people watching? an electronic wizard. conan o brien, then in high school. and it is hard to explain that to people today. this guy was 180 degrees different from anything you had seen in that kind of format. would you like a tissue? the whole thing felt wrong/perfect. mash perfect for maybe perfect for conan but not for the time slot. after four months he was canceled. he thought his career was over. he was about as devastated as you could be. i think he remained for his career consumed with self-doubt. but they had other plans for dave. david letterman. he landed late night, right
after his hero johnny carson. in a time slot so late he could do anything he wanted on air. right over there is the today show. this is my idea and i m not wearing pants. it was a completely unique talk show. infused with dave s sarcasm. america s favorite summertime passtime, destruction by gravity. and whacky stunts. i just remember my friends and i watching that and thinking this is the greatest thing ever. the turkey is a flightless bird. i don t think so. brand new territory for a talk show. dave would throw, smashing the fourth wall, turning to his own team for spinirration. what do you do with the jacket when i m done with? i add to the big ball of
those coveted younger viewers. i want to rock right now you know, you re not surprising anybody at this point by being letterman. we all know what david letterman is, but he s still doing things you absolutely have to see. it s too damned hot! there you go! late-night observer bill carter has been seeing signs that dave has been winding down. he really hasn t done any of the bits he used to do. he doesn t really, he doesn t even go to rehearsal and there are people who would say he probably should have left when he was closer to the peak. but i think it s really been very hard for him. when this show stops being fun, i will retire ten years later. then, last april, letterman made a shocking reveal about a phone call he had with cbs head
said no, i m not doing that and he went to the cops. and i want to thank the people at the special prosecution bureau and the district attorney s office. this personal spent four months in jail. a week after the scandal, dave apologized to his wife on air. my wife regina has been horribly hurt by my behavior. and when something happens like that, if you hurt a person and it is your responsibility, you try to fix it. so let me tell you, folks, i got my work cut out for me. dave called this the lowest point in his life. the couple did reconcile and they are still together. talk about electric television. it is just television like nothing else you ve ever seen. his ratings went up. his ratings went up. but they have never recovered much from the early days because
counter all of that momentum at nbc. if you want to influence a congres congressman, you have to send him a full beer can. and gradually dave made peace with him. he is more comfortable with the hipper and slightly screwed attitude than being at number one. it doesn t matter what the ratings are. it doesn t matter. the fact of the matter is dave is the best there ever was. dave started something. in 2000 dave showed a much softer side after emergency heart bypass surgery and five weeks off the air, giving a much tribute to the hospital staff that helped him. these men and women right here saved my life. and when dave shows his human side, it s a real treat. you re like, oh, what is going