Leslie Moonves
Born	(1949-10-06) October 6, 1949 (age 62)[1] New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation	President and Chief Executive Officer of CBS Corporation
Salary	$69.9M in 2011 (includes other compensation)[2]
Spouse	Nancy Wiesenfeld Moonves (m. 1978-2004) (divorced) Julie Chen (m. 2004–present)
Website
[3]

Leslie Moonves /ˈmuːnvɛz/ (born October 6, 1949)^[1] is President and Chief Executive Officer of CBS Corporation.

Moonves served as co-president and co-chief operating officer of Viacom, Inc., the predecessor to CBS Corporation, from 2004 until the company split on December 31, 2005. Prior to that he had been in a series of executive positions for CBS since July 1995. He is also one of the Board of Directors at ZeniMax Media.^[3]

Early life[link]

Moonves was born in New York City and grew up in Valley Stream, New York. He attended Valley Stream Central High School and went to Bucknell University, graduating in 1971.^[4] In his sophomore year he realized he hated the sciences, so he switched his major to Spanish and acted in a few plays.^[5]

Business career[link]

Moonves had previous upper management experience early in his business career. He was in charge of first-run syndication and pay/cable programming at 20th Century Fox Television. Another position he held at 20th Century Fox Television was Vice President of movies and mini-series. Other previous positions he held include Vice President of development at Saul Ilson Productions (in association with Columbia Pictures Television) and a development executive for Catalina Productions.^[3]

Lorimar Television and Warner Brothers Television[link]

Moonves joined Lorimar Television in 1985 as executive in charge of its movies and mini-series, and in 1988, became head of creative affairs. From 1989 to 1993, he was President at Lorimar. Then in July 1993, he became President/CEO of Warner Bros. Television, when Warner Bros. and Lorimar Television combined operations. While Moonves was president/CEO of Warner Bros. Television, he green-lit the hit shows Friends and ER, among many others.^[5]

CBS[link]

He joined CBS in July 1995 as President of CBS Entertainment. From April 1998 until 2003, he was President and Chief Executive Officer at CBS Television, then was promoted to Chairman and CEO of CBS in 2003. He oversees all operations of the company, including the CBS Television Network, The CW (a joint venture between CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. Entertainment), CBS Television Stations, CBS Television Studios, CBS Television Distribution, Showtime, CBS Radio, CBS Records, CBS Outdoor, Simon & Schuster, CBS Interactive, CBS Consumer Products, CBS Home Entertainment, CBS Outernet and CBS Films. During this time (2003), CBS became America's most watched television network, going from last to first.

Among the shows that have given CBS a new lease on life is the CSI franchise and Survivor. CBS had six of the ten most-watched primetime shows in the final quarter of 2005: CSI, Without a Trace, CSI: Miami, Survivor: Guatemala, NCIS, and Cold Case.^[5]

In February 2005, Moonves was identified as the executive directly responsible for ordering the cancellation of UPN's Star Trek: Enterprise and the ending of the 18-year Star Trek television franchise.^[6]

In January 2006, Moonves was instrumental in making the deal that brought together CBS-owned UPN with The WB to form the CW Network.

On February 28, 2006, Moonves led CBS to file a $500 million lawsuit against Howard Stern for allegedly breaching his contract by failing to disclose the details of his deal with Sirius Satellite Radio while still employed by Infinity Broadcasting. Stern vowed to fight the suit, and claimed on his radio program that Moonves, and CBS, were trying to "bully" him and his agent, Don Buchwald. Stern later appeared on CBS' own Late Show with David Letterman, wearing a shirt mocking Leslie and his wife. On June 7, 2006, Stern announced that the lawsuit had been settled. As part of the settlement, Sirius acquired the exclusive rights to all of the WXRK tapes (over two decades worth of shows) for $2 million.

Acting career[link]

This section requires expansion.

In his early career, Moonves was an actor. He landed a few television roles, playing tough guys on Cannon and The Six Million Dollar Man^[7] before deciding on a career change.^[5] He also worked as one of casting director Caro Jones' first office assistants early in her career.^[8]

On April 7, 2003, Moonves portrayed himself in an episode of The Practice.

From early 2004, Moonves has made regular contributions to Late Show with David Letterman. One of these appearances was provoked by David Letterman himself when he declared outrage that Jay Leno was featured prominently on the CBS website in an ad for CBS' telecast of the People's Choice Awards. On the Late Show, Letterman jokingly warned the "CBS stooge in the control room" to call his buddies "before things turn ugly." Leslie obliged. Later appearances have taken the same format, with Letterman discussing current events and the CBS network with the company's CEO.

Personal life[link]

Moonves with his wife Julie Chen at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival.

Moonves is the great-nephew of David Ben-Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel.^[9]

Moonves resides in the hills above Brentwood, California.

With his first wife of 26 years, Nancy Wiesenfeld Moonves (m. Dec 17, 1978, div. 2004), he has three children.^[10]

In April 2003, Nancy Moonves filed for divorce in L.A. Superior Court, citing irreconcilable differences, according to her lawyer Dennis Wasser. Nancy and Les Moonves were already living apart.^[11]

In 2004, although his divorce from Nancy was not yet finalized, Les Moonves began dating CBS' The Early Show reporter Julie Chen.^[12] On December 10, 2004, Moonves got a court to grant an early divorce.^[13] Tired of waiting, Moonves' motion cited a "desire to return to the status of being single". Moonves foresaw a lengthy trial to settle the property and other issues. He argued that "terminating the marital status will aid in promoting settlement of this matter", and the judge gave his request the stamp of approval—leaving the divorce's alimony, child support and property division details to be determined later—so he could remarry. Just thirteen days later in Mexico, he married television and news personality Julie Chen.^[12] On September 24, 2009, Chen gave birth to a son, Charlie.^[14]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Archive of American Television
• http://www.zenimax.com/bod.htm

Julie Chen
Chen with her husband Leslie Moonves at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival
Born	Julie Suzanne Chen (1970-01-06) January 6, 1970 (age 42) Queens, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Presenter, news anchor, producer
Years active	1995–present
Spouse	Leslie Moonves (2004-present)
Children	1
Website
Official CBS Bio

Julie Suzanne Chen (born January 6, 1970) is an American television personality, news anchor, and producer for CBS.^[1] She has 16 years of newscasting experience. She is best known for co-anchoring CBS' The Early Show, alongside Harry Smith and Maggie Rodriguez. She has been the host of the U.S. version of Big Brother since its debut in July 2000. She is currently a co-host and the moderator of the CBS daytime series, The Talk, which features a panel of five hosts, discussing controversial maternal topics and contemporary issues. The Talk premiered on October 18, 2010.

