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- ======================================================================
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for the alt.fan.letterman newsgroup
- ======================================================================
-
- Author: Keith Rice (drice@ponder.csci.unt.edu)
-
- ======================================================================
-
- 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.
-
- Please send any and all suggestions, comments, corrections, and new
- information to me, Keith Rice (drice@ponder.csci.unt.edu) via email.
- Your input will help this FAQ to become the definitive source of
- information on David Letterman and "Late Night 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, John
- Bonacci, Ken Anderson, Jason Bak, J.D. Baldwin, Marc Conte, Lewis Coury,
- Matt Dittrich, Sean Donnelly, David Eccleston, Kevin Fong, Mathew A.
- Hennessy, Ed Krauss, Lana Krotenko, Robert Lopez, Lon Lowen, Ian McCuaig,
- Shamim Zvonko Mohamed, Noel (t-noelc@microsoft.com), Alan Perry, Tom
- Sakoda, Bill Sherman, Jeff Shimbo, Jason Snell, Greg Sroka, Christopher
- Taylor, Tim Veatch, Jeff Wilder, and Eric Wood.
-
- Keith Rice
- drice@ponder.csci.unt.edu
-
- ======================================================================
- Section 0: General Information.
- ======================================================================
-
- I have categorized the FAQ into related sections. Starting with
- the next revision (revision 3), I will be making notations as to
- which sections have been updated with a "|", and which sections
- are new "!".
-
- There are currently 9 sections to this FAQ. They are:
-
- 0. General Information
- 1. Questions about Viewer Mail.
- 2. Questions about tickets.
- 3. Questions about Dave himself.
- | 4. Questions about the Top Ten lists.
- 5. Questions about LNWDL skits, stunts, etc.
- 6. Questions about LNWDL music.
- | 7. Miscellaneous questions.
- | 8. Questions about this list.
-
- ======================================================================
- Section 1: Questions about Viewer Mail.
- ======================================================================
-
- Q. What is the address for Viewer Mail?
- A. The address for viewer mail is:
-
- Viewer Mail
- Late Night with David Letterman
- c/o NBC
- 30 Rockefeller Plaza
- New York, NY 10020
-
- ======================================================================
- Section 2: Questions about tickets.
- ======================================================================
-
- Q. Where can I write to get tickets to Late Night?
- A. Send a postcard (no letters) with your name and address to:
-
- Tickets
- Late Night with David Letterman
- c/o NBC
- 30 Rockefeller Plaza
- New York, NY 10020
-
- 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. Yes. Standby tickets are given out at 8:15am on the morning of
- the show (Tues-Fri). They are limited to one ticket per person
- and have a number on the back in accordance to your place in
- line. The line usually starts around 3:00am at the Guest Rela-
- tions door on the Mezzanine level. You then line up in numeri-
- cal order at 5:00pm beside the gift shop on the main level.
- Once all the advance ticket holders have gone in, the standby
- ticket holders fill the seats. The first 10 have an excellent
- chance, sometimes as many as 20-30 are let in. Good Luck!
-
- ======================================================================
- Section 3: Questions about Dave himself.
- ======================================================================
-
- Q. Where does Dave live in Connecticut?
- A. New Canaan. (Anybody have his address?)
-
- 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
- a former LNWDL staffer.
-
- 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 (coury@chem.duke.edu) --
- "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.'"
-
- ======================================================================
- Section 4: Questions about the Top Ten Lists.
- ======================================================================
-
- 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.
-
- Q. What are the different cities where Dave's "home office" has
- been located?
- 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
- o Scottsdale, Arizona
- o Tempe, Arizona
- o Torrance, California
-
- The home office is presently located in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.
-
- ======================================================================
- Section 5: Questions about 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 Anton-cam (or was it the "Fig-cam"?)
- o Chair-cam
- o Cow-cam
- o Crash-cam
- o Guest-cam (worn by Howie Mandel)
- 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. What were the different animals that Dave had on the show 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 Beef
- o Cartons of cigarettes
- o Collapsible drinking cups
- o Composters
- o Edible plunger
- o Fajitas
- o French fries
- o Frozen turkeys
- o Gallon jars of mayonnaise
- o Handfuls of nickels from a big bucket
- o Handfuls of watches from a fish bowl.
- o Jumper cables
- o Kielbasa
- o Large squares of sod
- o Late Night with David Letterman facial sponges (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 Tee-shirts (via Bob Rooney)
- o Tires
- o Toast
- o "Today" show coffee mugs
- 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 "Dress Cool", music video by Paul and the band
- o "But I'm Happy", Michael Keaton (with Clint Howard)
- o "Why Bother?", Bette Midler
-
- 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
- the show?
- 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 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?
- 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!"
-
- And the winner:
-
- o "We don't have a clue, but we don't have a Quayle!"
-
- Q. What were the Republican catch phrases? (This one is not
- complete--DKR)
- A. o "Vote Republican and screw the spotted owl!"
-
- And the winner:
-
- o "Deficit Schmeficit!"
-
- Q. What is Larry "Bud" Melman's real name?
- A. Calvert DeForest.
-
- Q. Who played Flunky the Clown?
- 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?
- 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 LNWDL music.
- ======================================================================
-
- Q. What are the names of the members of "The World's Most Dangerous
- Band"? Former members?
- A. Current members:
-
- o Paul Shaffer, leader/keyboards
- o Anton Fig, drums
- o Will Lee, bass guitar
- o Sid McGinniss, guitar
-
- Former members:
-
- o Hiram Bullock, guitar
- o Steve Jordan, drums
-
- ======================================================================
- Section 7: Miscellaneous questions.
- ======================================================================
-
- 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. Well, rumor (that is, a.f.l) has it that it is one of two
- messages. It's either "Late Night," or "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. The directory path
- is /pub/tv+movies/letterman. There you can download graphic
-
- ======================================================================
- Section 8: 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 every two weeks on alt.fan.letterman.
- If for some reason you miss the posting, the list is availa-
- ble via anonymous FTP from quartz.rutgers.edu in the
- /pub/tv+movies/letterman directory as alt.fan.letterman.faq.Z.
-
-
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- This article is Copyright (c) 1992 by Keith Rice.
- It may be freely redistributed so long as the author's name, and this
- notice, remain intact.
-
-
-