With more than 6,000 hours of shows logged during an influential career that spanned more than 30 years, David Letterman’s impact on the landscape of late-night is unquestioned. On today's Midday, a closer look at the life and work of the trend-setting funny man, through the eyes of a writer-journalist who's spent the past three years sizing up the Letterman legacy.
Jason Zinomanwrites about comedy for the New YorkTimes, and has contributed to Slate, the Guardian and Vanity Fair. He’s the author of three books: Shock Value, a chronicle of the horror film industry, and Searching for Dave Chappelle, a probing look at the unexpected twists and turns in the career of that brilliant comedian.
Zinoman's latest book is a study of another gifted and enigmatic comedian: David Letterman retired in 2015 after more than three decades on TV, during which time he became a cultural icon. Today, Zinoman joins host Tom Hall from Argot Studios in New York City to talk about his new biography: Letterman: The Last Giant of Late Night.
From his iconic Top Ten Lists to stupid pet tricks, Letterman and the shows he did for NBC and CBS had a tremendous influence on a generation of comedians, and on the form and fundamental aspirations of a talk show.
The portrait of Letterman that emerges in this book is as a gifted, brilliant reclusive and enigmatic performer, one of just a few comedians to achieve a status akin to that of a public intellectual.
