Letterman Memories

A case could be made that — after David Letterman, of course — the next top creative force at the Late Show was Rob Burnett. The New Jersey native first began as an intern at Late Night in 1985 at just 23 years of age, rising in the ranks to become not only head writer, but also executive producer of the Late Show and CEO of Letterman’s production company, the wonderfully named Worldwide Pants. WWP would also produce Burnett’s acclaimed NBC primetime show Ed and receive a production credit on his newest directorial project, the Netflix Original movie Fundamentals of Caring, starring Selena Gomez and self-proclaimed “Letterman fanatic” Paul Rudd. We chatted with Burnett by email about his years “growing up” on Letterman, regrets about Jay Leno, and being ready to move on from the show.

As we know from the end run of Late Shows, Paul Rudd, the star of your new movie Fundamentals of Caring, was a big Letterman fan. Did you know this before making the film? Did he pepper with you questions about the show?

Paul and I had met once or twice, but didn't really know each other. I was a huge fan and as it turned out, he did have a healthy respect and love of the Late Show.

He was curious about the show and we did talk a bit about it on set. I am always a little reluctant to say too much about some of what went on up there. Some of it was pretty ugly, and I think it probably will remain with those of us who lived it.

What was Worldwide Pants / Letterman’s role in the production of the movie? I know it’s a Netflix Original, but I understand they didn’t commission the movie.

The movie was independently financed. Worldwide Pants has a production credit on the movie because of my role with the movie. Dave was not involved at all, nor did WWP provide financing.

Netflix came in after the movie was done. They have been a distribution partner, not a production partner in this case. They have been fantastic.

Is leaving the Late Show somewhat bittersweet? I know your role has expanded and contracted depending on your other projects, but it obviously gives you the opportunity to pursue directing movies full-time.

I'll treasure my time there, but honestly I think it was time for the show to go off the air. It was tough being the old, irrelevant show when Fallon was killing it across town. It was the first time I can remember losing staff to another show. We had always been the talk show everyone in NYC wanted to work on, and it felt strange to have people wanting to be elsewhere.

I was a little worried at one point that the end would be a whimper, but we did indeed go out with a bang. I was relieved that it turned out so well. I think in the end the whole body of work was too big to ignore.  

I’ve asked a few Letterman staffers their feelings from that time a year ago when Dave retired — any thoughts or particular reflections from the last day and run of final shows? Any favourite moments?

I loved Norm MacDonald’s last set — funny, touching. Really great.

As far as the very last show went, I thought the final montage that Barbara Gaines put together with some of our editors really was terrific. I was happy for Barbara that she had the last word. She deserved it for many reasons.  

When I chatted with Randy Cohen about his time as a writer at Late Night, he mentioned that Letterman did a kind of “moral comedy,” infused by his Midwest upbringings. And that’s also something I think informs your work, from Ed to Fundamentals of Caring. Would you agree? And, if so, are you sure you’re not Midwestern?

Haha. I'm from New Jersey. We've got our own set of values — just check out The Sopranos.

Keep in mind I grew up at the Late Show, was formed by the sensibility of that place. By Dave, of course, but also people like Merrill Markoe and Steve O’Donnell. (I never worked directly with Merrill, but I think her influence had such long and lasting tentacles that it is within me.)  

Steve for me was like the brilliant professor that crosses your path right as you’re developing and impacts you for life. He was funny and smart in a way that I had never seen before. Kind of in a mind-blowing way. Being around that guy on a daily basis in my mid-twenties will be with me forever. I honestly think it connected synapses in my brain that would never ever have been connected. I feel lucky to have worked with him when I did.

I have said this before: everything I do in my career is a footnote to the Late Show and all the great people there from which I learned.

There’s a key moment in the film (MILD SPOILER ALERT) when Ben replies to Peaches’ question about parenthood, saying: “It’s the only reason we’re here.” I don’t disagree, but it’s a far more unequivocal statement than ones you gave in a terrific interview with Fast Company about the challenges of living up to the pulls of both family and creating art. Is this something you still wrestle with? Are you still working 96-hour weeks?

Here is what I know with certainty: the TV shows, the movies, the press, the awards — none of that means anything compared to my relationships with my friends and family. I am incredibly lucky. I am extremely close with my wife and kids. Our family is almost sickening in this regard — we adore each other.

I missed time with my family because of my career to be sure, but I was always present. I never was foolish enough to think what I was doing at work was more important than what was happening at home. This perspective wasn’t always easy to maintain.  

Show business people are often dramatic. And that leads to their trying to create an air of great importance around what they are doing. It’s how you get ridiculously overblown sayings like, “The show must go on!” A show doesn’t actually have to go on. It is a show. Brain surgery must go on.  

