans-contract/|title=David Letterman's contract|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|author=Mark Harris|date=January 29, 1993|access-date=May 31, 2022|archive-date=January 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113042850/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,305416,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> doubling his ''Late Night'' salary.
 
But while the expectation was that Letterman would retain his unique style and sense of humor with the move, ''Late Show'' was not an exact replica of his old NBC program. The monologue was lengthened. [[Paul Shaffer]] and the [[World's Most Dangerous Band]] followed Letterman to CBS, but they added a brass section and were [[rebranded]] the [[CBS Orchestra]] (at Shaffer's request); a small band had been mandated by Carson while Letterman occupied the 12:30 slot. Additionally, because of intellectual property disagreements, Letterman was unable to import many of his ''Late Night'' segments verbatim,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.oocities.org/davidletterman82/TimeAugust1993Article.html|magazine=Time|title=Stupid Talk Show Tricks| author=Richard Corliss |date=August 2, 1993|access-date=December 8, 2011}}</ref> but he sidestepped this problem by simply renaming them (the "Top Ten List" became the "Late Show Top Ten", "Viewer Mail" became the "CBS Mailbag", etc.). ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine wrote, "Letterman's innovation ... gained power from its rigorous formalism"; as his biographer [[Jason Zinoman]] puts it, he was "a fascinatingly disgruntled eccentric trapped inside a more traditional talk show."<ref>[https://time.com/4728313/david-letterman-jason-zinoman/ "Letterman: A TV Traditionalist With a Weird Streak"] by Daniel D'Addario, ''Time'', April 17, 2017, p.&nbsp;56</ref>
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=== Heart surgery hiatus ===
On January 14, 2000, a routine check-upcheckup revealed that an artery in Letterman's heart was severely obstructed. He was rushed to emergency[[New surgeryYork Presbyterian Hospital]] for aemergency [[coronary artery bypass surgery|quintuple bypass]] at [[New York Presbyterian Hospital]]surgery.<ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/15/nyregion/artery-blocked-letterman-has-heart-bypass-surgery.html|title = Artery Blocked, Letterman Has Heart Bypass Surgery| work = The New York Times| date = January 15, 2000| access-date = March 23, 2009 | first=Tina | last=Kelley}}</ref> During the initialfirst weeks of his recovery, reruns of the ''Late Show'' were shown and introduced by friends of Letterman, including [[Norm Macdonald]], [[Drew Barrymore]],<ref name="Who's loyal" /> [[Ray Romano]], [[Robin Williams]], [[Bonnie Hunt]], [[Megan Mullally]], Bill Murray, [[Regis Philbin]], [[Charles Grodin]], [[Nathan Lane]], [[Julia Roberts]],<ref name="Who's loyal" /> [[Bruce Willis]], [[Jerry Seinfeld]], [[Martin Short]], [[Steven Seagal]], [[Hillary Clinton]], [[Danny DeVito]], [[Steve Martin]], and [[Sarah Jessica Parker]].
 
SubsequentlyLater, while still recovering from surgery, Letterman revived the late-night talk show tradition of "guest hosts" that had virtually disappeared on network television during the 1990s, allowing [[Bill Cosby]], [[Kathie Lee Gifford]], [[Dana Carvey]], [[Janeane Garofalo]], and others to host new episodes of the ''Late Show''. Upon his return to the show on February 21, 2000, Letterman brought all but one of the doctors and nurses on stage who had participated in his surgery and recovery (with extra teasing of a nurse who had given him bed baths—"This woman gave me a bath!"),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.popstarsplus.com/celebrities_davidletterman.htm |title=David Letterman biography |publisher=Popstarsplus.com |access-date=2021-04-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061118051312/http://www.popstarsplus.com/celebrities_davidletterman.htm|archive-date=2006-11-18}}</ref> including DrDrs. O. Wayne Isom and physician [[Louis Aronne]], who frequently appeared on the show.
 