Early life[link]

Julie Chen was born in Queens, New York. Chen's mother Wan Ling Chen^[2] grew up in Rangoon, Burma, where Chen's grandfather was a leading industrialist. Her father was born in China and was one of the top leaders in the Kuomintang government of Chiang Kai-shek. Consequently, her family moved everywhere in China, eventually fleeing to Taiwan. Her two older sisters are Gladys and Victoria.^[3]

Chen attended Junior High School 194 in the Whitestone area of Queens, New York, where she was voted "Most Intelligent" and "Most Likely to Succeed." She graduated from high school in 1987 from St. Francis Prep after having missed the cutoff scores for specialized high school entrance exams for schools like the Bronx High School of Science, the school her older sisters attended. She attended the University of Southern California and graduated in 1991 with a major in broadcast journalism and in English.^[4]

Career[link]

One of her earlier jobs came in June 1990, interning at CBS Morning News—the series which she would anchor a decade later—where she answered phones and copied faxes for distribution. The following year, while still in school, she worked for ABC NewsOne for one season as a desk assistant. She was subsequently promoted to work as a producer for the next three years. The following year, she traveled to Dayton, Ohio, to work as a newsanchor for WDTN-TV, from 1995 to 1997.^[5][6]

From 1999 to 2002, Chen was the anchor of both early-morning shows, CBS Morning News & The Early Show, alongside Bryant Gumbel and Jane Clayson. From 2002-2010, she was a co-host for The Early Show on CBS, before leaving the daily position but remaining as a Special Contributing Anchor for the program. Before CBS News she was a reporter and weekend anchor at WCBS-TV in New York City.

Since 2000, she has also been the host of the American version of Big Brother. During the first season (2000), Chen was widely criticized in the media for her heavily scripted, wooden delivery in her interaction with the studio audience and in the interviews on the live programs, earning her the nickname "Chenbot." She has indicated in two separate interviews,^[7][8] that she takes no personal offense to the term, adding that it may derive from her "precise on-air style" which comes from "a desire to be objective." She again acknowledged the nickname while discussing mugs made in her likeness when she proudly proclaimed, "I am the Chenbot!" in a segment^[9] on the CBS Early Show.

Julie Chen is the moderator of the CBS daytime talk show titled The Talk, along with a panel of other "celebrity" moms. Season 1 of this series featured Chen with the co-hosts Sharon Osbourne, Sara Gilbert, Holly Robinson Peete, Leah Remini and Marissa Jaret Winokur who left during the first season.^[10] In August 2011, contract options for Julie Chen, Sara Gilbert and Sharon Osbourne were picked up and extended for Season 2. However, Leah Remini and Holly Robinson Peete's contracts were not renewed. No official reason was released from the show's producer John Redmann or CBS, which lead to gossip columns and internet forums to speculate on sensational rumors about why they were not asked to come back.^[11][12] In September 2011, they were replaced by co-host Sheryl Underwood and guest hosts actress Molly Shannon and reality TV star Kris Jenner.^[13][14] On October 23, 2011, the show confirmed officially that Aisha Tyler was added as a co-host.^[15] The show is similar to The View although not as politicized. It premiered on October 18, 2010.^[16]

Personal life[link]

Following her graduation from USC as a broadcasting and English major, Julie Chen became a news assistant for ABC News in L.A in September 1991. There, Julie Chen met her future long time boyfriend, TV news editor Gary Donahue. In August 2000, Julie Chen became engaged to Gary Donahue, 28 years her senior.^[17] Julie Chen's busy television career at CBS conflicted with Gary Donahue's desire to settle down and retire so the couple eventually ended their engagement in 2001. Chen focused her time on her career anchoring for both CBS Morning News and The Early Show as well as hosting the popular Summer reality television series Big Brother. Leslie Moonves aka "Les" Moonves is the president and CEO of CBS Television. He began dating Big Brother host Julie Chen during his long separation from his estranged wife Nancy Wiesenfeld Moonves. On April 22, 2003, a week after Les Moonves signed a five-year multimillion dollar contract with Viacom,^[18] his wife Nancy finally filed for divorce in L.A. Superior Court, citing irreconcilable differences according to her lawyer Dennis Wasser.^[19] Divorce proceedings were delayed for almost two years due to financial settlement disagreements. On December 10, 2004, Moonves got a court to grant an early divorce leaving spousal support and child support to be determined at a later date.^[20][21]

On December 23, 2004, Julie Chen married Les Moonves in a private ceremony attended by friends and family at a private home in Acapulco, Mexico. Chen wore an ivory gown designed by renowned Lebanese designer Reem Acra, while Moonves wore an Armani suit. Following an old Chinese wedding tradition, Chen walked down the aisle with a coin in her shoe to guarantee prosperity. Following the ceremony, the couple danced to "The Way You Look Tonight" as fireworks lit up the night sky.^[22] Later, Chen explained in a Sirius Satellite Radio interview by Howard Stern that she signed "a very generous" prenup with Les Moonves.^[23] Chen is currently the stepmother of Les' three children: Adam, Michael, and Sara Moonves from his first marriage with Nancy.^[24] On September 24, 2009, she gave birth to a son named Charlie.^[25]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Julie Chen at NNDB
• Archived biography of Chen from one of her first reporting jobs. - WDTN-TV, Channel 2, Dayton, Ohio.
• Interview with Entertainment Weekly discussing Chen, including her opinion on her nickname "The Chenbot."

v t e Big Brother in the United States Big Brother Season 1  · 2  · 3  · 4  · 5  · 6  · 7  · 8  · 9 · 10  · 11  · 12  · 13  · 14 Companion Shows Current After Dark Previous House Calls Winners Eddie McGee · Will Kirby · Lisa Donahue · Jun Song · Drew Daniel · Maggie Ausburn · Mike Malin · Dick Donato · Adam Jasinski  · Dan Gheesling  · Jordan Lloyd  · Hayden Moss  · Rachel Reilly Main presenters Current Julie Chen (2000–present) Former Gretchen Massey (2004–2008)  · Marcellas Reynolds (2004–2005) Related articles Endemol · John de Mol · CBS (2000-present) · Global (2000-present) · E4 (2004, 2008) · Showtime 2 (2007-present)  · Global Reality Channel (2010-present) · Controversy and criticism · HouseGuests · 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike · The Glass House Category ·  Commons

Dan Rather
Dan Rather at Kabul, Afghanistan, in July 2011
Born	Daniel Irvin Rather, Jr. (1931-10-31) October 31, 1931 (age 80) Wharton, Texas, U.S.
Education	Sam Houston State University
Occupation	Journalist Anchor
Years active	1950–present
Notable credit(s)	CBS Evening News anchor (1981–2005) 60 Minutes correspondent (1968–1981; 1999–2006)
Spouse	Jean Goebel
Children	Robin (daughter) Danjack (son)

Daniel Irvin "Dan" Rather, Jr. (born October 31, 1931) is an American journalist and the former news anchor for the CBS Evening News. He is now managing editor and anchor of the television news magazine Dan Rather Reports on the cable channel HDNet. Rather was anchor of the CBS Evening News for 24 years, from March 9, 1981, to March 9, 2005. He also contributed to CBS's 60 Minutes. Rather became embroiled in controversy about a disputed news report involving President Bush's Vietnam-era service in the National Guard and subsequently left CBS Evening News in 2005, and he left the network altogether after 43 years in 2006.^[1]