I have never been a dramatic person. It is not my nature. And I think at times it helped me maintain calmness and rationality while being confronted with the opposite.

Despite having a teen daughter, I don’t know much about Selena Gomez (pictured with Burnett above), aside from the fact she’s obviously a huge star. She plays a vital role in Fundamentals of Caring — and is arguably the best part of the film — and there’s a depth to her performance that was surprising to me. Did it surprise you? And in the same line, were there celebrities that you met on the Late Show that exceeded your expectations?

I can't say enough good things about Selena. She is an awfully impressive person. Before I met Selena, I thought I understood fame, but it turns out I never really saw the true version of it.

This is a girl that is beloved by millions of people. We would shoot in the middle of nowhere and by the end of the day a thousand kids had somehow found us and wanted to get a glimpse of her.

But somehow, impossibly, this 23-year-old kid manages to remain completely down-to-earth, completely unaffected by her fame, power and status. She has an elegance and grace about her that is rare.

As for her talents, the sky is the limit. She works hard and remains humble. She has a preternatural understanding that fame without accomplishment is empty, and this pushes her to continually challenge herself. Most with her accomplishments would rest on their laurels. That is not in her DNA.

As far as celebs I met at the Late Show, some of my favorites were Howard Stern, Bill Murray, Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks, Steve Martin. Ray Romano, of course — he is another rare example of someone who was not ruined by success.

Writer, producer and feature-film director — is there one role that fits you best? And any desire to step in front of the camera? I see that Judd Apatow, another director with a similar Lettermanesque sensibility, is now doing stand-up, for example. I know you wrote jokes for comedians — any unrealized desire to be on the stage as well?

I did stand-up very briefly at the end of college up in Boston and then in NY. Open mic stuff. I found that I would get sick to my stomach with nerves for the entire day leading up to when I was to perform. Once I was doing it, I relaxed into it and enjoyed it, but I literally thought I would shorten my life if I chose to do it for a living.

In retrospect, I think I also approached stand-up as a writer and not as a performer. My little set was sophomoric and low quality, but it was indeed cleverly designed in a way that got big laughs from the audience. I never once bombed, and that had more to do with the structure of things then the actual material.

Truth is, I was terrified to fail, and I think that same instinct helped in writing and producing for the Late Show. I was always very conscious of the audience during comedy — little things like, “Oh, that actor’s exit will take too long.” That stuff can be really helpful.

So that’s a long way of saying, no, I don’t see myself in front of the camera. The shorter answer is that I don’t think it is what I am best at.

Also in that Fast Company article, you talk about directing your first episode of Ed as a career highlight. I assume directing Fundamentals of Caring is another. Are there other highlights that spring to mind, especially from your time on the Letterman show?

Yes, there was a moment during that first episode I directed at Ed that will stay with me forever. I had a very difficult day: some stuff we shot earlier in the day took too long and we were under real time pressure. Also, things at the Late Show weren’t going well. Dave was angry at something.

And all of a sudden I was standing outside the bowling alley shooting the last shot of the episode, and I look over and see a 30-foot crane with a camera on it. There were Tom Cavanagh, Julie Bowen, Michael Ian Black, Josh Randal, Jana Marie-Hupp and Lesley Boone — so friendly, so supportive. These people would run through walls for me.

And as I stood there that night, I felt an overwhelming sense of joy. From the inside out. It is a moment I will never forget.

Yes, directing this movie was also a crazy highlight. Directing Paul Rudd? Come on!

At the Late Show, I think one particular moment I will remember was directing Dave and Steve Martin. There was a moment where I am telling the two of them what to do and they are both looking up at me and nodding. It was an out-of-body experience: two of the greatest comedians of our generation looking at me for instruction. I’ll treasure that moment forever.

What’s your take on the current late-night scene? Do you follow any longer?

Honestly, I think in some ways it is better than ever. I don’t watch a lot, but whenever I do I am really impressed. Everyone is working really hard, doing really great stuff. My daughter Sydney is an intern at the Fallon show this summer and having the time of her life. I think that is a really fun show to work on and I think that joy pours onto the air. It is probably why they are #1.

But I do like all of them. I think Kimmel is hilarious; Conan is doing remotes now that are as good as anything I've ever seen. Corden has stuff going on; Seth is really enjoyable, too. (I think Fred Armisen may be the funniest man in the world.)

And Colbert is too smart and funny not to succeed. I saw a clip of his comments about Orlando and I was moved to tears. I thought his words there were so well-chosen and so sincere — absolutely beautiful.  