For a number of episodes, Letterman continued to crack jokes about his bypass, including saying: "Bypass surgery: it's when doctors surgically create new blood flow to your heart. A bypass is what happened to me when I didn't get ''The Tonight Show!'' It's a whole different thing." In a later running gag, he lobbied Indiana to rename the freeway circling Indianapolis ([[Interstate 465|I-465]]) "The David Letterman Bypass". He also featured a montage of faux news coverage of his bypass surgery, which includedincluding a clip of Letterman's heart for sale on the [[Home Shopping Network]]. Letterman became friends with his doctors and nurses. In 2008, a ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' interview statedwrote: <blockquote>He hosted a doctor and nurse who'd helped perform the emergency quintuple-bypass heart surgery that saved his life in 2000. '"These are people who were complete strangers when they opened my chest,'" he says. '"And now, eight years later, they're among my best friends.'"<ref name="rs2008" /></blockquote> Additionally, Letterman invited the band [[Foo Fighters]] to play "[[Everlong]]",<ref name="mtvfoo">{{cite web|title=Foo Fighters To Welcome Letterman Back To ''Late Show''|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1429027/foo-fighters-to-welcome-letterman-back-to-late-show/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019013418/http://www.mtv.com/news/1429027/foo-fighters-to-welcome-letterman-back-to-late-show/|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 19, 2014|last=Basham|first=David|publisher=MTV|date=February 16, 2000|access-date=May 31, 2022}}</ref> introducing them as "my favorite band, playing my favorite song."<ref name="salonfoo">{{cite web|title=The top 10 reasons David Letterman's heart bypass operation was a good thing|url=https://www.salon.com/2000/03/20/letterman_3/|last=Millman|first=Joyce|work=[[Salon (website)|Salon]]|date=March 20, 2000|access-date=May 31, 2022|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220313030417/https://www.salon.com/2000/03/20/letterman_3/|archive-date=March 13, 2022}}</ref> During Letterman's last show, on which Foo Fighters appeared, Letterman said that Foo Fighters had been in the middle of a South American tour whichthat they canceled to come play on his comeback episode.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/david-letterman-says-goodbye-after-33-hilarious-years/ |title=David Letterman says goodbye after 33 hilarious years |date=May 21, 2015 |publisher=CBS News|access-date=September 24, 2019}}</ref>
 
In February 2003, Letterman again handed over the reins of the show to several guest hosts (including [[Bill Cosby]], [[Brad Garrett]], [[Whoopi Goldberg]], [[Elvis Costello]], [[John McEnroe]], [[Vince Vaughn]], [[Will Ferrell]], [[Bonnie Hunt]], [[Luke Wilson]], and bandleader Paul Shaffer) when he was diagnosed with a severe case of [[shingles]].<ref>{{cite news | title=David Letterman suffering from shingles | date=February 28, 2003 | url=https://www.record-courier.com/story/news/2003/03/01/david-letterman-suffering-from-shingles/19919309007/ | work=record-courier.com }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title=Dave's cure for shingles: duct tape | date=April 2, 2003 | url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2003/04/02/dave-s-cure-for-shingles-duct-tape/ | work=tampabay.com }}</ref><ref name=EW2003>{{cite magazine | last=Susman | first=Gary | date=March 10, 2003 | title=''"Late Show''" returns, with guest hosts for still-ill Dave | magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] | url=https://www.ew.com/article/2003/03/10/late-show-returns-guest-hosts-still-ill-dave | access-date=July 3, 2016}}</ref> [[Elvis Costello]],<ref name=EW2003/> [[John McEnroe]], [[Vince Vaughn]],<ref name=EW2003/> [[Will Ferrell]],<ref name=EW2003/> [[Bonnie Hunt]], [[Luke Wilson]], and bandleader Paul Shaffer) in February 2003, when he was diagnosed with a severe case of [[shingles]]. Later that year, Letterman made regular use of guest hosts—including [[Tom Arnold (actor)|Tom Arnold]] and [[Kelsey Grammer]]—for new shows broadcast on Fridays. In March 2007, [[Adam Sandler]], who had been scheduled to be the lead guest, served as a guest host while Letterman was ill with a stomach virus.<ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/20/arts/television/20cnd-letterman.html|title = Letterman is Ill, so Guest Takes Over Late Show| work = The New York Times|date = March 20, 2007| access-date = March 29, 2007 | first=Bill | last=Carter}}</ref>
 
