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23 years ago today...

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ChuckNet:

--- Quote ---I don't know if Dave starting playing to the masses a few years into his LATE NIGHT run or if magically I just figured it out, but I never found his morning show to be all that funny.
--- End quote ---

In the beginning, the network \"suits\" wanted a more convential variety show, w/Dave doing cooking demonstrations and so forth. After producer Edythe Chan and director Bruce Burmster (direct from Stewart's camp...their boss was supposed to produce the show, but left shortly before its premiere over creative differences) were replaced by Robert Morton and Hal Gurnee, respectively, the show began hitting its stride, but it was too late.

However, the imminent cancellation did give the show a chance to let Dave really be himself and give us a glimpse of things to come...

Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious \"Chuckie Baby\")

Matt Ottinger:

--- Quote ---In the beginning, the network \"suits\" wanted a more convential variety show, w/Dave doing cooking demonstrations and so forth.
--- End quote ---
Not to mention my favorite incongruous element -- live news updates with Edwin Newman, who was actually on the set with Dave for the first little while.  They eventually removed Newman to a separate studio that Dave would \"throw\" to, but even the unflappable Newman never entirely got used to having to wait for the studio audience applause to die down before he could start.

BrandonFG:
[quote name=\'Skynet74\' date=\'Jul 16 2003, 10:54 AM\']ya see, that really Sucks. Just to think if Wheel was canceled instead, we could of been watching The Nightime versions of High Rollers and Chain Reaction every evening now instead of Wheel and Jeopardy.  I can picture the High Roller Mobile traveling across the Country for contestant searches. A Big Truck with two Giant Dice on the side! :-)
[/quote]
Heehee I remember reading back on ATGS that Merv had been trying desparately to sell Wheel into syndication, during the Woolery days. I'm assuming that this is when they thought it would be cancelled in 1980, and therefore Merv wanted to go ahead with a syndie deal, even though a lot of syndicators were extremely reluctant to do syndicate Wheel.

BTW, if there had been a nighttime HR, would Trebek have done J!? :-)

SRIV94:
[quote name=\'ChuckNet\' date=\'Jul 16 2003, 01:49 PM\']
--- Quote ---I don't know if Dave starting playing to the masses a few years into his LATE NIGHT run or if magically I just figured it out, but I never found his morning show to be all that funny.
--- End quote ---

In the beginning, the network \"suits\" wanted a more convential variety show, w/Dave doing cooking demonstrations and so forth. After producer Edythe Chan and director Bruce Burmster (direct from Stewart's camp...their boss was supposed to produce the show, but left shortly before its premiere over creative differences) were replaced by Robert Morton and Hal Gurnee, respectively, the show began hitting its stride, but it was too late.[/quote]
I guess I should've clarified--it even took me a couple of years into his LATE NIGHT run before I got the gist of his humor (granted that if I knew then what I know now I probably could've appreciated the first couple of years and the morning show that much more).

As an aside, Morty never produced the morning show--that honor (?) went to Barry Sand (Morty was elevated from segment producer of LNWDL to producer when Sand left to helm the [rightly] lamented WILTON NORTH REPORT, then shared executive producing chores with Peter Lassally when Johnny left THE TONIGHT SHOW and Lassally moved to NY to be with Dave).

Doug

johnnya2k3:
I was too young to remember Letterman's daytime show, but one of the clips they showed on Headliners and Legends from it was his audience waving homemade signs to the camera (similar to those you see on Raw and Smackdown) when he came out. Some were...

KILL WINK? (referring to Wink Martindale)
NOBODY CAN FILL THE GAP LIKE DAVID
DAVID LETTERMAN FOR PRESIDENT, (some other name) FOR V.P.
And my favorite: NBC IS A PEACOCK! (since they were dead last among the Big Three networks at the time)

Of course Dave would get a second chance in 1982 replacing Tom Snyder, and the rest was late night history.

Jonathan Allen

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