Early life[link]

Rather's boyhood home being restored at the Wharton County Museum

Daniel Irvin Rather, Jr. (/ˈræðər/) was born on October 31, 1931, in Wharton County, Texas, the son of Daniel Irvin Rather, Sr., and the former Byrl Veda Page. The Rathers moved to Houston, and Dan attended Love Elementary School and Hamilton Middle School. He graduated in 1949 from John H. Reagan High School in Houston. In 1953, he received a bachelor's degree in journalism from Sam Houston State University^[2] where he was editor of the school newspaper, The Houstonian. At Sam Houston, he was a member of the Caballeros – the founding organization of the currently active Epsilon Psi chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity.^[3] After obtaining his undergraduate degree, Rather briefly attended South Texas College of Law in Houston, which later awarded him an honorary Juris Doctor in 1990. In 1954, Rather enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, but was soon discharged because of having had rheumatic fever as a child .^[4]

Early career[link]

Rather began his journalism career in 1950 as an Associated Press reporter in Huntsville, Texas. Later, he was a reporter for United Press (1950–1958), several Texas radio stations, and the Houston Chronicle (1954–1955). Around 1955, Rather did a story on heroin. Under the auspices of the Houston Police, he experienced the drug which he characterized as "a special kind of hell."^[5] While at Sam Houston State, Rather worked for KSAM-FM radio in Huntsville, Texas, calling junior high, high school, and Sam Houston State football games.^[6] He later spent four seasons as the play-by-play announcer for the University of Houston football team.^[7] During the 1959 minor league baseball season, Rather was the play-by-play radio announcer for the Houston Buffs team of the triple A American Association. In 1959, he began his television career as a reporter for KTRK-TV in Houston. Rather was subsequently promoted to the director of news for KHOU-TV, the CBS affiliate in Houston. Ray Miller, news director of KPRC-TV, the NBC affiliate in Houston, also mentored Rather in the early years.

In early September 1961, Rather reported live from the Galveston Seawall as Hurricane Carla threatened the Texas coastline. In his autobiography, Rather notes that back then, television stations did not have their own radar systems, and of course nobody then had the modern computerized radar that combines the radar image with an outline map. So he took a camera crew to a National Weather Service radar station located on the top floor of the Post Office Building on 25th Street in Galveston, where a technician drew a rough outline of the Gulf of Mexico on a sheet of plastic, and held that over the black and white radar display to give Rather's audience an idea of the storm's size and position its eye. His reporting, which has been imitated by countless other reporters, impressed the network executives at CBS, and they offered him a job as a CBS News correspondent. Rather refused CBS's first offer, but accepted its second offer when it came three months later.

On February 28, 1962, Rather left Houston for New York City for a six-month trial initiation. Rather didn't fit in easily on the East Coast, and his first reports for CBS included coverage of the crash of American Airlines Flight 1 in Jamaica Bay, and a less memorable event on the suffocation of children at a hospital in Binghamton. Shortly after, Rather was made chief of CBS's Southwest bureau in Dallas. In 1963, he was appointed chief of the Southern bureau in New Orleans, responsible for coverage of news events in the South, Southwest, Mexico and Central America. It would be only a matter of time before Rather reported on the Kennedy assassination.

CBS News[link]

Rather speaking about his experiences in his 61 years of journalism before a group of NATO commanders at Camp Eggers in Kabul, Afghanistan in July 2011.

JFK assassination to Watergate[link]

Rather was the first network television journalist to report that U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas.^[8][9] In his autobiography, he also claims to be one of the first to see the Zapruder film showing the assassination and the first to describe it on television.^[10] The film was never shown on television to the general public, and Rather reported the fatal headshot as forcing Kennedy's head to be thrown violently forward, when it was thrown backwards. This report is sometimes included as part of conspiracy theories which purport that the direction in which Kennedy's head moved supports one theory or another.

Later, he reported that some schoolchildren in Dallas had applauded when they were notified of the president's death.^[11] Administrators said that, in fact, the thrust of the announcement was that school was to be dismissed early (making the students' delight more understandable). This story infuriated local journalists at then-CBS affiliate KRLD-TV (now Fox owned-and-operated KDFW-TV).

Rather's reporting during the national mourning period following the Kennedy assassination and subsequent events brought him to the attention of CBS News management, which rewarded him in 1964 with the network's White House correspondent position.

After serving as a foreign correspondent for CBS in London in 1965 and Vietnam in 1966, he served his second tenure as White House correspondent during the Richard Nixon presidency. Rather was among those journalists who accompanied Nixon to China. He covered the Watergate investigation as well as the impeachment proceedings. In 1970, he drew the assignment as primary anchor for the CBS Sunday Night News.^[12]

CBS Evening News anchor[link]

After President Nixon's resignation in 1974, Rather took the assignment of chief correspondent for the documentary series CBS Reports. He later became a correspondent of the long-running Sunday night news show 60 Minutes, just as the program was moved from a Sunday afternoon time-slot to primetime. Success there (and a threat to bolt to ABC News) helped Rather pull ahead of longtime correspondent Roger Mudd in line to succeed Walter Cronkite as anchor and Managing Editor of CBS Evening News.

Good evening. President Reagan, still training his spotlight on the economy, today signed a package of budget cuts that he will send to Congress tomorrow. Lesley Stahl has the story.

– Rather's first lines in his debut as anchor of The CBS Evening News

Rather assumed the position upon Cronkite's retirement, making his first broadcast on March 9, 1981. From the beginning of his tenure, it was clear that Rather had a significantly different style of reporting the news. In contrast to the avuncular Cronkite, who ended his newscast with "That's the way it is", Rather searched to find a broadcast ending more suitable to his tastes. For one week during the mid-1980s, Rather tried ending his broadcasts with the word "courage" and was roundly ridiculed for it. He eventually found a wrap-up phrase more modest than Cronkite's and more relaxed than his own previous attempt; for nearly two decades, Rather ended the show with "That's part of our world tonight."

While Rather had inherited Cronkite's ratings lead, the success of the Evening News with Rather at the helm fluctuated wildly. After a dip to second place, Rather regained the top spot in 1985 until 1989 when he ceded the ratings peak to rival Peter Jennings at ABC's World News Tonight. By 1992, however, the Evening News had fallen to third place, where it remained until Bob Schieffer, who acted as the interim anchor between Rather and Katie Couric, saw the Evening News rise to #2 ahead of ABC World News Tonight in the wake of the death of Peter Jennings but remaining behind NBC Nightly News.

The traditionally strong journalistic bench of CBS News was changed in 1984, when new owner Lawrence Tisch oversaw layoffs of thousands of CBS News employees, including correspondents David Andelman, Fred Graham, Morton Dean and Ike Pappas. Fewer videotape crews were dispatched to cover stories and numerous bureaus were closed. This eventually caused CBS News into third place in the ratings.^[13] Reporting by Peter Boyer of the New York Times indicates that Rather did relatively little to stop this.