===Second Re-signing with CBS ===
[[File:Barack Obama on the Late Show.jpg|thumb|Letterman withinterviewing President [[Barack Obama]] in 2009]]
In March 2002, as Letterman's contract with CBS neared expiration, [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] offered him the time slot for long-running news program ''[[Nightline]]'' with [[Ted Koppel]]. Letterman was interested, as he believed he could never match Leno's ratings at CBS due to Letterman's complaint of weaker [[lead-in]]s from the network's [[11 O'Clock News|late local news]] programs, but was reluctant to replace Koppel.<ref name="battle">{{cite news|last = Harris|first = R.|date = 2015-05-15|title = Remembering the Ted Koppel interview when his mask came off|url = https://variety.com/2015/tv/news/david-letterman-farewell-ted-koppel-2002-interview-1201499511|work = Variety|access-date = 2019-07-04|archive-date = 2019-07-04|df = mdy-all|url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190704000022/https://variety.com/2015/tv/news/david-letterman-farewell-ted-koppel-2002-interview-1201499511}}</ref> He addressed his decision to re-sign on the air, stating that he was content at CBS and that he had great respect for Koppel.
 
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On June 8 and 9, 2009, Letterman told two sexually themed jokes about a daughter (never named) of [[Sarah Palin]] on his TV show. These included a statutory rape joke about Palin's then 14-year-old daughter, Willow, and MLB player [[Alex Rodriguez]].<ref name="NOW">{{cite news|url =http://www.now.org/issues/media/hall-of-shame/index.php/television/letterman-palin-daughter| title = Letterman "Jokes" About Palin's Daughter| author = Lisa Bennett| publisher = [[National Organization for Women|NOW]]| date = June 11, 2009| access-date = April 27, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090615051330/http://www.now.org/issues/media/hall-of-shame/index.php/television/letterman-palin-daughter|archive-date=June 15, 2009}}</ref> Palin was in New York City at the time with Willow, and none of her other children were at the game.<ref name="NOW"/>
 
In a statement posted on the Internet, Palin said, "I doubt [Letterman would] ever dare make such comments about anyone else's daughter" and that "laughter incited by sexually perverted comments made by a 62-year-old male celebrity aimed at a 14-year-old girl is disgusting."<ref name="Palin vs. Letterman – ABC News">{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2009/06/palin-vs-letterman|title=Palin vs. Letterman|author=Caitlin Taylor|work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|date=June 11, 2009|access-date=April 27, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120216043242/http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2009/06/palin-vs-letterman|archive-date=February 16, 2012}}</ref> On his June 10 show, Letterman responded to the controversy, saying the jokes were meant to be about Palin's 18-year-old daughter, [[Bristol Palin|Bristol]], whose pregnancy as an unmarried teenager had caused some controversy during the [[United States presidential election of 2008]]. "These are not jokes made about [Palin's] 14-year-old daughter ... I would never, never make jokes about raping or having sex of any description with a 14-year-old girl."<ref name="Palin vs. Letterman – ABC News"/>
 
His remarks did not end public criticism. The [[National Organization for Women]] (NOW) released a statement supporting Palin, noting that Letterman had made "[only] something of an apology."<ref name="NOW"/> When the controversy failed to subside, Letterman addressed the issue again on his June 15 show, faulting himself for the error and apologizing "especially to the two daughters involved, Bristol and Willow, and also to the governor and her family and everybody else who was outraged by the joke."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/15/AR2009061503131.html|title=One Pregnant-Teen Joke Too Many? Angry Palin Gets Letterman to Apologize|author=Paul Farhi|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=June 16, 2009|access-date=April 27, 2012}}</ref> Rodriguez demanded an apology for implying that he was a child molester. Letterman never specifically apologized to Rodriguez.<ref>{{cite web|last=Washow |first=Don |url=https://www.adn.com/politics/article/rod-demands-apology-letterman-over-palin-joke/2009/06/16/ |title=A-Rod demands apology from Letterman over Palin joke |work=Anchorage Daily News |date=2009-06-16 |access-date=2022-02-06}}</ref>
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Letterman has [[tinnitus]], a symptom of [[hearing loss]]. On the ''Late Show'' in 1996, he talked about his experience with tinnitus during an interview with [[William Shatner]], who has severe tinnitus caused by an on-set explosion. Letterman has said that he was initially unable to pinpoint the noise inside his head and that he hears a constant ringing in his ears.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x96y7t_david-letterman-with-william-shatne_shortfilms|title=David Letterman with William Shatner – March, 1996!!|first=Ray |last=Glasser|work=Dailymotion}}</ref>
 