Do you have a role with Worldwide Pants still? I know you mentioned last year the possibility of doing more with the Late Show archive and it would be Dave’s decision to do something with that. I’m getting the sense not much will be done, as Letterman seems to have less interest in his own legacy than other entertainment icons (Carson, Seinfeld, etc.). Is that a fair take? Or do you think something will get done?

I am no longer with Worldwide Pants. I am happy now to be focused solely on my own projects. I’m very proud of the company we built. Most production companies of celebrities are vanity companies, but Worldwide Pants made a real mark. I remember that there was a moment in time in the early 2000s when Worldwide Pants had three of the top five shows in the national electronic media poll. Ed was #2, Raymond was #3 and The Late Show was #5.

This was a list where our competitors were places like Paramount and Warner Brothers and Fox! They had floors of executives and big development funds.

The Late Show always remained the main focus of the company and I think to some extent may have suffocated some of Worldwide Pants’ true potential. If you look at what Lorne Michaels has done by giving people opportunities to succeed outside SNL, that is a great model. It always bummed me out, for example, that How I Met Your Mother wasn’t a WWP show since we gave Carter Bays and Craig Thomas their first TV jobs. But that isn’t on them, it is on us. We were never set up to truly embrace people doing work outside the Late Show.

All that said, we still managed to create a tremendous company with a tremendous brand. There is big value there. I’m excited to see where Dave will take it in the next decade.

On the archive, that is also in Dave’s hands. I think Dave’s legacy is secure with or without the library. He’s in the hall of fame and no one can ever take that from him. He’s earned his way there as one of the best ever, if not the very best.

The problem, unfortunately, with shows like these is that they fade fast. Movies like, say, The Godfather, still play routinely and capture new audiences. They remain relevant.

Talk show hosts are a little like pro athletes. I can tell my 14-year-old son how great Ranger goalie Ed Giacomin was in his day, but he’ll never really care. For him, it is [Henrik] Lundqvist. The sad fact is that most people in their 20s and under have never heard of Johnny Carson or David Letterman. And every year that population increases. It is the nature of the beast.

So, we all have to be proud of what we accomplished while we accomplished it, but also realize that every day it drifts further into the past. I think in the case of Dave, the greatness will linger more than most — because he was just that good — but all of us who dedicated ourselves to the Late Show have to brace ourselves for the inevitable irrelevance that is imbued in this particular endeavor.

Your anecdote (in Walter Kim’s Leaving Letterman video) about Jay Leno calling right before the last Late Show was priceless. Will Leno haunt you forever?

I actually have some regrets about my dealings with Jay over the years. I think I got caught up with the notion of Jay as the enemy. It all feels silly to me now. He was perfectly nice when he called before the last show.

What do you miss most about the Late Show?

Well, that’s an easy one: the people. Jude Brennan, Barbara Gaines, Matt Roberts, Kathy Mavrikakis, Maria Pope, Nancy Agostini, Justin and Eric Stangel, Brian Teta, Paul Shaffer, Bill Scheft — the list goes on and on.

These are really smart, really bright, really funny people, but most of all, they are really decent people. Good people. Kind people. We all had each other’s backs in a way that makes me proud.

We all have a shared experience that no one else will ever fully understand. The good, the bad, and the ugly. I know that years from now when I see any of these people (and others I’m leaving off the list), we can just nod at each other and a whole world of emotions will be wordlessly exchanged.  

I miss seeing these people every day, laughing with them every day, working with them every day. It may sound corny, but I love them.

And finally, thoughts on the beard?

I have faith that Dave knows exactly what he's doing. He always does.

We originally chatted with Barbara Gaines, the former executive producer of the Late Show with David Letterman, last March, and needless to say, a lot has happened since. Gaines was kind enough to answer a few follow-up questions about life after Letterman, which includes a new variety show and some hope for a future Late Show archive:

First off, how has life been since the show ended?

Near the end of the first month, my son and I were walking in the Village [in NYC] and a stranger stopped us and asked “Hey, what have you been doing?” My son immediately jumped in with, “She’s been in bed for weeks!” I didn’t really believe it was more than a long hiatus until September and school started up and I still had nowhere to go. Then I started karate classes, a writing class with Jennifer Belle, and took on volunteer production projects for my temple and LPAC. I started to get used to the idea of my new life. At the ten-month mark, [former Letterman producer] Matt Roberts asked me if I wanted to work on his new show and I said yes.

Any thoughts or particular reflections from that last day and show a year ago today (May 20)?

The final montage with the Foo Fighters may not have been a work of genius, but it was the most important thing I did for the end of the show, and I left there so proud of it. I was happy I got a chance to put it together with Randi Grossack and Mark Spada.

