Date of Birth
28 April 1950, New Rochelle, New York, USABirth Name
James Douglas Muir LenoHeight
5' 11" (1.80 m)Mini Biography
Jay Leno began his career in night clubs, where he worked 300 nights a year before hitting it big in 1992 with his own late-night talk show, "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (1992). By that time he had appeared on television, acted in a few films (American Hot Wax (1978)) but hit paydirt with his late-night television appearances (he made a record number of visits to "Late Night with David Letterman" (1982)); for several years, he served as Johnny Carson's permanent guest host on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" (1962). A big, sweet guy with a very good comedy routine, he vied with David Letterman to inherit Carson's seat when Johnny retired in 1992. His victory was well-publicized, but empty, though he did gain a measure of revenge when his show beat Letterman's for the Emmy in 1995. Though he consistently lost in the ratings to Letterman except on special occasions, like Hugh Grant's first TV appearance after his encounter with Divine Brown, he surged ahead in 1996, as CBS plunged further into oblivion.
IMDb Mini Biography By: frankfob2@yahoo.comSpouse
| Mavis Nicholson | (30 November 1980 - present) |
Trade Mark
His large chin
Date of Birth
12 April 1947, Indianapolis, Indiana, USABirth Name
David Michael LettermanNickname
The Big ManDave
Height
6' 1½" (1.87 m)Mini Biography
Television would never be the same after David Letterman made his second attempt at a television show in 1982. But his career before becoming host of the show was quite an interesting and long one. Letterman was born in Broad Ripple, a neighborhood in Indianapolis. His childhood was relatively unremarkable, but he exhibited tendencies of the class clown and showed a very strong independent streak as a child. Letterman went on to graduate from Ball State University in the late 1960s and married Michelle Cook in 1969. From 1970 to 1974 he worked as a weatherman and TV announcer and from 1974 to 1975 as a radio talk show host.
As the late 1970s approached, Letterman was working as a struggling stand-up comic at The Comedy Store and started writing for television shows. He wrote for the summer series "The Peeping Times" and for such shows as "Good Times" (1974). Letterman had become something of a minor celebrity by 1978, by which time he had appeared on "The Gong Show" (1976), Mary Tyler Moore's variety series "Mary" (1978), "Liar's Club" (1976), "The $10,000 Pyramid" (1973), "Password Plus" (1979) and the variety series "The Starland Vocal Band Show" (1977). (It was also revealed on the Game Show Network that Letterman hosted a pilot of a game show in the seventies called The Riddlers (1977) (TV), but it was not made into a series.)
This exposure prompted many appearances on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" (1962). He became so popular that he was permanent substitute host by the end of the 1970s. NBC saw great potential in the young irreverent comedian, so they gave Letterman his own daytime talk show, "The David Letterman Show" (1980), which was a disaster and aired for only a few months. At about this time, Tom Snyder was having problems with his late-night show, "The Tomorrow Show" (1973), which aired after the "Tonight Show." His problems were mostly with his co-host, Rona Barrett, and Snyder was forced off air in late 1981. Letterman, who was still permanent co-host of the "Tonight Show," took over the post-Carson slot with "Late Night with David Letterman" (1982).
Letterman's show was extremely unconventional. For starters, Letterman was very political, whereas Johnny Carson had steered away from political jokes. Letterman's early antics changed talk shows. He would often stage elevator races in Radio City Music Hall. He made random calls to strangers and talked about the strangest subjects. At one point, Letterman got his associate Larry "Bud" Melman to stand outside the Russian Embassy and hand out pamphlets encouraging defection. He often made his guests feel uncomfortable with his intelligent and abrasive style, and guests often participated in funny and unusual skits with him. Letterman became almost an instant success, and some say he surpassed Carson in popularity.
As the late 1980s approached, Letterman was becoming more and more of a household name, often at odds with the censors over his show, and never one to kowtow to guests' wishes. But that only made him more popular, and he garnered more and more status as a world class talk show host. Among the more classic moments in his early show was the time he covered his suit with Alka Seltzer and jumped in a vat of water. Letterman helped Andy Kaufman with his wrestling saga, as Kaufman and Jerry Lawler pretended to get in a fight on "Late Night." Letterman also became known for his on-screen reclusiveness with respect to other shows. While Carson at one point in his career would often make cameos and guest appearances, Letterman would shy away from cameos and stuck almost solely to doing his "Late Night" show.