For a short time from 1993 to 1995, Rather co-anchored the evening news with Connie Chung. Chung had previously been a Washington correspondent for CBS News and anchored short news updates on the west coast. On joining the CBS Evening News, however, she worked to report "pop news" stories that did not fit the style of the broadcast. In one incident, she was on an airplane interviewing Tonya Harding, who was accused of being behind the plot to injure fellow Olympic ice skater Nancy Kerrigan.^[14] Chung ultimately left the network, and Rather went back to doing the newscast alone.

At the end of Rather's time as anchor, the CBS Evening News lagged behind the NBC Nightly News and ABC World News Tonight in the ratings, although it was still drawing approximately 7 million viewers a night. Criticism of Rather reached a fever pitch after 60 Minutes II ran his report about President Bush's military record; numerous critics questioned the authenticity of the documents upon which the report was based. Rather subsequently admitted on air that the document's authenticity could not be proved.^[15] In the aftermath of the incident, CBS fired multiple members of the CBS News staff but allowed Rather to stay on.

Personal life[link]

Rather at South by Southwest 2007; discussing media, the internet, and asking the "hard questions."

Rather married his wife Jean in 1957. They have a son and daughter, and maintain homes in New York City and Austin, TX.^[16] Their daughter Robin is an environmentalist and community activist in Austin, Texas. Their son Dan is an assistant district attorney in the District Attorney's office in Manhattan, New York.

Sam Houston State University renamed its mass communications building after Rather in 1994. The building houses The Houstonian and KSHU, the student-run radio and television stations. In May 2007, Rather received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Siena College in Loudonville, New York, for his lifetime contributions to journalism.

A columnist whose work is distributed by King Features Syndicate, Rather continues to speak out against alleged influence in journalism by corporations and governments. At a recent conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, sponsored by the group Free Press, Rather criticized both local and national news organizations, stating – according to reports – that there is no longer incentive to do "good and valuable news."^[17]

On May 28, 2007, Rather compared historical events to events in the Star Wars films in the History Channel special, "Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed".

Journalistic history and influence[link]

Nixon[link]

During the presidency of Richard Nixon, critics accused Rather of biased coverage against President Nixon. At a Houston news conference in March 1974, Nixon fielded a question from Rather, still CBS's White House correspondent, who said, "Thank you, Mr. President. Dan Rather, of CBS News. Mr. President.... Mr. President...." The room filled with jeers and applause, prompting Nixon to joke, "Are you running for something?" Rather replied "No, sir, Mr. President. Are you?".^[18] In his question, Rather accused Nixon of not cooperating with the grand jury investigation and the House Judiciary Committee in relation to the Watergate scandal.^[18]

According to NBC’s Tom Brokaw, the network considered hiring him, Brokaw, as its White House correspondent to replace Rather. But these plans were scrapped after word was leaked to the press. The controversy did little to dent Rather's overall tough coverage of the Watergate scandal, which helped to raise his profile.

Afghanistan, Reagan, and George H. W. Bush[link]

Rather speaking with Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell and Sergeant Maj. Ralph R. Beam about the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) training mission and other issues at Camp Eggers in Kabul, Afghanistan, on July 26, 2011.

During the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, Rather was on camera wearing a traditional Mujahadeen headdress and garments while reporting from near the front lines. These reports helped Rather gain prominence with the Evening News audience (and the nickname "Gunga Dan"; Rather's reports were also spoofed by the comic strip Doonesbury). It later turned out that Rather's reports played a role in moving Congressman Charlie Wilson to try to help the struggling mujahideen, which led to the largest-ever CIA covert operation in supplying aid and advanced arms to the mujahideen, which in turn eventually led to the Soviets quitting Afghanistan.^[19]

Rather's energy and spirit helped him out-compete Roger Mudd for the anchor spot on the Evening News. Mudd was a more senior correspondent and a frequent substitute anchor for Walter Cronkite on the Evening News, and he also anchored the Sunday evening broadcast. But it was Rather who traveled through Afghanistan when the news led there. A few years into his service as anchorman, Rather began wearing sweaters beneath his suit jacket to soften and warm his on-air perceptions by viewers.^[20]

Later during the 1980s, Rather gained further renown for his forceful and skeptical reporting on the Iran-Contra Affair, which eventually led to an on-air confrontation with then Vice President George H. W. Bush: Bush referred to Rather's "dead air incident" saying, "I want to talk about why I want to be President, why those 41 percent of the people are supporting me. And I don't think it's fair to judge my whole career by a rehash on Iran. How would you like it if I judged your career by those seven minutes when you walked off the set in New York?" Rather ignored Bush's comment.^[21]

Shortly after Iraq invaded Kuwait, Rather secured an interview with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

There is no powerful and quick strike that a people could deliver, whatever their overall power. The United States depends on the Air Force. The Air Force has never decided a war in the history of wars.

—Saddam Hussein in an interview with Dan Rather on August 29, 1990^[22]

On February 24, 2003, Rather conducted another interview with Hussein before the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. In the interview, Hussein invited Rather to be the moderator of a live television debate between himself and George W. Bush. The debate never took place.^[23]

[edit] The Wall Within

On June 2, 1988, Rather hosted a CBS News special, The Wall Within. In it, he interviewed six former servicemen, each of whom said he had witnessed horrible acts in Vietnam. Two of the men said that they had killed civilians, and two others said that they had seen friends die. Each talked about the effects the war had upon their lives – including depression, unemployment, drug use and homelessness.

In their book Stolen Valor: How the Vietnam Generation Was Robbed of its Heroes and its History, authors B. G. Burkett and Glenna Whitley said they had obtained the service records of all six men, documenting where each was stationed during the Vietnam War. According to the records, the authors said, only one of the men was actually in Vietnam; he claimed to have been a 16-year-old Navy SEAL but, said Burkett and Whitley, the records listed him as an equipment repairer.