How much video did you go through to make the montage? How long did it take?

I began working on it as a video piece in October 2014. It changed to freezes from the show, I think, six weeks later. I would probably still be working on it, if I didn't have a deadline.

Any hard decisions, shots that didn’t make it? (I’m not sure I saw Trump…)

To this day, I will be in the shower or in line at a store and think, "Blast, I didn't put in a freeze of Dave electrocuted, or…" and then I will try and remember, “Did I put it in?” I'm still slightly obsessed with it.

Is there one show or moment during that final run of shows that has stuck with you more than others?

The last 28 shows were all wonderful, and it was a joy being at the helm. I felt they were a culmination of my 35 years with Dave, and I was delighted how they turned out. It was a beautiful end.

Any guests you were trying to get for the final shows but couldn’t? Of course, Jay Leno was a story.

Obviously Jay would have been nice and I think it would have been huge! Mostly all our friends came to say farewell.

How did you and the staff take the barrage of media (most of which was highly appreciative) during those weeks?

I wished my parents were alive.

Have you seen Letterman since?

We have spoken.

Has the subject of working on future projects come up? Or do you just mean on a personal level?

I mean I’ve texted, “I’m taking karate,” and he’s texted back, “I knew things would work out for you.”

What are you up to these days?

I’m back at Rockefeller Center as the Associate Producer of the “Maya & Marty Show,” a variety show starring Martin Short & Maya Rudolph. It will air at 10pm (9pm C) on Tuesday nights, six episodes: May 31 through July 12.

You hinted in our first chat that there were plans to preserve the Letterman shows. I know many would be thrilled to see something, especially with old Carson shows appearing on the Antenna TV network recently. Do you know the status of those plans?

I think things are still in the discussion stage.

Thoughts about the late-night scene since Letterman retired?

I think everyone is working hard and doing their thing. I honestly have not watched much late-night television since I stopped working in it. I like Jimmy Kimmel and Conan, and of the new guys on the block, I think I’m leaning James Corden.

Finally, any statement on Letterman's current look?

I think he is a handsome devil with or without the beard.

Previous chats:

If the backbone for David Letterman’s late-night shows was Paul Shaffer’s CBS Orchestra (and before that, the World’s Most Dangerous Band), then drummer Anton Fig was the band’s backbone for nearly three decades. Originally from South Africa, Fig worked primarily as a studio and club musician before getting a fateful call from Shaffer to substitute for original Late Night drummer Steve Jordan in 1986. And the rest is history, with great performances and at least one canary-chomping incident along the way. We spoke with Fig on the phone eariler this month while on tour with blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa:

What were those last days and weeks on the Late Show like for you? Was it emotional, nostalgic, tough?

It was surreal because we had been doing it for so long and it was hard to imagine [it ending]. Intellectually, you knew it was going to end, but somehow I couldn’t come to terms with it that much. I would just go to the show and it would be like a normal day, and yet in the back of my mind, I knew this was one of the last times I would be going. It’s actually very difficult to put it into words.

So how has the transition gone since then? After so many years for people on staff, it was obviously a big change.

What struck me a couple days after it was done was it was almost like a death. Because all these pieces got split up, like an atom got smashed or something, and it all went in different directions and you’re never going to put it together again. From that moment, it was all a memory. I will say that knowing that the show would end did give me time to prepare for it. It wasn't a sudden thing. We had quite a bit of time to get used to the idea. And I knew that I was going to be playing with Joe, so I knew I was going into something else. So it’s different, but I kept going in my own drumming way. I just continued to play.

Did you want it to continue? Was there a sense that the band had more left in the tank?

I wanted it to go as long as it could go. I would never would have left the show, but if the show stopped because Dave wanted to stop, then I was fully prepared to go along with that. I was completely accepting of the fact the show’s now done. But I certainly wouldn't have instigated anything like that.

In some respects, it was the end of two things: it was the end of the show and it was the end of the CBS Orchestra. Was there a sense of pride in what you, the band and the show accomplished? Did you have a chance to look back with the other CBSO members?

The band never sat down and spoke in those kind of terms. But you can go to YouTube and see all the different people that we played with and all of the accomplishments — you can never take away what that band did. And even before I was on the show, because I joined in 1986, the whole format of what Paul did with Dave, having R&B and hipper songs —that broke the mold. That was new and groundbreaking and then I joined on to that. I got to play with so many great people and had so many unbelievable learning, growing musical experiences. It was fantastic. The band certainly held up its share of what it had to do. And Dave was always very complimentary of us, which was great. So we knew were playing for someone who was appreciative of what we were doing. But we never collectively sat down and patted ourselves on the back or anything like that.

