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There’s a surplus of Jimmys in late night these days, but David Letterman was the first—way back in 1995.

Letterman’s official YouTube channel has just resurfaced highlights from an entire episode the original Late Show host did under a different name. Presciently, he chose “Jimmy.”

“For a long time, Paul and myself and the production staff have wondered, ‘How would this show be different if instead of my name being Dave Letterman, my name was Jimmy Letterman?’” Letterman explained to viewers in a cold open for the episode. “So that’s what we’re going to do tonight.”

With that, the show launched into an altered “Late Show with Jimmy Letterman” title sequence, complete with a Jimmified version of Letterman’s famous marquee.

Everyone in the episode played along with the name change, from announcer Alan Kalter to Paul Shaffer to guest Mia Farrow (who gifted him a...

Producers of this Monday’s Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony have some difficult decisions to make about who to honor during the emotional In Memoriam segment. John Legend will perform “Pieces,” a new song he has written for the tribute. Kenan Thompson will host the 2022 Emmys for NBC at 8 p.m. Et; 5 p.m. Pt.

Our list below includes almost 100 people who made a strong contribution to television and have died since mid-September of 2021 following the previous Emmys ceremony. Only about 40-45 of these people will probably be in the video segment. Certain to be featured will be TV Academy Hall of Fame members actress Betty White and director Jay Sandrich.Other prominent names almost certainly chosen are: Mary Alice (acting winner), Louie Anderson (acting winner), James Caan (acting nominee), Anne Heche (acting winner), Howard Hesseman (acting nominee), William Hurt (acting nominee), Gregory Itzin (acting nominee), Ray Liotta (acting winner), Burt Metcalfe...

Sunday’s SAG Awards ceremony will return to its normal two-hour live format on TNT and TBS. One of the highlights each year is the special In Memoriam segment. It’s been a particularly rough year with over 100 deaths of prominent actors and actresses who were likely members of SAG/AFTRA. Show producers typically are able to include approximately 40-50 people in a tribute. The 2021 segment saluted 55 people because they had responsibility for 14 months instead of 12.

Among that group will certainly be previous SAG president Ed Asner, who was also a life achievement award recipient. That honorary award was also presented to Sidney Poitier and Betty White, who both died this past year.

SEECelebrity Deaths 2022: In Memoriam Gallery

Who else might be featured in the 2022 tribute? Look for Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis, Oscar nominees Ned Beatty, Peter Bogdanovich and Dean Stockwell, plus Emmy champs Louie Anderson, Michael Constantine, Charles Grodin,...

Drew Dunbar’s girlfriend will look a little different upon her return from Switzerland.

Rosa Salazar, who previously recurred as Adriana during Season 1 of B Positive, is not returning for Season 2 of the CBS sitcom, TVLine has confirmed. As revealed in newly released photos from the Thursday, Oct. 21 episode, CBS Diversity Showcase alumnus Michelle Ortiz will take over the role of Drew’s significant other — but is their relationship long for this world?

More from TVLineLate Show's Alan Kalter Dead at 78Ghosts Review: Please Watch This Quirky CBS Gem Before It DisappearsEvil Recap: Hell-o Dolly

As previously reported, Season 2 of...

Alan Kalter, who was the announcer and sometimes comic foil for CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman from 1995 until it wrapped after the host’s retirement in 2015, died on Monday, Deadline has confirmed. He was 78.

Showbiz & Media Figures We’ve Lost In 2021 – Photo Gallery

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman of Stamford, Connecticut’s Temple Beth El confirmed that he passed away at Stamford Hospital. A cause of death was not disclosed.

A fan favorite with his droll humor, wild red hair and — of course — a distinctive voice, Kalter also joined Letterman for many a comedy bit during the announcer’s nearly 1,500 Late Show episodes. He often would play faux angry or bitter, dropping bleeped expletives. Sometimes he would break out in song, leaving Letterman to give that trademark deadpan “Huh?” look to the audience and cameras.

Kalter was born on March 21, 1943, in Brooklyn and taught high school English after graduating from college.

Alan Kalter, the “voice” of CBS’ “Late Show With David Letterman” for most of its run, has died, Variety has confirmed. He was 78.

According to Rabbi Joshua Hammerman of Temple Beth El in Stamford, Conn., Kalter died at Stamford Hospital, with wife Peggy and his daughters Lauren Hass and Diana Binger at his side.

Kalter took over as Letterman’s announcer on Sept. 5, 1995, replacing Bill Wendell, who had retired. Kalter remained with “Late Show” until Letterman ended his tenure in May 2015.

Although the gig centered on announcing the guests at the top of each show and other various introduction elements, Kalter soon became a pivotal part of “Late Show,” often in scripted segments in which he satirically flew off the handle and stormed off stage; played himself as deviant and creepy; and often being the butt of jokes.