Killian documents[link]

On September 8, 2004, Rather reported on 60 Minutes Wednesday that a series of memos critical of President George W. Bush's Texas Air National Guard service record had been discovered in the personal files of Lt. Bush's former commanding officer, Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian.^[24] Once copies of the documents were made available on the internet, their authenticity was quickly called into question. Much of this was based on the fact that the documents were proportionally printed and displayed other modern typographic conventions unavailable on military typewriters of the 1970s. This led to claims that the memos were forgeries.^[25] The accusations then spread over the following days into mainstream media outlets including The Washington Post,^[26] The New York Times,^[27] and the Chicago Sun-Times.^[28]

Rather and CBS initially defended the story, insisting that the documents had been authenticated by experts.^[29] CBS was contradicted by some of the experts it originally cited,^[30] and later reported that its source for the documents – former Texas Army National Guard officer Lt. Col. Bill Burkett – had misled the network about how he had obtained them.^[31]

On September 20, CBS retracted the story. Rather stated, "If I knew then what I know now, I would not have gone ahead with the story as it was aired, and I certainly would not have used the documents in question."^[32] The controversy has been referred to by some as "Memogate" and "Rathergate."^[33]

Following an investigation commissioned by CBS,^[34][35][36] CBS fired story producer Mary Mapes and asked three other producers connected with the story to resign. Many believe Rather's retirement was hastened by this incident.^[37] On Thursday, September 20, 2007, Rather was interviewed on Larry King Live commenting "Nobody has proved that they were fraudulent, much less a forgery. ... The truth of this story stands up to this day."^[38]

In a 2010 issue of TV Guide, Rather's report was ranked #3 on a list of TV's ten biggest "blunders".^[39]

Lawsuit[link]

On September 19, 2007, Rather filed a $70 million lawsuit against CBS, its former parent company Viacom; CBS President and CEO Leslie Moonves; Sumner Redstone, chairman of both Viacom and CBS; and Andrew Heyward, former president of CBS News. Rather accused the network and its ownership and management of making him a "scapegoat" in the Killian story. A CBS spokesman claimed that the lawsuit was "old news" and "without merit".^[40] On September 21, 2009, Rather's lawyers claimed that Bush's military service would be proven to be a sham and Rather would be vindicated.^[41] On September 29, 2009, a New York state appeals court dismissed Rather's lawsuit against CBS.^[42] On January 12, 2010, New York's top court refused to reinstate Rather's $70 million breach-of-contract lawsuit against CBS Corp. In 2012, May 18, on Bill Maher, Rather said he was fired for reporting a story about George W Bush's year of absence from reserve unit he served with, and that the news corporations were 'very uncomfortable' with running the story.

[edit] Departure from the CBS Evening News

"We've shared a lot in the 24 years we've been meeting here each evening, and before I say 'Good night' this night, I need to say thank you. Thank you to the thousands of wonderful professionals at CBS News, past and present, with whom it's been my honor to work over these years. And a deeply felt thanks to all of you, who have let us into your homes night after night; it has been a privilege, and one never taken lightly.

Not long after I first came to the anchor chair, I briefly signed off using the word, 'Courage.' I want to return to it now, in a different way: to a nation still nursing a broken heart for what happened here in 2001, and especially to those who found themselves closest to the events of September 11; to our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, in dangerous places; to those who have endured the tsunami, and to all who have suffered natural disasters, and must now find the will to rebuild; to the oppressed and to those whose lot it is to struggle in financial hardship or in failing health; to my fellow journalists in places where reporting the truth means risking all; and to each of you, Courage."

For the CBS Evening News, Dan Rather reporting. Good night.'^[43]

—Dan Rather's speech at the end of his farewell newscast

Rather retired as the anchorman and Managing Editor of the CBS Evening News in 2005; his last broadcast was Wednesday, March 9, 2005.^[44] He had worked as the anchorman for 24 full years, the longest tenure of anyone in American television history, and for a short time continued to work as a correspondent for 60 Minutes. Bob Schieffer, a fellow Texan and host of Face the Nation, took over Rather's position on an interim basis, with Katie Couric replacing Schieffer in 2006.

Since retiring, Rather has spoken out strongly about what he perceives as a lack of courage by American journalists. On January 24, 2006, Rather spoke to a Seattle audience. Before the speaking engagement, he told a newspaper reporter, "In many ways on many days, [reporters] have sort of adopted the attitude of 'go along, get along.'"

"What many of us need is a spine transplant", Rather added. "Whether it's City Hall, the State House, or the White House, part of our job is to speak truth to power."^[45]

Departure from CBS News[link]

In June 2006, reports surfaced that CBS News would most likely not renew Dan Rather's contract.^[46] According to a Washington Post article, sources from CBS said that executives at the network decided "there is no future role for Rather".

On June 20, 2006, CBS News and Sports president Sean McManus announced that Rather would leave the network after 44 years.^[47][48] Rather issued a separate statement which accompanied the news of the departure^[49]:

I leave CBS News with tremendous memories. But I leave now most of all with the desire to once again do regular, meaningful reporting. My departure before the term of my contract represents CBS's final acknowledgement, after a protracted struggle, that they had not lived up to their obligation to allow me to do substantive work there. As for their offers of a future with only an office but no assignments, it just isn't in me to sit around doing nothing. So I will do the work I love elsewhere, and I look forward to sharing details about that soon.

Rather has since resumed his career as a producer with HDNet, a high-definition cable television station, and as of October 24, 2006, hosts Dan Rather Reports – a weekly one-hour show. A guest contributor on The Chris Matthews Show and on The Daily Show, Rather has formed an independent company called News and Guts Media and is reported to be working on a book.^[50]

Awards[link]

This section requires expansion.

He has received numerous Emmy Awards, several Peabody Awards, and various honorary degrees from universities.

Criticism[link]

As one of the last broadcast news journalists from the era of the "Big Three" network news primacy, Rather was generally regarded highly within his profession by long-serving journalists. Rather has, however, been the object of criticism from people who accuse him of having a liberal bias.^[51] Other critics have expressed dislike for Rather's on-air delivery or argued that Rather was too "ham-handed", "pseudo-folksy" or "old-fashioned."

Claims of bias[link]

For much of his career, Rather has been the target of critics who have accused him of having a liberal bias.^[52][53]

Rather's on-screen comments and election-night reporting have come under attack as well, dating back to Richard Nixon's presidency. In a June 2002 interview with Larry King, his long-time co-worker (and self-described liberal) Andy Rooney stated that Rather is "transparently liberal".^[54]

During the weeks following the Killian documents stories, Rather received widespread criticism from other journalists and historians.^[55] In an interview with commentator Bill Maher, Rather accused Fox News Channel of receiving "talking points" from the Republican-controlled White House. Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly, who had defended Rather during the Killian documents incident, criticized Rather for not offering any evidence to support the claim.^[56]

In 2002, Bernard Goldberg published a book with the title Bias, alleging a liberal bias in print and broadcast news organizations. In the book, Goldberg used Dan Rather as a primary example of a news anchor with a liberal bias. He also criticized the anchor for his criticisms of President George W. Bush's and Vice President Dan Quayle's service in the National Guard rather than the Active Duty military during the Vietnam War, and questioned Rather's own service.^[57]

Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting has accused Rather of having "an unwillingness to challenge official power and policy" in his reporting.^[58] Investigative reporter Mark Hertsgaard characterized Rather as a "stern anti-Communist" during the Reagan administration for allegedly having "reported the pronouncements of public officials with considerable respect".^[59]

In April 2001, according to a front-page story in The Washington Post, Rather spoke at a Democratic party fundraiser in Austin, Texas, where he was the featured speaker. One of the official hosts for the fundraiser was Rather's daughter, Robin Rather; Rather said that he didn't realize that his daughter was a host of the fundraiser. Rather also said that he didn't realize that the event was a partisan fundraiser, although he did realize that after he arrived at the event. Rather did not say that his speech was a mistake or that he would not have attended if he realized beforehand that he was being used to raise funds for the party.^[60]

Criticism from Walter Cronkite[link]

During an appearance on CNN's American Morning, former CBS anchor Walter Cronkite said about Rather: "It surprised quite a few people at CBS and elsewhere that, without being able to pull up the ratings beyond third in a three-man field, that they tolerated his being there for so long." Cronkite also stated that Bob Schieffer's succession was long overdue.^[61]

Notable incidents/Controversies[link]

1968 Democratic convention[link]

During live coverage of the 1968 Democratic National Convention, Rather attempted to interview a delegate from Georgia who appeared as though he was being forcibly removed by men without identification badges.