I loved how much emphasis there was on music on those last Late Shows. I’d almost say those were the best parts. Like the John Mayer performance, for example. Were there any performances that stuck out for you in the end?

Well, I always liked the Foo Fighters, as Dave does. It was fantastic playing with Eddie Vedder on the third last show. Dylan came and played with his band. That’s what I remembered winding down. As I said, music was always a part of the show and Dave often said, in his appreciative way, the best part of the show was the band. Whether that’s the case, it was very nice that he was so appreciative of us.

One thing I missed as a viewer was seeing the band play so much with the musical guests during the early years, whereas in later years, artists would bring their own band. Was that something you missed as well?

Well, that was sort of the changing of the times. That happened more during the NBC years. When we went to CBS. it was the timing of [changing networks] and also the fact that there was a lot of alternative music coming in. Alternative bands were pretty much self-contained bands, so they kind of had to play by themselves. It couldn’t just be the singer with us. And the two things together necessitated that we played a little bit less. But, you know, it’s a great job, just playing with the band is great, and I was happy to play with who we could play. Things can't stay the same over 30 years.

You've played with many great artists, and you’ve said Miles Davis was a personal favorite. Did you ever get to play with Prince?

No, I never got to play with him.

I know he played at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremonies once (where the CBS Orchestra was often the house band).

I don’t remember him being on the Letterman show quite honestly.

Apparently he was on twice.

I remember him at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for sure, but he was playing with Tom Petty’s band for that show. That was an incredible performance. He played “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” with George Harrison’s son and Tom Petty’s band. And that was fantastic.

Have you kept in touch with the other members of the CBS Orchestra?

I have not really been in touch with them. I’ve mostly been out on the road, so I’ve been in a completely different reality. Paul is doing a new record and he asked the Letterman band to play on it, so a couple of weeks ago while I was in New York between tours, it was fortunately timed and I was able to go and play on it. That was the first time that we’d all been together since May 20 [the final Late Show with David Letterman].

What was that like?

Great. It’s funny, it felt exactly the same, like no time had lapsed whatsoever. When we were rehearsing for the record, it felt like one of our band rehearsals when we used to learn the extra songs to play during the commercial breaks. And if we were doing the show on Monday, it would have felt exactly the same.

Do you know much about Paul’s new record?

I don’t want to talk about it because I don’t know how much Paul wants to talk about it. If there’s no information out there, that’s probably what he wants, so I don't really want to be saying anything until he does.

But it’s rock and roll classics, I understand.

It’s new takes on previous songs, but I can’t really say anything — not that it’s a great secret, but out of respect for him.

Speaking of Paul, he and the band were known for the often clever intro music. Was there any intro that was a favourite of yours, or any songs that threw you for a loop?

It was always done very quickly, but a song might be appropriate for someone and it might be a song we didn’t know, so we’d have to learn it on the spot and play it when the guest came out. I can’t think of any… I think we may have played “Chest Fever” by The Band for Dolly Parton.

Did those come only from Paul or did you talk about them together?

A lot of them came from Paul but we all could chime in at some point if we wanted to. But it was a great way of finding music for the person because there were definite parameters: it was either a play on their name or what they’d done or the project they were coming to promote.

Aside from the music, you had a front row seat for a lot of iconic moments. Was there anything non-musical that stuck out over the years?

I would say that whenever there was a major happening in the world, none more than 9/11, Dave always was able to go out there and encapsulate the moment and say the right thing, with a lot of class and a lot of truth. That was always incredible to watch. And I was always very proud to be sitting there behind him just because he was such an unbelievably class act. To watch that guy all the time, he had a very strong work ethic, and I learned a tremendous amount about working, about comedy, about timing. I have great respect for him. I think that America would tune into him after something big was going on just to hear his take on it and just the way he could frame and encapsulate it and present it to people.

Did you interact with Dave much?

Well, the band definitely was an entity to itself. There were two buildings; it was the building for performers and there was another building where people were writing and booking and all that stuff. However, over the years there were definitely quite a few interactions with Dave. He let me know that he really liked me and I felt very welcomed by him at all times. He was a very private person.

There’s a clip on YouTube of Dave drumming for an instructional video you had done. Was he a drummer?

He used to come down to rehearsal and that kind of stopped after he had his heart procedure. But before that he would come down to rehearsal and bang on the drums. That was around the time I did my drum video, so I asked him; he sat down and did one take and that was it and I put it in my video. I think what you see on the video is pretty much… that was how he played.

There’s also that supercut of him asking drummers, "Are those your drums?"

