Usenet 1994 October/usenetsourcesnewsgroupsinfomagicoctober1994disk1.iso/answers/letterman/faq

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Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!usc!cs.utexas.edu!mercury.unt.edu!ponder!drice
From: [e-mail] (D. Keith Rice)
Subject: FAQ: alt.fan.letterman Frequently Asked Questions (read before posting)
Message-ID: <drice.752387909@ponder>
Followup-To: alt.fan.letterman
Summary: This posting contains a list of Frequently Asked Questions (and
    their answers) about David Letterman. It should be read by anyone
    who wishes to post to the alt.fan.letterman newsgroup.
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Archive-name: letterman/faq
Last-modified: Wed Nov 3 22:35:30 CST 1993
Version: 9.01

======================================================================
 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for the alt.fan.letterman newsgroup
======================================================================

Author: Keith Rice ([e-mail])

======================================================================

This FAQ list will attempt to answer common questions as completely
as possible in order to keep questions from coming up too often on
the newsgroup which would make reading new postings a chore for those
who have actively been following alt.fan.letterman.  The information
in this FAQ has been sent to me by readers of a.f.l and some has been
gleaned from the net.

A diff listing of all changes made to the FAQ will be posted in a
separate article.

Please send any and all suggestions, comments, corrections, and new
information to me, Keith Rice ([e-mail]) via email.
Your input will help this FAQ to become the definitive source of
information on David Letterman and "Late Show with David Letterman."
Please send any and all flames to /dev/null.

This FAQ follows a simple Q&A format and I will try to categorize
all questions as much as possible.  In the meantime, enjoy the FAQ,
the newsgroup, and, most of all, Dave!!!!

My thanks and appreciation go out to: Dean Adams, Fritz Anderson, Greg
Anderson, Ken Anderson, Jason Bak, J.D. Baldwin, Aaron Barnhart, John
Bartol, Laurence Bier, John Bonacci, Crist Clark, John Clear, Marc
Conte, Todd Cooper, Lewis Coury, Richard Dawson, Matt Dittrich, Jef
Dodd, Sean Donnelly, David Eccleston, Kevin Fong, Eric "Juice" Fritzius,
Mark Goldberg, Norm Gregory, Mathew A. Hennessy, Rachel Hill, John
Hritz, Ben Jackson, Doug Krause, Ed Krauss, Lana Krotenko, Bob Kupiec,
James Langdell, James LaPlaine, Don Leaman, Gord Locke, Robert Lopez,
Lon Lowen, Ian McCuaig, Ken McGlothlen, Bill McGonigle, Leigh Meydrech,
Shamim Zvonko Mohamed, Ken Mohnker, Noel ([e-mail]),
Marshal Perlman, Alan Perry, Tad Perry, Michael Regoli, Tom Sakoda,
Steve Shauger, Bill Sherman, Jeff Shimbo, Jason Snell, Greg Sroka,
Christopher Taylor, Tim Veatch, Jeff Wilder, Mike Wittman, and Eric
Wood.

                Keith Rice
                [e-mail]

======================================================================
Section 0:  General Information.
======================================================================

I have categorized the FAQ into related sections.  Sections with "|"
have been updated, sections with "!" are new.

There are currently 10 (0-9) sections to this FAQ.  They are:

    0.    General Information
|    1.    Questions about the CBS Mailbag.
|    2.    Questions about tickets.
|    3.    Questions about Dave himself.
|    4.    Questions about the Top Ten lists.
|    5.    Questions about LSWDL/LNWDL skits, stunts, etc.
|    6.    Questions about LSWDL/LNWDL guests.
|    7.    Questions about LSWDL/LNWDL music.
|    8.    Miscellaneous questions.
    9.    Questions about this list.

======================================================================
Section 1:  Questions about the CBS Mailbag.
======================================================================

Q.    What is the address for the CBS Mailbag?
A.    The address is:

        CBS Mailbag
        Late Show with David Letterman
        Ed Sullivan Theatre
        1697 Broadway
        New York, NY  10019

    Requests are limited to 2 tickets.