“When our announcer of 15 years Bill Wendell retired, producer Robert Morton came...

Alan Kalter, who served as announcer on CBS’ Late Show With David Letterman for two decades, has died at the age of 78, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He passed away Monday in a Connecticut hospital, his wife Peggy confirms.

Kalter succeeded Letterman’s original announcer Bill Wendell, who departed The Late Show in 1995. On screen, Kalter frequently played a heightened version of himself, appearing in a myriad of segments, often as a sexual deviant. He also hosted show-within-a-show Alan Kalter’s Celebrity Interview. He remained a fixture on The Late Show through Letterman’s retirement in 2015.

More from TVLineGhosts Review:...

Alan Kalter, who served as the announcer and performed hilarious comic bits for David Letterman during his two-decade run on CBS’ Late Show, has died. He was 78.

Kalter died Monday at Stamford Hospital in Connecticut, his wife, Peggy, told The Hollywood Reporter.

The red-haired Kalter took over for the retired Bill Wendell as the Late Show announcer in September 1995 — about two years after Letterman moved from NBC to CBS — and remained through the host’s final program on May 20, 2015. On his first day on the job, Letterman tossed him into a pool.

With musical accompaniment from Paul Shaffer and ...

Alan Kalter, who served as the announcer and performed hilarious comic bits for David Letterman during his two-decade run on CBS’ Late Show, has died. He was 78.

Kalter died Monday at Stamford Hospital in Connecticut, his wife, Peggy, told The Hollywood Reporter.

The red-haired Kalter took over for the retired Bill Wendell as the Late Show announcer in September 1995 — about two years after Letterman moved from NBC to CBS — and remained through the host’s final program on May 20, 2015. On his first day on the job, Letterman tossed him into a pool.

With musical accompaniment from Paul Shaffer and ...

My first thought while watching the proudly weird, thoroughly charming new comedy Ghosts was: How is this on CBS?

To be fair, the Eye network has moved past the days of “fat guy with a hot wife” sitcoms lately with a host of more thoughtful and bittersweet comedies like the recently departed Mom. But still, nothing on their primetime slate is nearly as odd or as ambitious as Ghosts (premiering this Thursday, Oct. 7 at 9/8c; I’ve seen the premiere, with advance looks at two more episodes). It doesn’t fit their comedy mold at all… but that just makes...

This week’s Evil gives us a toybox full of new information about Sheryl’s creepy little pal, Eddie, yet leaves us scratching our heads about how the demonic doll is going to mess stuff up for everyone — maybe as soon as next week’s season finale?

The hour also gifts us with a tender, charged interaction between David and Kristen. Oddly, it’s the second “would we be romantic partners in a parallel universe?” conversation that I’ve recapped this week. One more, and we’ll have a trend!

More from TVLineLate Show's Alan Kalter Dead at 78Ghosts Review:...

Tony Mendez, a cue card handler who became a popular member of David Letterman’s onscreen gang of real-life characters, died July 29 at his Miami Beach home. He was 76.

His death was confirmed by former companion Andrew Corbin to The New York Times. A cause was not disclosed.

Mendez, born in Havana, Cuba, was among the Late Show With David Letterman staffers who became regular onscreen presences and even stars in their own right, a roster that also included stage manager Biff Henderson, announcer Alan Kalter and assistant Stephanie Birkitt.

During his 21-year Late Show tenure in the role Letterman dubbed “cue card boy,” Mendez even hosted a popular series of online videos, called The Tony Mendez Show, for the Late Show website. Mendez had occasionally handled cue cards for Letterman during the earlier NBC Late Night With David Letterman era, taking over the role full-time when the host moved...

The Black Crowes’ Chris and Rich Robinson, Dave Matthews, Jackson Browne and Cyndi Lauper will lead the fourth annual Love Rocks NYC concert, taking place at New York’s Beacon Theatre on March 12th.

Warren Haynes, Leon Bridges, Macy Gray, Jimmie Vaughan, Ivan Neville and more will also take part in the Love Rocks show, which raises money for God’s Love We Deliver, an organization that cooks and home-delivers nutritious, medically tailored meals for people too sick to shop or cook for themselves.

Designer John Varvatos and God’s...

Iconic fashion designer John Varvatos and NYC real estate broker and God's Love We Deliver Board of Trustees member Greg Williamson are proud to present the third annual Love Rocks NYC benefit concert for God’s Love We Deliver, at the historic Beacon Theatre in NYC on Thursday March 7.

The concert, to be hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, Martin Short and other special guests, will support and honor the work of the cherished New York-based not-for profit-organization, which is celebrating its 34th anniversary.

Since launching in 2017, the annual sold-out Love Rocks NYC concerts have brought together an astonishing lineup of musical talent and helped raise more than $5 million dollars to date. This year’s concert will equally thrill music fans and continue to highlight the charity’s continued success of providing life-sustaining meals and nutrition counseling for people in the New York Metropolitan area living with severe illness.