Right. I think he ended up buying a couple sets off the guys. Who wouldn’t want a couple of nice instruments or drums?

Letterman seemed to have an affinity toward rock-and-roll drummers, like he had an affinity toward athletes.

He knew about a lot about a lot of things, and you could talk to him about any subject and he always amazed me — he was able to go deeper into subjects where you’d only know those details if you were really into the subject. Somehow he was always able to name or say something that made you know that he knew more about it than he should.

When you got your start on the show, did you get any sense of why you were chosen to be Steve Jordan’s replacement? Was there something in particular about you or your style that you felt gave you the edge over other drummers that had substituted for him?

I don’t know. Paul said I knew a lot of the same material that he knew. And he said that the stagehands commented on me and the band felt like it was rocking. So I don’t really know. It was a life-changer for me and I’m absolutely thrilled that Paul asked me to do it.

Did you ever consider not doing it?

No, never. The minute he asked me, I said yes.

Good decision!

I’d say. But you know, there was a long time when there were a lot of drummers substituting on the show and they never asked me. And I always wanted to get the chance. I always wondered why they didn’t. Paul said to me one day, “You'll get your chance.” Eventually, I just said, “They’re never going to call me,” and I sort of forgot about it. And then I got a call and I substituted. Within a few weeks after that, I got offered the job. It worked out great.

You obviously had the right personality and they used you in many bits over the years.

The writers gave me all kinds of stuff to do, especially in the earlier years. It took me a little while, like a few years [to get used to it], as a musician and a personality. But after I felt like I was on the show and it was my gig in terms of the drumming chair, I settled in and it was great. Absolutely great.

One of the more memorables Anton Fig bits is the one of you eating a canary. A friend of mine has always wondered what the canary tasted like.

A little like chicken.

Was it actually chicken? What was it made of?

It was just cardboard and feathers. And while Dave was reading, I had some blood capsules in my mouth. The stagehand had live canaries but I had the fake one on my finger, so when my hand was in there, you couldn’t tell. And I pulled it out and pretended to eat it. It fooled so many people that Dave had to have me on the show sitting in the chair explaining it was fake because people wrote in, “I’ll never watch your show again. It was disgusting….”

Which theme did you like best, the Late Night or Late Show theme?

I like them both. The first one is totally classic. The newer one changed a lot of times. When I hear the old one, I associate it more when I wasn't on the show even, when the show first came out.

Were you a fan of the show before you were on it?

Absolutely. And I loved the band, with Hiram [Bullock] and Steve and that — I thought it was great.

And you're playing with Joe Bonamassa right now?

Yeah, I’ve been touring with him pretty much since the end of the show. Let’s see — the show ended at the end of May and I was playing with him since July on the road. I recorded many records with him while I was still on the show.

Do you miss the show?

You know, it ended and that was the end of it. It’s like I’ve just gone off into a different place. It’s such a different life right now. I had been on the show for almost 30 years, and the apartment that I had lived in for decades, I moved out of that as well. So it was like I changed my job and my place of residence. And so it just feels like my life turned over into a completely new book. It’s a piece of my life that I can’t take away but it’s in the past. I just think of what I’m doing in the present.

Of course I miss the show, I do. But I don’t have any unrealistic expectations. I know it’s done so there’s no point saying I wish it wasn’t. I think about it fondly. And moments come up now and then in my mind. But I’m in a new reality so that’s absorbing. I’m [touring with] Joe at the moment and Joe plays a lot. I’m working a tremendous amount, and the great thing about the show was I could be home for dinner every night and do lots of other things. I’m now out on the road — in the year, I’ve been to Australia, Europe twice and across America. It’s been different and consuming.

Final question: If I were a drummer ready to start work on a late-night show, what advice would you give me?

Take a leak before you go on stage. (Laughs) I don’t know what kind of show it would be, but in my case I had to be ready for anything. I had to be really flexible about what was going on, I had to be prepared to turn on a dime and I had to be concentrating and focussed the entire time.

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Keen viewers of the Late Show with David Letterman were well aware of Bill Scheft — pictured above in pre-beard times — not only as a longtime writer on the show but also for his self-described role as Letterman’s “corner man,” stationed to the host’s left off-camera (and sometimes on), then huddling with Dave during commercial breaks. Scheft, an avid sports fan, novelist and rock-and-roll drummer, chatted with us about his nearly two decades working on the Late Show and those “heady” days before Letterman retired one year ago…

How has life been since the show ended? It was an abrupt transition as a viewer and fan so I can only imagine what it was like for you and other staff.