======================================================================
Section 2: Questions about tickets.
======================================================================

Q.    Where can I write to get tickets to LSWDL?
A.    Send a postcard (no letters) with your name and address to:

        Tickets
        Late Show with David Letterman
        Ed Sullivan Theatre
        1697 Broadway
        New York, NY  10019

    Requests are limited to 2 tickets.

Q.    If I'm in NY and don't have advance tickets can I still see
    the show?
A.    You may get standby tickets for the show each tapeday at the
    box office at the Ed Sullivan Theater.  Standbys are distrib-
    uted on a first-come-first-served basis, and are limited to
    one per person.  Standbys do not guarantee admission.  You
    must be 16 or older to pick up a standby ticket and attend a
    taping.

======================================================================
Section 3: Questions about Dave himself.
======================================================================

Q.    Where does Dave live in Connecticut?
A.    New Canaan.  (Anybody have his address? ;-) )

Q.    Speaking of Dave's home, who was the woman who kept breaking in
    claiming to be "Mrs. Letterman?"
A.    Margaret Ray.

Q.    What is Dave's real name?
A.    David Michael Letterman.

Q.    What's Dave's mom's name?
A.    Dorothy.

Q.    We know Dave regularly talks to his mother (Mom) but where's
    his father?
A.    Dave's father, Joseph, a florist, died in 1973.

Q.    Where did Dave attend college?
A.    Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.

Q.    Was Dave in a fraternity in college?
A.    Yes.  Dave is a member of Sigma Chi.

Q.    What was Dave's major in college?
A.    Dave majored in Television and Radio Broadcasting with a minor
    in speech.

Q.    Is Dave married?
A.    No.  Dave is divorced and is presently in a relationship with
    former LNWDL staffer Regina Lasko, who is now a production
    manager with Saturday Night Live.  They met when she was an
    equipment manager for the New York Rangers.  Marv Albert in-
    troduced them.

Q.    I heard that Dave used to be a weatherman in Indianapolis.  Why
    did he leave this job?
A.    He was fired.  More info below:

    From Lewis Coury ([e-mail]) --
    "I used to live in Cincinnati, Ohio, and there was a popular
    story at the time that Letterman was fired from his job as
    the weatherman on one of the Indianapolis t.v. stations for
    making fun of the veteran's memorial in downtown Indy.  The
    memorial is a tall column in the center of the downtown
    area, and supposedly Dave referred to it as a giant aspar-
    agus, `the state tree of Indiana.'"

Q.    What are some of Dave's "Indiana-isms?"
A.    From Tim Veatch ([e-mail]) --
    o   ask...or as we say in Indiana...ax
    o   Bush...or as we say in Indiana...Boosh
    o   Illinois...or as we say in Indiana...Illinoiz
    o   Italian...or as we say in Indiana...Eye-talian
    o   mosquitos...or as we say in Indiana...skeeters
    o   nuclear...or as we say in Indiana...nuc-u-lar
    o   Presidant Clinton...or as we say in Indiana...Pars'dent Clinton
    o   show business...or as we say in Indiana...show bidness
    o   similar...or as we say in Indiana...sim-u-lar
    o   special...or as we say in Indiana...spay-shul
    o   statistics...or as we say in Indiana...suh-tistics
    o   veteran...or as we say in Indiana...vet'rin
    o   Washington...or as we say in Indiana...Warshington

======================================================================
Section 4:  Questions about the Top Ten Lists.
======================================================================

Q.    How can I subscribe to the Top Ten mailing list?
A.    From James LaPlaine ([e-mail]) --

    To subscribe to the letterman top ten mailing list:
      Send mail to [e-mail] with the following line:
        SUBSCRIBE letterman-top-ten Your Real Name Goes Here

    To unsubscribe from the list:
      Send mail to [e-mail] with the following line:
        UNSUBSCRIBE letterman-top-ten

    For more information send this line in the message body.
       HELP

Q.    Are there any files with Top Ten listings available through
    anonymous FTP?
A.    Yes.  From the a.f.l archive site at quartz.rutgers.edu in
    the /pub/tv+movies/letterman directory.