As Rather approached the delegate to question the apparent strong-arm tactics of the Chicago political machine, he was punched in the stomach by one of the men, knocking him to the ground. "He lifted me right off the floor and put me away. I was down, the breath knocked out of me, as the whole group blew on by me...In the CBS control room, they had switched the camera onto me just as I was slugged."

Chicago cab ride[link]

On November 10, 1980, Rather landed at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and got into a cab. He asked the cab driver to take him to the home of Studs Terkel whom he was interviewing for 60 Minutes. The cab driver couldn't locate the address and Rather felt that he was being ripped off. When he asked to be let out of the cab, the cabbie asked for the fare. Rather refused to pay and the cabbie sped off through the streets of downtown Chicago looking for the police. Rather shouted out the window that he was being kidnapped and eventually the police pulled over the cab. Rather later refused to press charges against the cabbie and CBS paid the $12.55 fare.

Galloway Suit Won by CBS[link]

In 1980, Rather and CBS were taken into court when Carl Galloway, a California doctor, claimed that a report on 60 Minutes wrongfully implicated him in an insurance fraud scheme. CBS stated Galloway had signed the bogus report and was suing Rather because he was upset at being caught. The jury sided with CBS and Rather and they won the case.^[62] During the trial, Galloway's side used outtakes from the TV report showing that one interview was rehearsed.^[62]

"Kenneth, what is the frequency?"[link]

On October 4, 1986, as Rather was walking along Park Avenue in Manhattan to his apartment, he was attacked and punched from behind by a man who demanded to know, "Kenneth, what is the frequency?", while a second assailant also chased and beat him. As the assailant pummeled and kicked Rather, he kept repeating the question over and over again. In describing the incident, Rather said, "I got mugged. Who understands these things? I didn't and I don't now. I didn't make a lot of it at the time and I don't now. I wish I knew who did it and why, but I have no idea."

The incident and Rather's account led some to doubt the veracity of Rather's story, although the doorman and building supervisor who rescued Rather fully confirmed his version of events. The story entered popular lore and remained unsolved for some time. The incident inspired a song called "Kenneth, What's the Frequency?" by the band Game Theory in 1987. In October 1990, the phrase "What's the frequency, Kenneth?" appeared in an issue of the Daniel Clowes comic Eightball^[63] as part of the serialized graphic novel Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron, and was revealed in a later episode to be a key part of the Mister Jones conspiracy theory.^[64] Also in 1990, Scott McCloud used the phrase in the first 24-hour comic. In 1994 the band R.E.M. released the song "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" on the album Monster. The phrase became the subject of many jokes over the years and slang for a confused or clueless person. Rather was a good sport about it, and actually sang with R.E.M. during a soundcheck prior to a gig at Madison Square Garden, New York, which was shown the following night on The Late Show With David Letterman before their performance of Crush with Eyeliner.

In 1997, a TV critic writing in the New York Daily News solved the mystery, and published a photo of the alleged assailant, William Tager. Rather confirmed the story: "There's no doubt in my mind that this is the person." "William Tager's identity as the man who attacked Mr. Rather was established in the course of an investigation by my office", said New York District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau.^[65]

Tager was sentenced to a 25-year prison sentence for killing NBC stagehand Campbell Montgomery outside The Today Show studio in 1994. He was paroled in October 2010 and is believed to be living in New York City.^[66]

In the December 2001 issue of Harper's Magazine, writer Paul Limbert Allman speculated that postmodern fiction writer Donald Barthelme (who died in 1989) had somehow orchestrated, or was otherwise connected to, the attack through other unnamed persons, citing unusual passages in Barthelme's writing, including the phrase "What is the frequency?", a recurring character named Kenneth, and a short story about a pompous editor named Lather. Limbert also uncovered the facts that Barthelme and Rather were likely to have known each other professionally early in their careers.^[67] The article was adapted into two plays, both entitled "Kenneth, What Is the Frequency?" The first was by Ian Allen and Monique LaForce and debuted in Washington, D.C., in 2003.^[68] The second, written by Allman himself, premiered in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 2004.^[69]

In the 2006–07 graphic novel Shooting War, the fictional Dan Rather of the year 2011 it portrays has adopted the personal motto, "The frequency is courage." In the 2006 film Land of the Blind, the phrase briefly appears on a blackboard in a re-education camp for opponents of the dystopian regime led by Donald Sutherland.^[70]

The phrase and a coincidental similarity to Rather by a fictional hero is worked into the book called 'Lady Slings The Booze' by author Spider Robinson. It uses a fictional set-up to explain the mugging incident.

"Courage"[link]

For one week in September 1986, Rather signed off his broadcasts to CBS with the single word "Courage". Apparently it was just a signature line and had nothing to do with the news at the time (which included the Joseph Cicippio abduction and a threat by Arab extremists to "become familiar with your skyscrapers and extend the terror campaign to the United States"). Other newscasters ridiculed and parodied Rather, and he dropped it.^[71] Afterward, he said "And that's part of our world." On his last CBS Evening News broadcast, he once again signed off with "Courage", this time linking it to the September 11, 2001 attacks, as well as to courage shown by fellow journalists.

Dead air[link]

On September 11, 1987, Rather walked off the set in anger just before a remote Evening News broadcast from Miami, where Pope John Paul II had begun a rare U.S. tour, when a U.S. Open tennis match was being broadcast into the time scheduled for the newscast. He was upset that the news was being cut into to make room for sports and discussed it with the sports department. The Steffi Graf-Lori McNeil tennis match coverage then ended sooner than expected at 6:32 p.m., but Rather was nowhere to be found. (CBS Sports had finally agreed to break away immediately after the match without commentary.) Over 100 affiliates broadcast six minutes of dead air.^[72] The next day, Rather apologized for leaving the anchor desk. The following year, when Rather asked then Vice President Bush about his role in the Iran-Contra affair during a live interview, Bush responded by saying, "Dan, how would you like it if I judged your entire career by those seven minutes when you walked off the set in New York?"^[73]