The biggest transition, and the one I think a lot of us are still getting used to, is not seeing the people you saw every day for so long. I mean, I’ve known and worked closely with Barbara [Gaines], Jude Brennan, Kathy Mavrikakis and Steve Young since the day I walked into 30 Rock in October 1991. I’ve known Nancy Agostini since she was 20 years old and she was the first writers’ intern at NBC and living in an all-women’s hotel.

You have no idea how large a chunk of people’s lives this show was. When Dave had his 30-year anniversary in late night in 2012, we did a Top Ten comprised of staffers who’d been there the longest. I was not even close to making the list.

In terms of the show itself, now that it’s over, so is the urgency in getting it on the air every night. I started as a newspaperman, and I always said the show was a combination of a daily newspaper, a weekly magazine and a monthly magazine. We would write stuff for that day, for the end of the week, and with the big prop pieces (like Halloween costumes), we’d do them three months in advance. There’s a velocity in working on the show that you take for granted because it’s your normal pace. The only time it remotely sunk in before this was after I came back from my hip replacement (July 2008) and I was on the floor the first day with my cane and my titanium implant and I couldn’t believe how fast everyone was moving around me.

Any insider tidbit you can give us from your years at that spot beside him at the desk?

My job was just to keep him loose during the commercials. One time, he said to me he had just come from the ophthalmalogist. I said, “How’d it go?” He said, “The guy said I wasn’t producing enough tears.” I said, “Have you thought about working for yourself?”

Any thoughts or particular reflections from that last day and show a year ago (May 20)?

No. I got it all down when I wrote my last diary post (“End of Daves”) on my blog: (Final) Show Diary of Stuff Noteworthy Only to Me, Day 28 (End of Daves). Nothing more to add.

Is there one show or moment during that final run of shows that has stuck with you more than others?

Well, I started as a stand-up, so Norm Macdonald’s last set, in which he closed with a line of Dave’s, was beyond perfect. The one thing comics love is when another comic does one of their bits to them. And that he got choked up doing it. Dave never understood how much other comics admired him.

The two other moments, interestingly enough, were both musical. John Mayer doing “American Pie,” which was Dave’s idea, and the booking of Hootie and the Blowfish. Did I love that. We had them on like seven times in 1994 with different cuts from that first album, and to have them back was, I thought, an inspired piece of booking by Sheila Rogers, who did phenomenal work the last three months.

How did you and the staff take the barrage of media during those weeks? The show was receiving high levels of appreciation, which must have felt good and perhaps overdue.

It was a little heady. And, of course, it was lovely to have the show discussed for its content rather than the nonsense of ratings, which you have no control over. That said, I always felt Dave never got the credit for all the moments he created nightly.

I know you didn’t want to comment much during the final run of Late Shows. And many were asked about Letterman’s influence and the show’s. So how would you have answered that question for yourself, his and the show’s influence / significance?

I didn't answer it because it was Dave’s moment. Jerry Foley, the director, said a great thing. He said that by the time we were done, Dave and all of us will have left nothing on the table. So, the most satisfying thing is that we all went out knowing that there was nothing to regret. And when you saw more than a few reviewers use the word “perfect” to describe the last show, that clinched it. And, of course, that explains why we won the Emmy…. Oh, wait. We didn’t. Never mind.

As for the show’s influence and significance, I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t think it will ever overcome the echo chamber of “It was brilliant at NBC, then he sold out, then he got sick, then he got liberal, then he got in trouble, then he phoned it in….” The guy was on the air for 33 years. If you saw him on NBC when you were in college, you’re over 50 now. You’ve aged, and you resent it. So, the show can’t possibly be as good and he can’t be as good as when you first discovered each other. I fervently disagree. His weak points at NBC (monologue, interviewing) became his strongest points at CBS. His comedic sensibility adapted as he became older and the world changed. You can make the argument that he took many more chances as time went on. And as for the distraction of Leno? I like what Michael Keaton said. Words to the effect of “I like that Dave was number 2. It makes more sense, given that he was always up against it.”

Have you seen Letterman in person since? Any secret plans to do a Web version of the Late Show?

I’ve seen him twice. And the secret Web version is so secret I’m not involved.

What were your favourite moments or guests during your time on the show? You’re a huge sports fan so maybe an athlete. Those often seemed to give Letterman the biggest thrill.

When Paul McCartney was on, I wanted to say something to him during the break that no one else had ever said. What are the odds? So, I went up to him and said, “Thanks for tonight. And thanks for everything before tonight.” And he looked at me and said, “Are you a writer?” And I said, “Yes.” And he said, “How did I know that?” And we both really laughed. And John Filo, the show photographer, got it….