Letterman no longer drinks alcohol. On more than one occasion, he said that he had once been a "horrible alcoholic" and had begun drinking around the age of 11 or 13 and continued until 1981 when he was 34. He has said that in 1981, "I was drunk 80% of the time ... I loved it. I was one of those guys, I looked around, and everyone else had stopped drinking and I couldn't understand why."<ref>"[https://www.netflix.com/title/81747800 My Next Guest with David Letterman and John Mulaney]". ''Netflix''. April 30, 2024.</ref><ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmQcHhV9ChM&t=3m49s| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150520022547/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmQcHhV9ChM&t=3m49s| archive-date=2015-05-20|title=Aubrey Plaza Interview with David Letterman|work=YouTube}}</ref>{{dead link|date=February 2024}}<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBF8LIr8RG4&t=7m34s| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211028/HBF8LIr8RG4| archive-date=2021-10-28|title=Amanda Seyfried al David Letterman 12-12-2012|date=December 13, 2012|work=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> When he was shown drinking what appears to be alcohol on ''Late Night'' or the ''Late Show'', it was actually apple juice.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbs.com/shows/late_show/wahoo_gazette/160277/|title=Show #3715|date=21 August 2012|website=Late Show with David Letterman Wahoo Gazette|publisher=CBS|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140410145118/http://www.cbs.com/shows/late_show/wahoo_gazette/160277/|archive-date=10 April 2014}}</ref>
 
In 2015, Letterman said of his anxiety: "For years and years and years—30, 40 years—I was anxious and [[hypochondriac]]al and an alcoholic, and many, many other things that made me different from other people." He became calmer through a combination of [[Transcendental Meditation]] and low doses of medication.<ref name="rollingstone">{{cite news|title=David Letterman Says Goodbye: Inside Rolling Stone's New Issue|author=Mark Seliger |newspaper=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=May 6, 2015|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-news/david-letterman-says-goodbye-inside-rolling-stones-new-issue-52611/|access-date=May 31, 2022}}</ref> Letterman is a [[Presbyterian]], a religious tradition he was originally brought up in by his mother,<ref>{{Citation|last=Jimmy Kimmel Live|title=Jimmy Kimmel's FULL INTERVIEW with David Letterman|date=October 17, 2017|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YGrrsKs-Xg| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211028/2YGrrsKs-Xg| archive-date=2021-10-28|access-date=October 20, 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref> though he once said he was motivated by "[[Lutheran]], Midwestern guilt".<ref name="latimes1">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-oct-03-et-letterman-critic3-story.html|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|title=David Letterman comes clean without telling all|first=Mary |last=McNamara |date=October 3, 2009 |access-date=May 31, 2022}}</ref>
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===Marriages, relationships, and family===
[[File:David Letterman Tells Neal Brennan Why He Regrets Having Kids Too Late.webm|thumb|right|Letterman on becoming a father late in life, 2022]]
On July 2, 1968,<ref name="youtube=EJ46v_EDolg">{{cite web |author1=[[Late Night with David Letterman]] |title=Eva Gabor |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ46v_EDolg |website=[[YouTube]] |access-date=15 December 2022 |language=en |date=1986}}</ref> Letterman married his college sweetheart, Michelle Cook, in Muncie, Indiana; they divorced by October 1977.<ref>{{cite news|last=Goldman|first=Russell|title=Sex Scandal Sheds Light on David Letterman's Love Life|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/sex-scandal-sheds-light-david-lettermans-love-life/story?id=8737083|work=ABC News|date=October 2, 2009|access-date=September 30, 2014}}</ref> He also had a long-term cohabiting relationship with the former head writer and producer on ''Late Night'', [[Merrill Markoe]], from 1978 to 1988. Markoe created several ''Late Night'' staples, such as "Stupid Pet/Human Tricks".<ref name="Time">{{cite news |title=Pet Tricks |author=Amelia Weiss |newspaper=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=June 1, 1992 |url=http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,975648,00.html|access-date=April 5, 2021}}</ref> ''Time'' magazine wrote that theirs was the defining relationship of Letterman's career, with Markoe also acting as his writing partner. She "put the surrealism in Letterman's comedy."<ref>Daniel D'Addario, "Biography A TV traditionalist with a weird streak," ''Time'', April 17, 2017, p.&nbsp;56.</ref>
 
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