Staff Favorite Moments: Steve O'Donnell | Letterman
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- čas přidán 31. 01. 2022
- Letterman head writer Steve O'Donnell shares some of his favorite moments, including a showdown between Dave and Leslie Nielsen, an after school special classic and more.
#SteveODonnell #Letterman #LeslieNielsen
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Welcome to the Letterman CZcams Channel, home to all your favorite clips from Late Night and Late Show - as well as conversations with the writers, producers and performers who helped make it all happen. These highlights have been artisanly-produced, carefully-curated, and chosen completely at random by an old computer that used to pick numbers for the New York Lotto back in the 90’s. - Zábava
You know you are talking to a writer when he drops the word "preamble" casually in a conversation.
I actually knew the guy who wrote the "catch a glimpse" letter. He was one of my classmates at Marquette University. That clip got replayed a lot and so it was cool to hear Dave say, "from Marquette University," every time. It was the best thing to happen to Marquette since winning the NCAA championship in 1977.
I loved Dave on CBS, but watching him on NBC late at night while in college was a highlight of my life. It felt like being in a secret club. We won't see the likes of him again.
Oh yeah! So different. Cool and hip, as they say.
Despite being born in 1985, I understand precisely what you mean. I wish I'd been there.
So many of the early writers for Dave went on to create some of the best, most noteworthy comedy of the last few generations. Steve mentions George Meyer, as well as Gammill & Pross, those guys ended up writing for Garry Shandling's Show, The Simpsons, Seinfeld, so much iconic stuff. Dave's early staff & Conan's early staff were so loaded with talent that went on to become legendary, it's pretty remarkable.
Great choices! As O'Donnell notes, the first few years of this show were legendary.
"Late Night with David Letterman" started to become really popular in 1985. However, it was not until 1987 that the show would air five nights a week, now on Fridays.
Man I miss watching Dave on a regular basis. I hope Letterman continues to upload these clips!
200,000+ subs in one week! I think we’ll be seeing a lot more of these.
Nothing even close to this on TV today.
Thank you, Steve O'Donnell, and Dave. Please continue to bring back these classics. There will never be anything like this again.
Steve O'Donnell 's comedy material and performances were always entertaining and laugh out loud funny. Jimmy Kimmel hired Steve to write for him. Steve is a real Pro! One does not last as a Head Writer or wins multiple Emmy Awards for over a Decade if they are not simply the best. Thanks for sharing.
That John Candy clip is priceless. I miss him so much.
I watched most of these first run - it was such a brilliantly odd and captivating program that felt like a unique gift to those up late. The guests were great - not just the celebs but the regular people interviewed on the street or in their shops, and both the comedy & gimmicks were never predictable.
I was there with ya- at least in the summertime - I was a middle schooler when it first came on. One of my friends & I would watch it & then call each other the next morning to review our favorite parts. Not many shows have ever captured my imagination like this one.
This is fantastic stuff. Thank you so much for making this channel!
Dave mocking anything solemn and hokey was comedy gold.
It wouldn’t have been a proper early clip reel without “They Took My Show Away.”
Conan went by 'John Vopal' back then in afterschool specials.
Awesome to see these lesser known sketches. The many absurdities of the last one is the best… like, why is that young boy Jimmy living with David Letterman? You’d think the writers of the bit would have made it a father and son but no, it’s David Letterman and Jimmy…
he was 'uncle' David
Damn, Dave was SUCH a good actor. LMAO.
The after school special parody is one I will never forget. I can't believe it's been 40 years.
Why can't late night talk shows air like these. Genius switch = ON. 💡
I remember a bit that had Dave driving Bill Wendell, who is reading the newspaper comics and laughing hard while Dave never cracks a smile. They reach a lonely spot in the woods, and Wendell is still talking and joking while digging his own grave, and Dave is standing over him with a gun in his hand. Is was an extremely dark piece and funny as hell. There's more to it, but that's about all I can remember.