"Ratherisms"[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Dan Rather

Rather is known for his many off-the-cuff colorful analogies and descriptions during live broadcasts. Similar to those used by baseball announcer Red Barber, cycling commentator Phil Liggett and Formula 1 commentator Murray Walker, these "Ratherisms" are also called "Texanisms" or "Danisms" by some. A few of the more colorful ones, several of which were used throughout the 2008 HBO made-for-TV movie Recount about the 2000 Election, include:^[74]

• "This race is shakier than cafeteria Jell-O."
• "Things are getting hotter than a Times Square Rolex."
• "This thing is as tight as the rusted lugnuts on a '55 Ford."
• (When Georgia was called for Clinton in 1992) "Clinton is off to a start, rolling like a big wheel through a Georgia cotton field."
• "This race is tight like a too-small bathing suit on a too-long ride home from the beach."
• "He swept through the South like a tornado through a trailer park."
• "Don't bet the trailer money on it yet."
• "It's a ding-dong battle back and forth."
• "Look at that. Can't get a cigarette paper between 'em."
• "His chances are slim to none right now, and if he doesn't carry Florida, Slim will have left town."
• "If a frog had side pockets, he'd carry a hand gun."
• "You would sooner find a tall talking broccoli stick to offer to mow your lawn for free."
• "Turn the lights down, the party just got wilder."
• "It's cardiac-arrest time in this presidential campaign."
• "It's too early to say he has the whip hand."
• "It's about as complicated as a wiring diagram to some dynamo."
• "This election swings like one of those pendulum things."
• "This will show you how tight it is – it's spandex tight."
• "Al Gore has his back to the wall, shirt tails on fire with this race in Florida."
• "Smelling salts for all Democrats, please."
• "Maybe you can bring some perspective on this, we're plumb out."
• "When the going gets weird, anchor men punt."
• "She didn't go to school just to eat her lunch."
• "[President Obama] couldn't sell watermelons if you gave him the state troopers to flag down the traffic." (his characterization of the Republican Party's assessment of Obama)^[75]

In pop culture[link]

He has been referenced in the television shows Saturday Night Live and Family Guy and many films. An animated caricature of him made a cameo appearance in the JibJab political cartoon, Good to Be in D.C.

In 2004, he was featured in the documentary film Barbecue: A Texas Love Story by Austin-based director Chris Elley. Two years later, Rather and Elley educated a group of New Yorkers in Madison Square Park about the true meaning of BBQ and its significance to the identity of the Lone Star State. Rather began the discussion with a direct statement: "Let's get this straight folks. If it ain't beef and it ain't in Texas, then it ain't barbecue."

In the 2006–07 graphic novel Shooting War, which is set in the year 2011, an 80-year-old Dan Rather is shown to be one of the last journalists still reporting from Iraq.

Rather had a cameo in the premiere of the Fall 2007 drama Dirty Sexy Money on ABC television.

He guest-starred as himself in The Simpsons episode, "E Pluribus Wiggum".

Rather appeared on "The Daily Show" in May 2009 wearing an Afro wig and mutton-chop sideburns to narrate a segment about the late former President Nixon eating a burrito, as a parody of MSNBC's extensive coverage of President Obama and Vice President Biden's hamburger lunch.^[76]

Rather appears in the 2008 award-winning documentary Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story.

A character "Dano", a spot-on imitation of Rather, appears on the Brad and Britt morning show on WZTK radio, 101.1 FM, in Burlington, North Carolina. The show is heard weekday mornings. Features of the imitation include mentioning "I have the documents" whenever a dubious claim is made. Dano is also heard sometimes interviewing President Obama's teleprompter.

Ratings[link]

Under predecessor Walter Cronkite, CBS Evening News was a strong #1 in the ratings^[77], and Rather maintained a small ratings lead for a few years among the networks' news broadcasts through the early 1980s.^[78] However, Tom Brokaw and his NBC Nightly News and Peter Jennings of ABC News World News Tonight both became more popular than Rather's broadcast.^[79]

Quotes[link]

• "There's an old saying that you should marry a girl from Texas because no matter how tough things get, she's tougher."
• "I cannot remember a time when I didn't want to be a reporter."
• During the newscast on May 21, 1980 regarding the Mount St. Helens eruption, Rather (who was substituting for Cronkite) stated "It is an event that defies superlatives."
• "You can't be a good reporter and not regularly be involved in some kind of controversy."
• In reference to the CBS News, while referring to Katie Couric, Rather stated that "the mistake was to try to bring the 'Today' show ethos to the 'Evening News,' and to dumb it down, tart it up in hopes of attracting a younger audience."^[80]
• Mistakenly referred to Barack Obama as Osama bin Laden. "I have a respect for Jesse Jackson. That he was an important figure in paving the way for an Osama bin Laden to appear."^[81]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Dan Rather; Digby Diehl (2012). Rather outspoken : my life in the news. Grand Central Pub.. ISBN 978-1-4555-0241-7. OCLC 756584260. 
• Leonard Downie; Robert G. Kaiser (2003). The news about the news: American journalism in peril. Vintage. ISBN 978-0-375-71415-3. http://books.google.com/?id=ySyfJQFajJkC. 
• Hertsgaard, Mark (1988). On Bended Knee: The Press and the Reagan Presidency. Farrar Strauss & Giroux. ISBN 978-0-374-25197-0. http://books.google.com/?id=Xxa0QgAACAAJ. 
• Rather, Dan. The Palace Guard, with Gary Gates
• Dan Rather; Mickey Hershkowitz (1984-02-02). The Camera Never Blinks: Adventures of a TV Journalist. Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0-345-31833-6. OCLC 444864709. http://books.google.com/?id=U1iupYxNh8QC.  .
• Rather, Dan. I Remember, with Peter Wyden.
• Rather, Dan with Herskowitz, Mickey. The Camera Never Blinks Twice. 1995. William Morrow.
• Dan Rather (1999-06-02). Deadlines and datelines. William Morrow & Co. ISBN 978-0-688-16566-6. http://books.google.com/?id=KKVZAAAAMAAJ. 
• Peter J. Boyer (1989-04-15). Who killed CBS?: the undoing of America's number one news network. St Martins Press. ISBN 978-0-312-91531-5. http://books.google.com/?id=LOTjGwAACAAJ. 
• 2nd Saddam interview

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dan Rather

• CBS biography of Rather
• Booknotes interview with Rather on Deadlines & Datelines: Essays at the Turn of the Century, July 25, 1999.
• Dan Rather discusses the 2008 Presidential Campaign
• Dan Rather at the Internet Movie Database
• PDF of Dan Rather's lawsuit against CBS
• PDF of CBS' motion to dismiss Rather's lawsuit
• "It's running of the bull", Michael Goodwin, New York Daily News, 9 March 2005
• "Wrong from the Beginning", Phillip Chalk, Weekly Standard, March 14, 2005.
• Rather-CBS lawsuit
• Dan Rather appears in Lee Atwater documentary Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
• A film clip "The Open Mind - A Newsman's Credo, Part I (1994)" is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
• A film clip "The Open Mind - A Newsman's Credo, Part II (1994)" is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]

