Ménage Á Pop is a three times a week intimate discussion between two people and a piece of pop culture.
Of all his childhood fantasies, Bob still dreams of a talk show. To which you might be thinking "isn't this a talk show?" Or maybe "do people still watch talk shows?" Or even "what's with all the telepathy?" Well, to get out of your head and into his, here is podcaster Bob Canning recounting what he learned over so many late nights with David Letterman.
You can follow today’s guest BOB CANNING on TWITTER @rhcanning. You can also listen to him cohost the podcast 20TH CENTURY POP! at www.nahpods.com/20popcast.
POP NOTES
NBC’s LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN originally premiered on Monday, February 1st 1982. The episode featured actor Bill Murray and scientist Mr. Wizard as guests as well as a backstage tour of the entire studio.
Before LATE NIGHT , David Letterman hosted a daytime talk show entitled THE DAVID LETTERMAN SHOW. The show aired for 90 episodes from June 23rd to October 24th 1980. While well received by critics, the show was never a hit in the ratings. With news of its impending cancellation, Letterman spent its final last two weeks experimenting with the the template that became his late night program.
Through its 11 season run, LATE NIGHT’s writing staff included such comedy legends as Meriil Markoe (MOONLIGHTING), Jim Downey (SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE), Paul Simms (NEWSRADIO) Tom Gammill (SEINFELD) and Max Pross (IT'S GARRY SHANDLING'S SHOW).
Letterman was considered by many to be heir to THE TONIGHT SHOW upon Johnny Carson’s retirement. Carson himself campaigned for this idea but NBC ultimately chose comedian Jay Leno citing he attracted and maintained a younger audience.
Frustrated by his treatment during the Tonight Show debacle, Letterman opted to end his NBC run on June 25th 1993. Simpsons and Saturday Night Live writer Conan O-Brien was then slated to take over the LATE SHOW.
Following his exit from NBC, David Letterman relocated to CBS where he launched THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN on Augusts 30 1993. The program aired an hour earlier than the LATE SHOW’s old slot, putting it in direct completion with Jay Leno’s THE TONIGHT SHOW.
Jay Leno and David Letterman came up as friends in the comedy club scene of the 1970s. In the early seasons of the LATE SHOW , Leno was a frequent and favorite guest of Letterman. This friendship crumbled following their competition for TONIGHT SHOW, forming a rivalry between the respective shows.
David Letterman hosted THE LATE SHOW on CBS for 22 seasons, airing his final episode on May 20th 2015.
Prior to his role as talk show host, David Letterman guest starred on an episode of MORK AND MINDY (1979) as well featuring in the ensemble of THE MARY TYLER MOORE HOUR (1979).
Tune back Friday when Bob analyzes some Penguin Dreams (and stranger things) with the Bloom County mascot of OPUS THE PENGUIN.
This episode of MÉNAGE Á POP was recorded by CAST, an online audio platform that lets you create and record a multi-guest podcast straight from your web-browser. It was then mastered by AUPHONIC, a web-based post-production service. Check out both sights for trial and subscription information.
MUSIC FEATURED IN TODAY’S EPISODE:
“Three Ways To Do That” (opening theme) composed and performed by The Madeline Prior. All rights reserved with Not A Holograms podcasts.
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Follow Tim Blevins on TWITTER @subcultist and on INSTAGRAM @subcultist.
Try to understand the present while living in the past with Tim’s weekly podcast 20TH CENTURY POP! at www.nahpods.com/20popcast
For questions, queries or, by random chance, press contact Tim Blevins at subcultist@gmail.com.