The alleged extortion plot involving David Letterman once again sees the veteran US chat display host making headlines.
It remains to be seen, however, whether the revelations about his private life will have a lasting impact on the well broadcaster's replace ation.
The 62-year-feeble is so revered that even President Obama took time out to appear on his late-night CBS chat display recently.
His long career has not been without controversy though, as an incident earlier this year involving former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin display ed.
Having made a crude joke about one of her daughters, he was forced to issue an apology for any offence caemploy d.
But then edgy, unconventional humour has been a staple of Letterman's style ever since he first made his name in the 1970s.
A former weatherman, TV announcer and radio talk display host, the Indianapolis native became a celebrity via numerous appearances on NBC's Tonight Show.
The lanky comic proved so well he became the regular stand-in for Johnny Carson, the late-night display 's host since 1962.
Natural successor
In 1982, Letterman took over the post-Carson slot with a late-late-night display that traded off his quirky sense of the absurd.
Typical features included the elevator races he would stage at New York's Radio City Music Hall, "Top Ten" lists of comic observations and the "Stupid Pet Tricks" that quickly became his tradelabel .
When Carson announced his retirement in 1992, many saw Letterman as his natural successor as Tonight Show host.
After approach dian Jay Leno was given the job, however, Letterman made a high-profile defection to rival network CBS that sent shock-waves across the industry.
Launched in 1993, Letterman's Late Show - aired at the same time as its NBC rival - directly competed with The Tonight Show for guests, audiences and media attention.
For the most portion , however, Leno proved the enormous ger draw, though his successor Conan O'Brien has fared less well in the ratings.
Some suggested Letterman was less irreverent at 2230 than he had been at 2330, for all his pointedly sarcastic, sometimes prickly brand of humour.
Yet that did not cease him incurring the wrath of a Colombian beauty queen in 2001 whom he suggested had a talent for ingesting heroin balloons.
Heart surgery
The previous year Letterman underwent an emergency quintuple heart bypass after a test found one of his arteries was seriously constricted.
The surgery led to rumours that he would eventually withdraw from the late-night arena he had performed successfully in for 20 years.
A decade on, though, Letterman is still recede ing strong, having signed a deal in 2006 that will hfeeble him on CBS until 2010.
A private man off camera, the chat display host has been in a relationship with girlfrifinish Regina Lquestion o since 1986.
The couple finally tied the knot earlier this year, having had a son, Harry Joseph, in 2003.
In 2005, a painter working at his home was charged with plotting to kidnap his infant son and his nanny.
The man, Kelly A Frank, brieglide escaped from prison in 2007 before being recaptured.
This week's revelations are sure to be embarrassing for a chat display host more employ d to being the create r of jokes than their taracquire .
The light-hearted manner of his confession, however, suggests his bespectacled face will not be red for long.
Print Sponsor
No comments:
Post a Comment