David Letterman

At 77 years old, David Letterman has this physical status:

Early life and career

Letterman was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1947, and he has two sisters, one older and the other younger. Harry Joseph Letterman, 1915-73, was a florist, and his father, Harry Joseph Letterman (April 15, 1915-February 13, 1973), was a florist. Dorothy Marie Letterman Mengering (née Hofert; July 18, 1921-April 11, 2017), a church secretary for the Second Presbyterian Church of Indianapolis, was an occasional figure on Letterman's display, usually at holidays and birthdays.

Letterman grew up on the north side of Indianapolis, just 12 miles from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He loved collecting model cars, especially racers. He told an interviewer with Esquire that while growing up, he admired his father's ability to joke and be the life of the party. When David was a young child, Harry Joseph Letterman suffered a heart attack at the age of 36. As he grew up, Letterman was constantly worried about losing his father. In 1973, the elder Letterman died as a result of a second heart attack at the age of 57.

Letterman attended Broad Ripple High School in his hometown and spent as a stock boy at the local Atlas Supermarket. He initially intended to attend Indiana University, but his grades weren't strong enough, so he instead attended Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. He joined Sigma Chi fraternity in 1969 and graduated from what was then the Department of Radio and Television. Letterman later gave a scholarship to Ball State's "C students." Despite being registered for the draft and passing his physical after graduating from college, he was not eligible for service in Vietnam because he was not eligible for Vietnam because he had a draft lottery number of 346 (out of 366).

Letterman began his radio work as an announcer and newscaster at the college's student-run radio station, WBST, a 10-watt campus station that is now part of Indiana Public Radio. He was banned for treating classical music with irreverence. He later became involved with the establishment of another campus station, WAGO-AM 570 (now WCRD, 91.3).

Paul Dixon, host of the Paul Dixon Show, a Cincinnati-based talk show that also appeared in Indianapolis as he was growing up, cites him with the choice of career: he cites Paul Dixon, who was also on display in Indianapolis, for inspiring his choice of career.

Letterman began his work as a radio talk show host on WNTS (AM) and in Indianapolis, Indiana, as an anchor and weatherman shortly after graduating from Ball State in 1969. He earned some flak on air for his unpredictable on-air behavior, including congratulating a tropical storm for being upgraded to a hurricane and predicting hailstones "the size of canned hams." On another occasion, he also reported the weather and low temperatures for fictional cities ("eight inches of snow in Bingree and the immediate areas"), owing to inaccurate political dealings. "The higher-ups have cut the border between Indiana and Ohio, making it a huge province." Personally, I'm against it. "I have no idea what to do about it." He also appeared on a local kiddie show called "Freeze Dried Movies" (he once acted out a scene from Godzilla using plastic dinosaurs), and hosted a talk show on Saturday mornings in which he interviewed 4-H members about their projects.

Letterman appeared as a pit road reporter for ABC Sports' tape-delayed coverage of the Indianapolis 500 in 1971, his first national television broadcast appearance (WLWI was the local ABC affiliate at the time). He was first introduced as Chris Economaki, but this was changed at the end of the interview (Jim McKay announced his name as Dave Letterman). Mario Andretti, a letterman who had just dropped out of the competition, was interviewed by a letterman.

Letterman moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1975, after being inspired by his then-wife Michelle and several of his Sigma Chi fraternity brothers, with the intention of becoming a comedy writer. He and Michelle loaded their possessions into his pickup truck and rode west. He still owned the vehicle as of 2012, as of 2012. He began performing comedy at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles. Jimmie Walker performed on stage; with George Miller's endorsement, Letterman joined a group of comedians whom Walker hired to write jokes for his stand-up act; also included Jay Leno, Paul Mooney, Robert Schimmel, Richard Jeni, Elayne Boosler, Jack Handey, and Steve Oedekerk.

Letterman was a writer and regular on CBS' six-week summer series The Starland Vocal Band Show in 1977. He produced The Riddlers, a 1977 pilot for a game show that was never picked up), and co-starred in the Barry Levinson-produced comedy special Peeping Times, which aired in January 1978. Letterman was a cast member of Mary Tyler Moore's variety show, Mary, later this year. He appeared on Mork & Mindy (as a parody of EST leader Werner Erhard) and appearances on game shows including The $20,000 Pyramid, The Gong Show, Hollywood Squares, Password Plus, and Liar's Club, as well as Canadian cooking show Celebrity Cooks (March 24, 1978), and The Mike Douglas Show (April 24, 1979 & 1980). He was also screen tested for the lead role in 1980's Airplane!, a part that would later be credited to Robert Hays.

The curiosity of scouts for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was captured by Letterman's dry, sarcastic humor, and he was soon to be a regular participant on the program. He became a fan of Carson and was a regular guest host for the show from 1978 to 1980. Carson is credited with the most influence on his work.

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