David Letterman
Letterman performing on his show in June 2011.
Pseudonym	Earl Hofert
Born	(1947-04-12) April 12, 1947 (age 65) Indianapolis, Indiana, United States[1]
Medium	Stand-up, talk show
Nationality	American
Years active	1974–present
Genres	Observational comedy, surreal humor, deadpan
Subject(s)	Self-deprecation, everyday life
Influences	Steve Allen,[citation needed] Johnny Carson,[2] Jack Paar,[citation needed] Paul Dixon[3]
Influenced	Jimmy Kimmel, Jim Gaffigan, Jon Stewart, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon
Spouse	Michelle Cook (1969–1977) Regina Lasko (2009–present)
Domestic partner(s)	Regina Lasko (1986–2009)
Notable works and roles	Host of The David Letterman Show (NBC) Host of Late Night with David Letterman (NBC) Host of Late Show with David Letterman (CBS)
Signature
Website	CBS.com/latenight/lateshow
Emmy Awards
Outstanding Host or Hostess in a Variety Series 1981 The David Letterman Show Outstanding Individual Achievement — Writers 1981 The David Letterman Show Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program 1984 Late Night with David Letterman 1985 Late Night with David Letterman 1986 Late Night with David Letterman 1987 Late Night with David Letterman Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series 1994 Late Show with David Letterman
American Comedy Awards
Funniest Male Performer in a TV Special (Leading or Supporting) Network, Cable or Syndication 1989 Late Night with David Letterman 1995 Late Show with David Letterman: Video Special Funniest Male Performer in a TV Series (Leading Role) Network, Cable or Syndication 1994 Late Show with David Letterman 2001 Late Show with David Letterman

David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host and comedian.^[1] He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC. Letterman recently surpassed friend and mentor Johnny Carson for having the longest late-night hosting career in the United States of America.^[4]

Letterman is also a television and film producer. His company Worldwide Pants produces his show as well as its network follow-up The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Worldwide Pants has also produced several prime-time comedies, the most successful of which was Everybody Loves Raymond, currently in syndication.

In 1996, David Letterman was ranked #45 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.^[5]

Early life and career[link]

Letterman was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. His father, Harry Joseph Letterman (April 1915 – February 1973),^[6] was a florist of British descent; his mother Dorothy Letterman (née Hofert, now Dorothy Mengering), a Presbyterian church secretary of German descent, is an occasional figure on the show, usually at holidays and birthdays.

Letterman lived on the north side of Indianapolis (Broad Ripple area), not far from Speedway, IN, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and he enjoyed collecting model cars, including racers.^[7] In 2000, he told an interviewer for Esquire that, while growing up, he admired his father's ability to tell jokes and be the life of the party. Harry Joseph Letterman survived a heart attack at age 36, when David was a young boy. The fear of losing his father was constantly with Letterman as he grew up.^[8] The elder Letterman died of a second heart attack^[9] at age 57.

Letterman attended his hometown's Broad Ripple High School at the same time as Marilyn Tucker (future wife of Dan Quayle) and worked as a stock boy at the local Atlas supermarket.^[10] According to the Ball State Daily News, he originally had wanted to attend Indiana University, but his grades weren't good enough, so he decided to attend Ball State University, in Muncie, Indiana.^[11] He is a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity, and he graduated from what was then the Department of Radio and Television, in 1969. A self-described average student, Letterman endowed a scholarship for what he called "C students" at Ball State.^[12]

Though he registered for the draft and passed his physical after graduating from college, he was not drafted for service in Vietnam due to receiving a draft lottery number of 352 (out of 365).^[13]

Letterman began his broadcasting career as an announcer and newscaster at the college's student-run radio station—WBST—a 10-watt campus station which now is part of Indiana Public Radio.^[14] He was fired for treating classical music with irreverence.^[14]

Letterman then became involved with the founding of another campus station—WAGO-AM 570 (now WWHI, 91.3).^[15]

Letterman credits Paul Dixon—host of the Paul Dixon Show, a Cincinnati-based talk show also shown in Indianapolis while Letterman was growing up—for inspiring his choice of career:^[3]

"I was just out of college [in 1969], and I really didn't know what I wanted to do. And then all of a sudden I saw him doing it [on TV]. And I thought: That's really what I want to do!"

Weatherman[link]

Letterman began his career as a radio talk show host on WNTS (AM), and on Indianapolis television station WLWI (now called WTHR) as an anchor, and weatherman. He received some attention for his unpredictable on-air behavior, which included congratulating a tropical storm for being upgraded to a hurricane and predicting hail stones "the size of canned hams."^[16] He would also occasionally report the weather and the day's very high and low temps for fictitious cities ("Eight inches of snow in Bingree and surrounding areas.") while on another occasion saying that a state border had been erased.^[17] ("From space you can see the border between Indiana and Ohio has been erased. I'm not in favor of this.") He also starred in a local kiddie show, made wisecracks as host of a late night TV show called "Freeze-Dried Movies" (he once acted out a scene from "Godzilla" using plastic dinosaurs),^[18] and hosted a talk show that aired early on Saturday mornings called "Clover Power,"^[19] in which he interviewed 4-H members about their projects.^[20]

In 1971, Letterman appeared as a pit road reporter for ABC Sports' tape-delayed coverage of the Indianapolis 500.^[21] David initially is introduced as Chris Economaki in his job as a corner reporter. Letterman interviews Mario Andretti who has just crashed out of the race and asks him a question about traffic on the course.

Move to Los Angeles[link]

In 1975, encouraged by his then-wife Michelle and several of his Sigma Chi fraternity brothers, Letterman moved to Los Angeles, California, with hope of becoming a comedy writer.^[22] He started off by writing material for comedian Jimmie Walker.^[23] He also began performing stand-up comedy at The Comedy Store, a proving ground for unknown comics.

In the summer of 1977, Letterman was a writer and regular on the six-week summer series The Starland Vocal Band Show, broadcast on CBS.^[24] He hosted a 1977 pilot for a game show entitled The Riddlers^[25][26] that was never picked up and co-starred in the Barry Levinson-produced comedy special Peeping Times that aired in January 1978. Later that year, Letterman was a cast member on Mary Tyler Moore's variety show, Mary.^[27] Letterman made a guest appearance on Mork & Mindy (as a parody of EST leader Werner Erhard^[28]) and appearances on game shows such as The $20,000 Pyramid,^[29] The Gong Show, Password Plus^[30] and Liar's Club, as well as talk shows such as The Mike Douglas Show.^[31] He was also screen tested for the lead role in the 1980 film Airplane!, a role that eventually went to Robert Hays.^[32]

His dry, sarcastic humor caught the attention of scouts for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and Letterman was soon a regular guest on the show. Letterman became a favorite of Carson's and was a regular guest host for the show beginning in 1978. Letterman credits Carson as the person who influenced his career the most.^[2]

NBC[link]

Letterman at the 38th Primetime Emmy Awards in 1986