I‘d love to see that.
This was a formative show during my middle/high school years growing up. Thanks for all the laughs.
Awesome profile pic
@10:14 Johnny LaRue sobbing
Thanks big time for making a channel devoted to all you guys shenanigans 🤪. This is my favorite place to get lolz now.
The beginning of the park scene w/Jimmy, does this remind anyone of Chevy Chase in Caddyshack?
Thank you so much for this !
We need you Dave! The world was so less complicated when you gave us laughs not politics.
Did you not watch his show for the final 10 years? All he did was complain about politics
Some fun triva from the Lesile Nielsen bit, Dave still has some of that popcorn stuck in his hair.
thanks for these snippets Steve ..classic!
5:55 NBC After School Special "They Took My Show Away"... CLASSIC! Voyagers, Manimal and that Mr. Smith show which I had completely forgot about (Orangutan goes to Washington DC).
I hadn't thought of this piece for a *long* time but found I could say most of the dialogue along with it. Must have had it on VHS back in the day!
I miss you Dave ! Especially when you and Jack Hanna got together. But my favorite people were always Robin Williams , John Candy, and Bill Murray ❤ along with your staff. They were hilarious also. In fact, we see a girl in movies and shows who started as an intern on your show. I think her name was Kathleen, but I'm probably wrong. Anyway we miss watching your show every night 🌙
Stupid human tricks, stupid pet tricks, dropping stuff off a six-story building, Larry Bud, Super Dave....the golden age of Late Night!
I could watch old Dave 24 /7
And a whole head of hair, David!! Great pics!
RIP Norm
nice work... thank you
The description tho 🤣
I was 13 and starting to stay up later and already enjoyed Johnny. So I grew up watching this show and loved it. I have enjoyed and not enjoyed many late night talk show hosts since, but it was Johnny and Dave. No one else comes close. imo
O’Donnell is a legend
"... and that little boy grew up to be Conan O'Brien."
For reals? Is that true? Was just now wondering what eventually happened to that kid....because he was a pretty good actor! Hope it IS Conan.
The greatest invention, memories of the greats💜
Wonderful
I met a micheal o'donnell in the everglades about 8 years ago. Germany, chicago, now bolinas beach.
Steve. Thank you so so much for your creativity back in those halcyon early days. I watched every night and marveled at the wonderfully inventive and goofy comedy. I was rooting really hard for Dave to get the Tonight Show but, alas, a stupid NBC executive with some pull backed Leno. UGH!!! Jay and his writers couldn't even get a sniff of the Muse that inspired Dave and his staff. Still peeves me to this day. Anyhow, I recognized the brilliance of those early shows and, again, thank you for all the laughs. I love watching old clips on CZcams. So many awesome skits but one that sticks out is the time Dave and Paul ice skated on the Rockefeller Center rink. Hilarious!!
I would love to see the clip of John Candy coming out with his hair spiked up after Dave’s interview with Nastassja Kinski. And I’d love to know if that was his idea.
At 1:35, this has got to be my favorite clip from the early years of the LETTERMAN show.
Thanks Steve. Interesting that most of the comments are from 3months ago. Its as if Steve called all his friends and said "I'm on youtube! Leave a comment!" Nah Steve wouldnt do that. Thanks again Steve. Loved and miss the show.
Had no idea this was an official Letterman channel until I saw this video.
The payoff for Glimpse Letterman is still funny. It is also strange to see people holding cash again.
Steve is a great writer not just this show.
So great and cutting edge. In my mind it really replaced snl as the place for modern comedy
Then Conan took its place in the mid ‘90s
Well yeah, those were the years that Lorne Michaels left SNL.
From a time tv had relevance.
My parents were always nagging me about doing homework all night!
I'd never seen poor Jimmy and his beloved Voyagers. Absolutely sensational. I'm going to go watch some TV, right now!