Q.    Can I post Top Ten lists to the newsgroup?
A.    Yes.  Just be sure to include the copyright notice for the
    show in the post.  But please do _not_ post top ten lists
    for recent shows (i.e. shows within the past month) as they
    are posted to a.f.l on a weekly basis.

Q.    What are the different cities where Dave's "home office" has
    been located? (LWNDL)
A.    The former homes of the home office are:

    o   Lebanon, Pennsylvania
    o   Lincoln, Nebraska
    o   Milwaukee, Wisconsin
    o   Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
    o   Omaha, Nebraska (in dispute)
    o   Scottsdale, Arizona
    o   Tahlequah, Oklahoma
    o   Tempe, Arizona
    o   Torrance, California

    The last home office was located in Oneonta, New York.

Q.    Where is the home office located for LSWDL?
A.    Sioux City, Iowa.

======================================================================
Section 5:  Questions about LSWDL/LNWDL skits, stunts, etc.
======================================================================

Q.    What are the different types of "cams" that have been used on
    LNWDL?
A.    Here is the list of cams from LNWDL:

    o   Amphi-cam (8th anniversary show at Universal Amphitheatre)
    o   Chair-cam
    o   Cow-cam
    o   Crash-cam
    o   Fig-cam (worn by Anton)
    o   Guest-cam (worn by Tom Hanks)
    o   Host-cam (worn by Dave, of course)
    o   Love-cam (Bill Murray)
    o   Monkey-cam
    o   Sewer-cam
    o   Sky-cam
    o   Thrill-cam
    o   Thrill-cam 360
    o   Tiger-cam

Q.    Who plays Helen, the Ill-Tempered Ticket Taker?
A.    Kathleen Ankers.  She also played Peggy, the Foul-Mouthed
    Chambermaid on LNWDL.

Q.    What were the different animals that Dave had on LNWDL to
    sing "Blueberry Hill"?
A.    The animals that attempted, and "failed" were:

    o   Chicken
    o   Iguana
    o   Mynah bird

    The creature that actually "sang" was a catfish.  The viewers
    weren't able to hear him because of the water, of course.

Q.    What types of gifts has Dave given to the audience members of
    LNWDL?
A.    Gift types:

    o   Bacon
    o   Baked ham
    o   Beef
    o   Bug Busters
    o   Tom Brokaw stationary
    o   Canned hams
    o   Cartons of cigarettes
    o   Collapsible drinking cups
    o   Composters
    o   Edible plunger
    o   Fajitas
    o   French fries
    o   Frogs (two formerly owned by Glenn Close)
    o   Frozen turkeys
    o   Gallon jars of mayonnaise
    o   Goodwill Games medals (given to audience members who asked
        questions of Larry "Bud" Hussein)
    o   Handfuls of nickels from a big bucket
    o   Handfuls of watches from a fish bowl
    o   Jumper cables
    o   Kentucky Fried Millipedes (actually a bucket of fried clams)
    o   Kielbasa
    o   Large squares of sod
    o   Late Night with David Letterman facial blotters (if you
        were an *especially* good little audience member, Dave
        would use it first.)
    o   One volume of an encyclopedia set
    o   Packs of assorted GE light bulbs
    o   Pounds of hair
    o   Roll of garden hose
    o   Selections of fluorescent lighting
    o   Six dollars.
    o   Sponges
    o   Tee-shirts (via Bob Rooney)
    o   Tires
    o   Toast
    o   Toast on a stick
    o   "Today" show coffee mugs
    o   Turtle Wax (year's supply to the Brain of Britain)
    o   Waffles

Q.    What were the films in LNWDL's Holiday Film Festivals?
A.    List of films from the "1st Annual Holiday Film Festival":
    Air date: 11/30/85

    o   "With My Own Eyes", by David Letterman
    o   "But I'm Happy", by Michael Keaton (with Clint Howard)
    o   A film on PMS, by Catherine O'Hara and Andrea Martin
    o   "Dress Cool", music video by Paul and the band
    o   "Why Bother?", by Bette Midler
    o   Industrial video spoof, by Harry Shearer, Christopher
        Guest, and Michael McKean

