“From the visitor’s dugout at Fenway Park...”

It is Episode 6,007

April 21, 2015

“And now . . . rough and tough and strong and mean . . . David Letterman.” Dave receives a standing ovation as he makes his way to the stage. The monologue opens with Dave asking the audience to pick up around themselves so he can get the deposit back on the theater. This is the first time he begins the show with a retirement joke. Topics include New York, Todd the intern winning the Pulitzer Prize, and an “extra” comparing Senator Bernie Sanders to Larry David. This is months before Larry David would first play Sanders on Saturday Night Live.

Jill Goodwin: I watched a few of these episodes before we talked, and I wondered if someone from SNL was watching the show and thought, “Hey?” It isn’t a crazy leap to make. We were doing that first.

Steve Young: We do get points for being there ahead of the curve, but history has proved that it was sort of a piece of low-hanging fruit.

The Top Ten List is “Things Overheard at the Latest Secret Service Meeting.” The best-of piece is a spoof of The Shawshank Redemption with Alan Kalter trying to escape the theater through a tunnel.

Bill Scheft: We showed a classic remote in Act 2. It first aired February 24, 2006. In November 2007, when I was moderating a Late Show writers panel at the Paley Center, my longtime colleague Lee Ellenberg, who wrote the piece with his frequent collaborator Jeremy Weiner, introduced it as “an example of the kind of thing we can do at the show when we have the time and the resources.” 

Jeremy Weiner: Lee wrote the Shawshank one. I worked with Alan Kalter a bunch. When I was working as a segment coordinator for the writers, I would bring down scripts to Alan and have to talk to him about what he would have to do on the show. It was so fun to see his initial reaction to what he would have to do. Alan was great.

Lee Ellenberg: I mentioned the idea in passing to Eric and Justin Stangel [head writers] and they said, “That’s funny. Write it up.” That was the whole thing. Of all the pieces I was responsible for, that one was, by far, the most involved. Because we could only shoot when we had a spare moment, which wasn’t often, it took about a month! I think Spielberg shot the D-Day scene from Saving Private Ryan in less time. But our director, Jerry Foley, somehow managed to carve out slivers of time in the schedule so we could grab a shot whenever possible: during rehearsal, before rehearsal, after the show, etc. To be honest, the idea itself and the writing are . . . fine. Rather, it’s a testament to our crew and production staff that they managed, in the limited free moments we had, to pull this piece together and make it look as good as it did. The head of our scenic department, Jason Kirschner, designed some really beautiful props, like the tunnel that Alan crawls through. Editor Steve Hostomsky did an outstanding job editing the piece.

Steve Young: Alan Kalter was such a pro and so entertaining. He had a terrific ability to just be the announcer guy, but with shading of weird darkness and desperation underneath. I would write all the weird lines that Alan would say going into commercials. Once in a while he would call me up and ask, “How do I pronounce this odd word?” He was quite game. I would see him in the elevator and he’d say, “That one last night was so bizarre. I loved it.”

Jeremy Weiner: Alan was such a pro. He was just really fun. We would do these screen bits where it was him and his brother Rick. They would do duets together. It was great.

Rick Scheckman: When Alan Kalter was hired, it energized the show. We didn’t know he’d be great in comedy pieces. We lucked into that. He was hired for his professionalism and then we found out he could do that stuff. 

This episode includes the Piedmont Bird Callers, a bit that was carried over from The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson. Dave announces that this appearance marks the fiftieth year of the Bird Callers appearing on late-night television: a group of high-schoolers from Piedmont, California, making different bird calls in groups. For the viewer, it’s bittersweet, knowing this is likely the end of a fifty-year run. 

Brian Teta: It was important to Dave to continue that tradition. We all assumed that Ellen Degeneres or someone would pick it up. It is sad. It was a fun tradition. Dave enjoyed teasing the kids. I am not even sure the kids had seen the show before they showed up. I know more about these birds than anyone should ever know. 

Sheila Rogers: Peter Lassally, who had worked at The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson, was integral in bringing them on our show for twenty years. It was the last hurrah of the bird callers, which is ridiculous, but fun. 

The first guest is Paul Rudd. He tells a funny story about how he inadvertently invited all of Kansas City to his mom’s house. He also promotes the upcoming Antman film, then pays tribute to Dave. Rudd says, “I am so happy to be on the show before it ends. I know how much you hate compliments. Thirty years ago I joined the David Letterman Fan Club.” Dave says, “It had nothing to do with us.”

As a fan club member Rudd received a pin, a collapsible cup, a sponge, a back scratcher, and a balloon. He shows his pin, and a never-used sponge that says “I’m a member of the David Letterman Fan Club” on it. They put the sponge in water, as it is supposed to grow. If it does, it doesn’t grow very much. Rudd wipes the desk with it. “I never thought I’d clean your desk with it,” he says. 

 

Brian Teta: Paul Rudd is one of those people we have known forever. He is a tremendous Dave fan. He had the fan club sponge. He had pitched this for years. Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, and Paul Rudd—we never let them talk about how much they loved Dave. Dave didn’t want to be fawned over. Now at the end, we were able to let Paul pay tribute. 

Musical Guest

Chaka Khan performs a song that Paul Shaffer co-wrote with Paul Jabara, “It’s Raining Men.” Paul and the band accompany her. The band is set up on stage with Paul playing the electric piano center stage.

Sheryl Zelikson: It was a great tribute to Paul. Still to this day people don’t know that Paul Shaffer wrote that song. It was a lot of fun. 

Randi Grossack: Paul was very involved in rehearsal. It was a huge production. It seemed pretty wild to us in the tape room. Chaka Khan performed on the show the first year and then sent a painting, a large portrait of herself. It hung in the writers’ room for a while.

Worldwide Pants Tag: “Hey look . . . canaries.”