I Pity Da Fool!!

Wednesday night, May 20th, marked the end of an era.  David Letterman signed off from the Late Show for the last time, ending his talk show run, over thirty years in the making.  Two nights earlier, there was a special that aired, hosted by Ray Romano which highlighted some of the epic moments captured and thought up by Letterman's genius.  How do you capture all the fantastic moments shared with viewers over nearly a lifetime of television.  You can't.  And though Dave didn't have any guests on that epic last show Wednesday night, choosing instead to air some of his favourite moments and take a few minutes at the show's end to thank everyone involved in allowing him to come into our livingrooms every night, more favourable moments still had to be sacrificed.  So this morning when the radio announced that it was Mr. T's birthday, I was instantly reminded of a moment between Mr. T and David Letterman, decades ago.

Mr. T came onto "Late Night", the NBC incarnation of the Letterman show, to promote his film debut in Rocky III.  In the film, he's promoted as a no-nonsense, street-tough, battle-ready gladiator of the boxing world, similar to his life outside of acting.  He was a door man for many of the tough night clubs in Chicago, as well as a personal bodyguard to some well-known personalities, although he remained tight-lipped when asked for details by Mr. Letterman.

T came onto Letterman's set and stayed in "character" the entire time, making himself a tough guest, rest assured, but that toughness added to the charm of the interview.  Always the showman, Dave made light of the situation, whether it be of his comedic genius or genuine nervousness about this strange individual with all the gold jewelry and strange haircut.

The one moment that really stood out, for me, was when Dave asked about the unique name that Mr. T had.  Right away, he responded... er, make that preached his answer, bringing in race relations and such.  How people would call him boy, so to avoid that he changed his name to what it was then and has remained to this day.  "The first thing out of their mouth is MISTER, my middle name is the period and my last name is T."

In the decades that followed, the tough no-bullshit guy that we witnessed in Rocky III and on the Letterman show that night in 1982, fell by the wayside.  T's real personality came out and he turned out to be a nice fella.  I wouldn't want to piss him off, mind you.  I'm sure he could still kick the ever-lovin' shit outta ya, if he deemed it necessary, but a nice guy, nevertheless.

The radio had the date wrong, this morning.  Mr. T's birthday was actually yesterday.  He turned 63 years young.  And I pity da fool who didn't tweet him a Happy Birthday message...  Which reminds me.  I have to tweet Mr. T a Happy Birthday message.

To watch Mr. T's first appearance on "Late Night with David Letterman"
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRi180Kkb6Y

Late Night

Late Night with David Letterman.  Late Night with Conan O'Brien.  Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

All three predecessors to the current, all sounded good.  Each talent's name existed synonymous with the Late Night moniker, but the last.., Late Night with Seth Meyers, sounds like an assault on the palate.  Whether it be David Letterman, or Conan or Jimmy,  all the names rolled off the tongue like poetry, but the name Seth Meyers spoken in conjunction with the Late Night title, sounds like the crushing sound of two 1971 Plymouth Fury's plowing into one another.

I'm sure Seth Meyers is a pleasant fellow and quite adept to helm the mantle of the Late Night ship.  He was always enjoyable manning the news desk on SNL, on those rare occasions that I would tune into that show.  I've not watched any of the new rendition of Late Night, nor did I watch any of Jimmy's shows, either, with exception to a fun clip or two shared on Facebook.  I only mention Seth Meyers now because it was on as I shut my television off, roughly ten minutes ago.  It was only a few fleeting seconds of Seth thanking a pretty brunette for coming on the show.  From what I could tell of the brief viewing, is it looks as though NBC spared every nickel possible on providing Mr. Meyers with the absolutely cheapest looking set imaginable.  The desk alone, looks like balsa wood slapped together with packing tape.  It looks so flimsy that it would not surprise me if a violent sneeze tore the entire ensemble apart.

As stated, I'm not a fan of the show.  I don't watch it, nor do I watch Jimmy's show.  In fact, I don't really watch any of the talk shows anymore.  I did try to tune into CBS and Craig Ferguson's Late Late Show, when he was the host, even though he tended to pre-tape his shows weeks in advance.  The humour was still present, but the effort left a lot to be desired.  I have been watching his replacement, James Corden.  Corden has been, as far as I can tell anyway, recording each show on a daily basis.  I've only missed one episode of the new version and thus far, the show is very charming and funny.  

James Corden was one of the ensemble cast of the movie "Into The Woods", a musical that I found to be SO completely over-the-top crappy, that it was (literally) the first movie I ever got fed up with and stormed out of in a fit of rage.  It was THAT bad.  However, since The Late Late Show with James Corden really IS so charming, I've forgiven him for making "Into The Woods".  I still hate that movie more than cancer, though.

I plan to continue watching the Late Late Show, at least until it's not fun to anymore.  As well, I miss watching Stephen Colbert on The Colbert Report, so when he replaces David Letterman later on this year, I'm sure I'll be tuning into that (then) two-hour block, every night.  

I watch a lot of television, This is true.  But, I'm a single guy.  I don't go out too often.  I don't watch sports.  My TNA Impact Wrestling is on a channel that I cannot afford to subscribe to, so I have a lot of time to waste before I shuffle off this big ol' shitty world.  May as well have a chuckle or two in the meantime.

EPILOGUE:  I really enjoyed the original version of The Late Late Show was LIVE and was hosted by the late Tom Snyder, who was infamously a newsman and radio personality before hosting the early version of the Late Late Show.  Tom would come onto the screen, just him and another seat.  He'd talk to the camera and ultimately, to all of us watching at home and speak from the heart.  Once in a while, Tom would tell a funny joke, which only the laughter of the crew could be heard howling following the punch line.  Over the years, I've kept a couple of those jokes in my hip pocket, just in case I need an ice-breaker for a new crowd of friends.  The format was simple.  As I said, it was just Tom.  His guest and the odd viewer who was encouraged to phone in with a question for the guest.

Snyder only hosted for four short years, then it was Craig Kilborn who replaced Tom, followed by Ferguson who hosted to ten years.