The Love Rocks...

If there was a Top 10 list of reasons to scrub a celebrity’s appearance from an upcoming TV special, a sexual harassment scandal would surely come in at number one.

Minnesota Sen. Al Franken has been edited out of PBS’ David Letterman: The Mark Twain Prize special (airing Monday, 8/7c), TVLine has confirmed. The decision to cut him from the broadcast comes just days after the Saturday Night Live alum became the latest politician to be accused of sexual harassment. The network on Sunday released the following statement to TVLine:

PBS will air David Letterman: The Mark Twain Prize on Monday evening.

Network: CBS

Episodes: 4,263 (62 minutes)

Seasons: 22

TV show dates: August 30, 1993 -- May 20, 2015

Series status: Ended

Performers include: David Letterman, Paul Schaffer, Bill Wendell, and Alan Kalter.

TV show description:

Derived from Late Night With David Letterman, this Emmy Award-winning late night talk show was born as David Letterman switched networks from NBC to CBS. It's produced by Letterman's production company Worldwide Pants Incorporated and follows much the same format as its predecessor.

(more…)...

David Letterman made America laugh for 33 years as a late-night host, but the really challenge as he closed out his now legendary tenure on Wednesday night was holding back a tear or two.

Letterman, 68, bid his final "Thank you and good night" to viewers after nearly 22 years behind the desk of CBS's Late Show. The 16-time Emmy winner's final show after 6,028 broadcasts was a star-studded extravaganza that still managed to be touching – after all, Letterman has seen incredible highs and lows during the decades that have cemented his reputation as a late-night pioneer.

And so, in homage to the man...

As I begin writing this I'm watching David Letterman, in one of his final appearances as host of "The Late Show," walk out to greet the audience as he's done thousands of times. He's talking about the weather in New York, again, as he's done countless times. After Wednesday, he'll never walk out onto that Ed Sullivan Theater stage and shoot the breeze about the weather again. He'll never again throw it to Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra to kick off the show. The misfits, alas, will have lost their shepherd. Because at his core, that's who Letterman is and has been. He has represented the off-brand sensibilities of an audience allergic to the vanilla stylings of his cool kid contemporaries. He has been the kind of personality who could give us Stupid Pet Tricks and turn throwing a football at a meatball-topped Christmas tree into an annual tradition.

Eddie Vedder teamed up with Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra for a rousing, fitting performance of Pearl Jam's "Better Man" on The Late Show Monday night as David Letterman began his final three-night stand as host.

As Letterman noted, Vedder has taken the Ed Sullivan Theater stage numerous times since Pearl Jam first appeared on The Late Show in 1996, even once trying his hand at comedy ("I think that will probably be the highlight of the man's career," Letterman cracked). Vedder's riveting performance on Monday, however, undoubtedly earned...

The Foo Fighters' weeklong Late Show With David Letterman residency came to a close Friday night with the band participating in a Letterman staple: The reading of the Top Ten list. The subject: "Top Ten Things Foo Fighters Would Like To Say After Spending a Week at the Late Show." "All in all, not a bad place to be quarantined," guitarist Pat Smear joked, to which Letterman replied, "When you were a kid, did you get teased about 'Pat Smear'?" But the real highlight comes when Smear...

Foo Fighters finished up a week-long residency on The Late Show by delivering their own Top Ten list. Each of the Foos got to share two thoughts — with the most awkward moment coming when Pat Smear revealed that he's really going to miss announcer Alan Kalter. See more TV Premiere Dates 2014-15: The Complete Guide The two then gave each other googly eyes for an uncomfortably long time, to David Letterman's frustration. Check out what the rest had to say in the video below.

read more...

Last Friday, in eight major television markets, CBS stations disappeared from televisions served by Time-Warner Cable. In addition, stations owned by CBS, including Showtime and the Smithsomian Channel, are also off the air.

Except there isn’t any air. And that’s part of the problem.

When television first became a business, the various stations broadcast over airwaves owned by the people and licensed by the government. Having a broadcast license was like a license to print money, and, in exchange, the owners of the license were expected to do things “in the public interest,” like news programs and public service announcements.

Because of, you know, capitalism, people learned how to make money from these forms of public service. News divisions must now be profitable. Public service ads are often underwritten by for-profit corporations, which use them as occasions to build their brands.

In other words, CBS (and the other...

Scene: Robin and I are sitting in our den. We are empty nesters. The TV is on. She's engrossed in the same program that I'm pretending to be watching when, in fact, I'm wondering why we aren't naked.

And then a commercial. The one where a woman on the phone has just been told it will cost up to $6,000 for her father's funeral. She sits at her kitchen table shaking her head. I let it play for a few more beats and then break the silence.

- You think we should get that, Robin?