    List of films from the "2nd Annual Holiday Film Festival":
    Air date: 11/86

    o   "Feelin' in Love",  David Letterman
    o   "The Iceman Hummeth",  Michael J. Fox
    o   "An Audience of My Own",  Diane Sawyer
    o   "My Day With the Stars",  Jonathan Winters
    o   "You Kill Me" (music video),  Paul Shaffer w/Teri Garr
    o   "Chris Elliot: A Television Miracle", w/George Takei
        (aka Mr. Sulu from "Star Trek")

Q.    What are the different types of "suits" Dave has worn on
    LNWDL?
A.    Dave's "suits":

    o   Suit of Alka-Seltzer
    o   Suit of Lard (worn by someone other than Dave)
    o   Suit of Magnets
    o   Suit of Marshmallows (they tried to light the marshmallows
        with propane torches but failed; eaten by audience)
    o   Suit of Nachos (eaten by members of the audience after
        Dave was dunked in cheese)
    o   Suit of Rice Krispies (milk poured on Dave)
    o   Suit of Sponge (they weighed Dave, dunked him in water,
        then weighed him again, but it was off the scale)
    o   Suit of Suet (Dave went into a cage of birds)
    o   Suit of Vegemite (sp?)
    o   Suit of Vegetables
    o   Suit of Velcro (Dave wore the soft part, then he jumped
        onto a wall covered with the other part, and stuck)

Q.    When Chris Elliot was still writing for LNWDL, what were
    some of the characters he played?
A.    Chris' characters:

    o   Marlon Brando
    o   The Guy Under the Seats
    o   Marv Albert
    o   Jay Leno (with large fake chin)
    o   Letterman imitation--"Late Night with Chris Elliot"
    o   The Fugitive Guy
    o   The Nervous Guy
    o   The Regulator Guy
    o   Chris Elliot, Jr. (Morton Downey, Jr. take-off w/ lots
        o' moles)
    o   The Panicky Guy
    o   The Conspiracy Guy
    o   Gerard Mulligan's baby boy, "Kevin" (complete w/ diaper)
    o   Jack Hanna of the Columbus Zoo

Q.    What were the Democratic catch-phrases for the 1992 election?
    (LNWDL)
A.    o   "We have compromising pictures of Bush with Angela Lans-
        bury."
    o   "We're Dukkak-er-if-ic!"
    o   "Please. Please...for the love of God PLEASE vote for us!"
    o   "Read my lips.  No Dan Quayle!"
    o   "Bottoms up, Clinto-holics!"

    And the winner:

    o   "We don't have a clue, but we don't have a Quayle!"

Q.    What were the Republican catch phrases? (LNWDL) (This one is not
    complete--DKR)
A.    o   "Vote Republican and screw the spotted owl!"
    o   "Lazy, stupid Americans need lazy, stupid leader!" (Japanese
        guy)
    o   "George Bush is a WASP that can sting me anyday!" (old lady)

    And the winner:

    o   "Deficit Schmeficit!"

Q.    What is Larry "Bud" Melman's real name?
A.    Calvert DeForest.

Q.    Who played Flunky the Clown? (LNWDL)
A.    Jeff Martin, one of LNWDL's former writers.

Q.    Who all have been the means of delivery of Cokes, etc. from
    the vending machines? (LNWDL)
A.    o   The Rockettes
    o   Members of the NYC area chapter of Mensa
    o   Carl Lewis
    o   Boy Scouts
    o   Marching Band
    o   Andy Grayson, trail bike rider, rode down the stairs and
        jumped up on Dave's desk (w/the bike) without touching a
        foot.

======================================================================
Section 6: Questions about LSWDL/LNWDL guests.
======================================================================

Q.    Who was the first guest ever on LNWDL?
A.    Bill Murray.  He also `performed' Olivia Newton-John's song
    `Physical', complete with aerobic dancing.

