The King of Late Night

It is a momentous day in the life of the patron saint of the Genius Switch, Mr. David Letterman. It was 25 years today that "Late Night with David Letterman" premiered on NBC and revolutionized late night television, serving as an influence to many of today's top comics.

The genius of "Late Night" was that it did not appeal to everyone. The humor was dry and snarky. Characters like Larry "Bud" Melman, The Man Who Lives Under the Stairs and Peggy, the Foul-Mouthed Librarian had never been seen on television before and there was a shock and awe element to them, as well as a humorous one. Letterman took the best of Johnny Carson and enhanced it. Being on at 12:30am, he was able to be more honest and do things more daring.

A few moments in "Late Night's" history stand out. The first being Monkey Cam -- where a camera was attached to Zippy the Chimp and the show was seen through its perspective. "The Gong Show" (which Letterman often appeared on) served as a precursor to Stupid Human Tricks and Stupid pet Tricks. The first to jump in a suit of velcro, the first to dive into a bowl of Rice Krispies to "snap, crackle and pap" and the first to don a suit of Alka-Seltzer, David Letterman was daring. He was brave enough to have a high-on-acid Crispin Glover on the air, interview Bill Hicks and give a little-known disc jockey named Howard Stern his first national audience. Letterman also showcased the antics of Andy Kaufman -- including the infamous thowing of coffee in the face of Jerry Lawler, -- quite often and considers him his all-time favorite guest. R.E.M, Jon Stewart, k.d. Lang, the Wildflowers, and Bobcat Goldthwait all made their network television debuts on "Late Night". The show won for consecutive Emmys 1983-1987 for Best Writing, Variety and was the most recorded show in the 1980s.

After being unforgiveably passed over for "the Tonight Show" after Johnny Carson retired, Letterman took the show, renamed "Late Show with David Letterman", to CBS. Although now armed with a larger audience, Letterman kept this same wry humor. He enlisted the help of his Ed Sullivan Theatre neighbors. "Late Show" is not without it's water-cooler moments. In 1994, Madonna famously dropped the F-bomb 13 times. Drew Barrymore flashed him as a present for his 50th birthday. An entire hour was devoted to Warren Zevon; the last public appearance before his death. And all the while he never let little things like a quintuple-bypass surgery or the shingles keep him down.

Without David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jon Stewart, Jerry Seinfeld and Jimmy Kimmel would not be the successes they are today. All owe a large debt of graitude to Letterman and all the contributions he's made during these 25 years. In the 4506 shows (it would take 187.5 days or six months straight without a single repeat) he's done, he's proved time and time again that he merited Johnny Carson's crown as the true King of Late Night.

Keeping personal moments aside, here is a list of my favorite "Late Night"/"Late Show" moments:
10. Jay Thomas' Lone Ranger Story
9. Dave & Steve's Gay Vacation
8. The GE handshake
7. Dave's record collection
6. The Big Man on Campus
5. Dave returning from quintuple-heart surgery
4. Just Bulbs / Just Shades
3. Dave announcing the birth of his son, Harry
2. Dave and Richard Simmons going door-to-door in New Jersey.
1. Dave and his Mom playing "Guess the Pie" every Thanksgiving.

Quote(s) of the Day:
"Are we better than Letterman? No. The man is a genius and an icon for the ages." -Jon Stewart
"I love David Letterman. He's like the perfect man to me - offbeat looks, great sense of humor and super intelligent." -Drew Barrymore