I use to work second shift. Thank god Dave was on. Back than nothing exciting was on
Letterman was doing Tim and Eric type meme silliness front the get go
Why did I still remember the Manimal payoff 40 years later?
Oh that’s right, because Manimal was a joke even then.
Was really hoping the John Candy bit was going to the one with the hornet's nest
I always get a kick out of that kid "Jimmy" at the end bearing a striking resemblance to Conan lol, seems appropriate knowing just how incredibly influential Letterman has been on the generations after him. As a Millennial, I didn't grow up with the NBC show so much, but Conan was my bread and butter. Looking back to these early Letterman episodes, it's clear just how much later hosts borrowed from these ideas.
I too was devastated when Voyagers! was cancelled 😢
I'm loving these clips - but nothing beats watching a bit develop and mature over time while watching whole shows - is there anyway to just see the whole dang catalogue in order?
jimmy from voyagers sketch is actually young conan o'brien
The pilot for Voyagers is on CZcams. Apparently it is a takeoff on Dr. Who, except the tween who falls in with the time-traveller is a boy. It was canceled after one season.
Dave was best on the NBC show. He seemed too big a deal on CBS. At NBC he could roam the hallways drop in on people and talk to the girl across the way. The smaller studio was more to his personality.
Happy Da.
Birthday Ve.
Reminds of that tragedy
There’s a head writer, he gives you h……
That boy was actually Jimmy Kimmel
How many thousands of shows do they have to draw from?
6080
... and that's when Conan started at NBC ...✔
Young Conan O'brien really does a great job as "Jimmy"
I'd forgotten that Conan got his start as the boy who loved voyager - such a great genre this, the late night talk show...
It would have been fun to be a writer on the Letterman show but then I remember I was "Jimmy's" age when the Letterman show first aired. That being said, I wish I had an adult like Letterman to comfort me when "Voyagers" was canceled.
He sounds a bit like Chevy chase
Ah dear if I only watched this before I killed my brothers goldfish through over feeding :/
He even talks like Letterman
As it turned out it was the executives who were wrong. Voyagers was much more popular than it's replacement and the shows touted at the end both sucked as well.
I am serious,, and don't call me Leslie.
Back when it was funny
Is it possible these skits were funny then but aren't now?
Yes
Jimmy, sometimes executives give a show.... well, like the Tonight Show... to someone less deserving. Like Jay Leno for instance. Sometimes. But not this time. Jay Leno was the obvious logical choice. You see Jimmy, David Letterman just wasn't that funny. He was no Johnny Carson. Not by a long shot. Do you understand Jimmy?💩
Dave was a legend and funny af. But these were horribly unfunny. I didn't laugh once. How could this be one of his main writers when he's so off the mark about what is and isn't funny in choosing these bits out of all of Dave's bits as supposed highlights of his decades on air?
The Leslie Nielsen bit produced some chuckles from me. But yes, the last bit with the kid kind of went on and on. Should have stayed with Leslie.
They're new to the CZcams thing, so maybe they will do better with future clips as far as weeding out the bland from the brilliant.
This channel is brilliant. We can enjoy late Night again before the woke lefties ruined it.
Yikes
If you want Conservative shows watch The Duggar family
Ah yes, the irony of another sensitive conservative 'snowflake' triggered by the world changing around their outmoded selves. It's even funnier that you are unaware that the young Late Night writing staff of that time were undoubtedly 'lefties.'
The left famously hates it when a man looks into the camera and shouts "WE'VE GOT TO FIND THAT MONKEY".
@@JasonJBrunet What?
Finally so you're the one who passed off all those really crappy jokes that just ruined the David Letterman show The comedy writing was so horrible it made the show unwatchable the only thing that saved it was David Letterman's wit with interviews the comedy writing was the downfall of the show you should be ashamed of yourself.
These are all terrible…
"They Took My Show Away", "My Dog Bob", Brother Theodore and the Melman Bus lines bit with the guy coughing sold me on Letterman for life.