Q.    Who was Dave's first guest on LSWDL?
A.    Bill Murray!

======================================================================
Section 7: Questions about LSWDL/LNWDL music.
======================================================================

Q.    Who are the the members of "The CBS Orchestra?"
A.    o   Paul Shaffer, leader/keyboards
    o   Anton Fig, drums
    o   Will Lee, bass guitar
    o   Sid McGinniss, guitar
    o   Felicia Collins, guitar
    o   Bernie Worrell, keyboards

Q.    Other than Paul, Anton, Will, and Sid, who were members of
    "The World's Most Dangerous Band?" (LNWDL)
A.    o   Hiram Bullock, guitar
    o   Omar Hakim, drums
    o   Steve Jordan, drums

Q.    I know that Paul is from Canada, but where?
A.    Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Q.    When is Paul's birthday?
A.    November 28, 1949.

======================================================================
Section 8: Miscellaneous questions.
======================================================================

Q.    Who produces and directs LSWDL?
A.    Executive Producer -- Robert Morton
    Producer -- Jude Brennan
    Supervising Producer/Director -- Hal Gurnee (or is it
    Grundman?)
    (Who is the other Exec. Producer?--DKR)

Q.    Does Dave own Worldwide Pants?
A.    Yep.

Q.    What's all this about an Australian rip-off of LNWDL?
A.    Australia has their own version of LNWDL.  It's called
    "Tonight Live."  The host's name is Steve Vizard.  They have
    admitted to ripping off Dave and Late Night.  Steve Vizard has
    said, "Naturally people compare the two.  We ripped off half
    his show.  But I believe we've gone beyond what the US shows
    offer.  Not in terms of good or bad but in terms of risk.
    They're pre-recorded and studio-bound.  We're live.  As a re-
    sult, we often get it wrong--guests don't fire, gags don't
    work, and some shows have been downright woeful.  But the hits
    more than compensate for the misses."  (Yeah, right--DKR)

Q.    What's the translation of the Japanese on the kites in the
    LNWDL opening sequence?
A.    There are two different kites.  One says "Late Night," the
    other "G.E. Sucks."

Q.    Is there an official alt.fan.letterman archive site accessible
    via anonymous FTP?
A.    Yes, there is.  It's quartz.rutgers.edu (128.6.60.6).  The
    directory path is /pub/tv+movies/letterman.  There you can
    download graphic files, top ten lists, and the latest version
    of the FAQ.

Q.    Is the alt.fan.letterman newsgroup available as a mailing list?
A.    The newsgroup is not available as a mailing list.  However, you
    can subscribe to the letterman-top-ten mailing list.  You will
    receive the previous night's top ten list each day (including
    lists from reruns).  Just send email to [e-mail] with
    the following on the first line of the message:
        subscribe letterman-top-ten <your name>


======================================================================
Section 9: Questions about this list.
======================================================================

Q.    Where can I get the latest version of this list?
A.    The latest versions of the alt.fan.letterman FAQ list can be
    gotten approximately once every month on alt.fan.letterman.
    If for some reason you miss the posting, the list is availa-
    ble via anonymous FTP from quartz.rutgers.edu (128.6.60.6) in
    the file /pub/tv+movies/letterman/alt.fan.letterman.faq.z.
    The FAQ is also available via anonymous FTP from rtfm.mit.edu
    as the file /pub/usenet/news.answers/letterman/faq.Z.  The FAQ
    is also via mail server.  Just send you email request to
    [e-mail] with the following line in the body:
    "send usenet/news.answers/letterman/faq".  Whenever someone
    requests that the FAQ be reposted, please direct them to one
    of the FTP sites rather than reposting the FAQ.  That way
    assures that only the most recent version of the FAQ is being
    distributed.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

This article is Copyright (c) 1992, 1993 by Keith Rice.
It may be freely redistributed so long as the author's name, and this
notice, remain intact.  It may be distributed as long as no fee is
charged for distribution.  If it is made available for downloading on
a bulletin board system (BBS) that charges a fee for downloading priv-
ileges, it must be in a directory that is available to all BBS users,
including those that have not paid.  If the BBS does not have any
file directories available for all paid and non-paid users, this FAQ
must not be made available for download.

--
|o|   D. Keith Rice - [e-mail]   |    ____                 |o|
|o|   Computer Operator - City of Denton, Texas   |   /    \\   "I'm a      |o|
|o|     CS Major - University of North Texas      |  | Tama || Tama-hawk!"  |o|
|o|           "Visualize Whirled Peas!"           |   \____//               |o|