Posted on 05/21/2015 7:12:59 AM PDT by rightistight
Salon.com is happy to see David Letterman go. Not because they think he was unfunny, but because he had too many white people on his show, particularly in its final days.
In an article titled, "The unbearable whiteness of the Letterman farewells: Let this truly be the end of a show-business era," Salon took Letterman to task for inviting white actors and actresses on his final shows, but few minorities.
"You'd never know" that American culture has a large minority presence, Salon author Scott Timberg writes.
Referencing the last few shows before Letterman left the air, Timberg writes, "Some of the heavy hitters so far on the walk down memory lane have included Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Bob Dylan, George Clooney, Don Rickles, Ryan Adams, Adam Sandler, Tom Waits, Howard Stern and Bill Clinton."
He then asks, "But what’s missing from this list?" The answer: minorities, specifically African Americans.
"Anyone who’s watched a movie or television show or been to a comedy club knows there been a deep and rich lineage of African-American humor," Timberg notes.
(Excerpt) Read more at punditpress.com ...
Color me unsympathetic, if that isn’t too racist. If a pack of weasels who have been biting at your ankles for decades suddenly turn on one of their number, it just doesn’t bring much of a tear to my eye. To hell with Letterman.
What they are basically saying is..."I got mine...the rest of you have to lower your standards of living, and that of YOUR children...you know, sacrifice for the betterment of mankind and stuff..."
...(gee, pat me on the back, aren't I benevolent...maybe now I'll get invited to more parties...)
I hate these leftist hypocrites(particularly hollywood)with a passion.
Practice what you preach with your own economic standing...or STFU!
It's OK. They were all mentally retarded, and liberal. That should count.
He was alright back in the 80s, but that was when we still thought his personality was a “schtick”. Now, we’ve figured out that is the real Letterman, and that really isn’t that funny!
Agree about the band, Paul Shaffer is great (well, if you ignore “It’s Rainin’ Men” and his painful doo wop-hip hop fusion experiment).
He also got rich producing the TV sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond”.
Raymond was, in some respects, another gift from CBS. They found a hot comic, Ray Romano, and showcased him on Letterman. When they offered Romano a sitcom, the arranged for Worldwide Pants, Letterman’s company, to produce it.
The show ran nine years (normally, five years worth of episodes is enough fir syndication). So, the profits generated through syndication were substantial—probably in the hundreds of millions of dollars. And Letterman got a share, although his involvement in the project was minimal.
Worldwide Pants has done relatively little in terms of pilot and program development since Romano’s show left the air—not what you’d expect from a production company that is serious about getting films produced or TV shows on the air.
Johnny Carson had a similar deal with NBC; his company was formed to produce the Tonight Show (he finally got a production deal after hosting the show for 20 years). NBC also steered Dick Clark’s blooper show to him, and they produced the hit sitcome Amen, and the film The Big Chill.
Carson was (arguably) a more successful producer than Letterman and he only dabbled in the trade. With Letterman’s retirement, the production company will become largely devoted to licensing clips/re-runs of his talk show.
“I enjoyed his Top 10, Chris Elliot and Stupid Pet Tricks skits “
Most of the early funny stuff was actually devised/written by his then-girlfriend Merrill Markoe, not by Letterman.
There’s an old joke—”Hire the handicapped, they’re fun to watch!” and in that vein, the funniest blacks I know of are in the Congressional Black Caucus, those guys are insane-ly funny, with all the gibberish they constantly spew!
I think Carson’s company produced the Late Show when Letterman was there and after he left for CBS.
No doubt Letterman’s company gets a nice slice of the Raymond action.
IMHO the best comic show still in reruns is Seinfeld. They are still getting a million a show on TBS and just signed a deal, I think on Amazon Prime, for $800,000 and episode.
Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld will be laughing to bank for years to come.
Oprah was the third-to-last guest. B Obama was on a few days before that and Michelle O was in the last weeks of shows too.
Raymond seems to think it Letterman’s idea to produce a sitcom for him.
And John Nolte at Breitbart: http://www.breitbart.com/big-hollywood/2015/05/20/after-losing-to-jay-leno-david-lettermans-bitterness-cost-him-his-indiana-soul/
This is probably one of the best pieces that captures my feelings where Letterman is concerned (from a FORMER fan).
Spot on analysis. I never had much use for either Leno or Letterman.
Johnny Carson was late night talk, period.
“Johnny Carson was late night talk, period.”
Yep
The rest are just “the rest”
100% agree!
You are correct about Carson producing Late Night when Letterman was the host. However, when Letterman left for CBS (and Carson retired), full control of the time slot reverted to NBC. Conan’s version of Late Night was initially produced by Broadway Video (Lorne Michael’s company), and later by O’Brien. When Conan got fired from the Tonight Show, NBC gave Michaels control of Tonight and Late Night, and he produces both shows to this day.
Wouldn’t know; never saw the show and wouldn’t know this letterman person if I found him dead in the gutter.
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