In 1992 Johnny Carson made a landmark announcement: he was retiring. Many thought that Letterman would be the natural choice as Carson's replacement, but many at NBC were leaning toward current "Tonight Show" substitute host Jay Leno. The battle was very public and very vicious, but in the end Leno won out, and Letterman continued hosting the post-"Tonight Show" slot. But in 1993, Letterman made his own big announcement: he was leaving NBC for a lucrative contract with CBS to star in the "Late Show with David Letterman" (1993). The battle intensified even more. NBC claimed that many of Letterman's gimmicks and jokes, including throwing the pencil at the camera, the Top Ten List, and Larry "Bud" Melman, among many others, were NBC's "intellectual property." NBC lost, but Larry "Bud" Melman would now be called by his real name, Calvert DeForest, on the CBS show. Competing in the late night wars with not only Leno but also Chevy Chase, Arsenio Hall and Ted Koppel, Letterman consistently won over all of his competition until the summer of 1995, when Leno had guest Hugh Grant on his show to discuss his highly publicized arrest for being caught with prostitute Divine Brown and Grant cried on screen. The ratings were tremendous, and Leno has consistently been beaten Letterman ever since.
In recent years, Letterman has toned down his act. He dresses more conservatively and tends to go the more traditional route of talk shows. It can be said that every talk show since, including Craig Kilborn and especially 'Conan O'Brien', has been influenced a great deal by Letterman's unconventional, irreverent, off-the-wall style. It was thought that Letterman was going to retire in the mid-'90s, but an impressive $14 million-per-year deal has kept Letterman with CBS. Near-tragedy struck, however, in January of 2000 when Letterman was diagnosed with coronary arterial blockage and underwent quintuple bypass surgery. The operation was successful, however, and Letterman received countless get-well cards and a great deal of publicity. Among David's better-known incidents in recent years have been Drew Barrymore's infamous table dance, an interview with a bizarre and ditzy Farrah Fawcett, his appearance in the movie Cabin Boy (1994) (written by and starring his former "Late Night" writer and performer Chris Elliott), his stint as host of The 67th Annual Academy Awards (1995) (TV), and his appearance in the Andy Kaufman bio Man on the Moon (1999). When "Politically Incorrect" (1994) was canceled in 2002, Letterman was sought after to leave CBS for ABC, but he declined to do so and stayed with CBS, where he will probably remain for quite a while.
Aside from being a talk show host, Letterman is an active producer. His production company is called Worldwide Pants. Over the years he was executive producer of his original show, his new show, "Everybody Loves Raymond" (1996), "The Building" (1993), "The Bonnie Hunt Show" (1995), "The High Life" (1996), "The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn" (1999), and "Ed" (2000).
Spouse
| Regina Lasko | (2003 - present) 1 child |
| Michelle Cook | (1969 - 1977) (divorced) |
Trade Mark
Gap-toothed grin.
Repeats a phrase of a joke immediately over and over again.
Top Ten lists.
Often makes jokes in his monologue involving himself.
White socks with black shoes.
His spinning pencil trick
Self-deprecating humour
Date of Birth
18 April 1963, Brookline, Massachusetts, USABirth Name
Conan Christopher O'BrienNickname
ConsieConey
The Cone-Zone
Height
6' 4" (1.93 m)Mini Biography
Conan O'Brien grew up in a large, Irish Catholic family in Massachusetts. At an early age, he began a love of comedy and goofing off, this carried on when he entered the prestigious Harvard University, acting out many pranks in his time, as well as become the president of the Harvard humor magazine, the Harvard Lampoon. After leaving Harvard, Conan found his way into a television writing job in LA. After jumping around on many unsuccessful shows, Conan moved out to New York to win an Emmy for his writing on "Saturday Night Live" (1975). Later, he moved on to work for "The Simpsons" (1989), when SNL Executive Producer Lorne Michaels offered him the job of producer for the now vacant 12:30 slot on NBC. Conan, after searching for a new host, decided to audition for the job himself, and eventually wound up as the host of "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" (1993).
IMDb Mini Biography By: Kevin Newcombe <>Spouse
| Liza Powel | (12 January 2002 - present) 2 children |
Trade Mark
Since 9/11, no longer begins the show by jumping around the stage but still makes the big final leap onto his mark and then spins his arm to "throw" to Max.
Frequently lampoons how much he is "unknown," "disliked," or poorly paid compared to guests and his "competition," despite the fact that the opposite is true.
Frequently makes jokes at his own expense and at the expense of band leader 'Max Weinberg' and band member La Bamba.
Frequently knocks over the microphone at his desk, usually after an awkward moment or brazen joke.
The string dance (a little made-up jig where he pulls an imaginary string behind his back, which moves his hips, and finishes by cutting it).
His hair.
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