- Burial insurance?

- So the kids won't be financially burdened in their moment of unspeakable grief.

- I don't think so ...

- Robin, it's $6,000. And since I'm fairly certain that someday we'll both be dead, that's a

huge chunk of change to make sure they won't leave us lying around or propped up in

these chairs.

Julia Roberts' "Eat, Pray, Love" promotional tour is in full effect, so the actress stopped by "The Late Show" to chat up David Letterman.

The two have always had a charming rapport, so the actress felt comfortable griping about her ill-timed intro. PopEater points out that right after Roberts' name was called in the beginning of the episode, announcer Alan Kalter followed it up with some segment about varicose veins.

"Can I just log a tiny complaint?" Roberts asks. "I'm in the dressing room watching, and in the intro [Kalter says], 'And Tonight -- Julia Roberts!' And then they say, 'A problem with varicose veins?'"

Roberts seemed to brush it off, but then brought it up again when Letterman asks her about a possible sequel to "Pretty Woman." (Sidenote: really?)

"Not with these varicose veins," she answers. Hopefully not with the killer legs she has, either.

A few other...

Stepping out for a promotional appearance, Julia Roberts was spotted arriving at “The Late Show with David Letterman” yesterday (August 4).

The “Pretty Woman” actress took some time to sign autographs for her fans before heading inside the Ed Sullivan Theater for her interview.

And apparently, Ms. Roberts had a problem with the way the “Late Show” announcer Alan Kalter handled the intro, as she mentioned it to Letterman on the show.

"Can I just log a tiny complaint? I'm in the dressing room watching, and in the intro [Kalter says], 'And Tonight -- Julia Roberts!' ... and then they say, 'A problem with varicose veins?'"...

Filed under: TV Replay

Julia Roberts told David Letterman that what keeps her looking amazingly young and beautiful are her three kids and "the love of a good man."

But Alan Kalter, the announcer on 'Late Show' (weeknights, 11:35Pm Et on CBS), made it sound like the actress suffers from varicose veins.

"Can I just log a tiny complaint?" asked Robert. "I'm in the dressing room watching, and in the intro [Kalter says], 'And Tonight -- Julia Roberts!' ... and then they say, 'A problem with varicose veins?'"

Kalter had followed up the question with a punchline, but Roberts wasn't ecstatic over the awkward introduction. Letterman shifted the blame and had a theory on why the producers did that. Roberts took it in stride and had a quick-witted comeback.

Was The Varicose Veins Joke Out Of Line? Tell Us On Facebook!

 

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By Dylan Stableford

David Letterman is under fire over a joke. Again.

On Tuesday’s “Late Show,” announcer Alan Kalter interrupted Letterman during his monologue when the host mentioned that Amanda Simpson, President Obama's appointment to the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security, is a transgender woman.

"What?!” Kalter shouted. “Amanda?! Amanda used to be a dude?! Oh my God!!"

In a letter to CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler, Allyson Robinson of the Human Rights Campaign -- the nation’s largest gay right...

Monday, October 12

If you are not into the sun, sand and cinema that Spain’s Sitges (see last report here and go here for the fest’s official site) has to offer, the next best thing about this international film festival is the socializing. Hundreds of genre celebrities, fans and journalists have assembled in this coastal town, and this edition has witnessed such folks as Thirst’S Park Chan-wook, Tetsuo’s Shinya Tsukamoto, The Abandoned’s Nacho Cerdá (busy teaching in Barcelona, he tells me), Ghostbusters’ Ivan Reitman, [Rec] 2 helmers Paco Plaza and Jaume Belagueró (“Doing better at the box office in Spain than the first film,” Belagueró says), Day Of The Beast’s Alex de la Iglesia (looking very professorial), Orphan’s tiny terror Isabelle Fuhrman and Irreversible’S Gaspar Noé (whose controversial new film Enter The Void is debuting here), just to name a few.

Of all this terrifying talent,...

Monday, October 12

If you are not into the sun, sand and cinema that Spain’s Sitges (see last report here and go here for the fest’s official site) has to offer, the next best thing about this international film festival is the socializing. Hundreds of genre celebrities, fans and journalists have assembled in this coastal town, and this edition has witnessed such folks as Thirst’S Park Chan-wook, Tetsuo’s Shinya Tsukamoto, The Abandoned’s Nacho Cerdá (busy teaching in Barcelona, he tells me), Ghostbusters’ Ivan Reitman, [Rec] 2 helmers Paco Plaza and Jaume Belagueró (“Doing better at the box office in Spain than the first film,” Belagueró says), Day Of The Beast’s Alex de la Iglesia (looking very professorial), Orphan’s tiny terror Isabelle Fuhrman and Irreversible’S Gaspar Noé (whose controversial new film Enter The Void is debuting here), just to name a few.

Of all this terrifying talent,...