What are you up to these days? I know you have a band, The Truants, and have published several books — any new works in the offing? (And one of your titles was The Ringer, which is the name of Bill Simmons’ new website. Did his people get in touch with your people about that?)

I am working on two novels. One is the extension of the serial about bust-out comic Tommy Dash that I started on Nikki Finke’s show-biz fiction website Hollywood Dementia. The other is a sequel to The Ringer, entitled Through The Ringer. And no, Bill Simmons’ people did not get in touch with me. They don’t have to. That's how big he is. I have one regret, and that’s not buying the domain theringer.com in 2002. But who did that kind of thing in 2002?

Thoughts about the late-night scene since Letterman retired? Feel free to be as candid, even snarky, as you’d like.

Obviously, it’s a different sensibility. But this is what works now. It is not geared toward a 59-year-old Jew, but what is, other than high fiber? I will say, I like what Seth Meyers is doing.

Finally, any statement on Letterman’s current look? Everyone has an opinion, it seems.

The only thing I can tell you is that he loves that everyone seems to hate it. Loves it.

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If the holidays don’t officially begin until Darlene Love sings “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” then we can thank former Late Show supervising producer Brian Teta for helping kick them off this year. Teta, 39, worked with Letterman for over a decade but now works as co-executive producer of The View, where Love will perform her beloved 1963 hit on this Friday’s show at 11 a.m. ET on ABC. With a little luck, we had a chance to chat with Teta about his role in rekindling an annual Letterman tradition and his thoughts on the final shows, making the transition from fan to Late Show staff, and divulging who was responsible for airing that hilarious clip from Mary Tyler Moore’s variety show…

So I’m assuming you’re the one that booked Darlene Love for Friday’s The View, right?

It’s funny, when the show was planning our Christmas show, we were discussing who we should book for the music. I said something along the lines of, “Well, at Letterman we had the greatest of all time, Darlene Love… but we’d never get her to do it.” Then a few days later, the bookers and producer excitedly rushed in to tell me that Darlene was in. They deserve all of the credit.

So is your role different on The View than it was at the Late Show? My understanding is you were a booker, a segment producer, then prepped guests.

That’s basically right — I started as the pet and human-trick booker actually — then booked sports and human interest before becoming a segment producer. When the show ended, I was a supervising producer and segment-producing guests every day.

At The View, I’m the co-executive producer and have a more supervisory role — but I work with the producers on their segments and approve/suggest guest bookings along with Candi Carter, our EP.

My first Letterman experience was actually as Paul’s intern in 1997 — that was the first time I got to work with one of the Darlene performances, which was a big thrill.

As impactful as the Christmas shows were to the audience at home, they really meant even more to the staff of the Late Show. It was everyone’s favorite show of the year, the whole staff would usually attend rehearsal and many people would bring in family to watch. The last time she did the show was so emotional for everyone.

So what was your role on the Letterman Christmas shows in particular?

For a long time, I produced the Jay Thomas segments with the Lone Ranger story and the QB Challenge. Those were always a lot of fun to do. In fact, my favorite souvenir from the show is the Empire State Building from the top of the tree. Dave knocked it off during a commercial break on our last Christmas show and I couldn’t help myself… I just walked off with it still covered in tomato sauce.

Ha – yes I saw you tweeted that out. So any chance we’ll be seeing Jay Thomas too on The View? Dave, Paul, etc. – a full recreation of the Late Show?

I would love that, of course, but I think it would be a mistake to try to recreate what made those shows so special. Even with Darlene, we know we can’t really recreate the magic of the Letterman performances with all of the hard work Paul and the staff put into them over the years. So we’re going to do something smaller and more intimate. It really just isn’t Christmas for so many people until they’ve heard Darlene sing that song on television and we’re proud to be the place she’s going to do it.

Although I’d love to hear Paul do his Cher impression one more time…

I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask about Ms. Love’s claim to not perform the song again on TV once Letterman went off the air. Did that come up? Do you have any feelings/thoughts about it?

I’ve actually talked to her about it and she says those comments were misinterpreted. Darlene has explained that she was trying to say she would never be exclusively tied to do one show again year after year. I don’t think Dave, Paul, or anyone else would ever ask her to stop singing the song on television.

I’m still a Late Show fan at heart, so I get it that some people would prefer to see the performances end when Dave retired. To be completely honest, when the booking came through it did give me pause. I didn’t want to be perceived as being disrespectful to the tradition. However when it became clear that Darlene was going to continue performing the song on television, I was very excited for The View to get the opportunity to host her.

Were you always a Late Show fan? Obviously I’m a fan and a lot of people are. I get the sense the show was staffed with longtime fans up and down too.

I was always a Letterman fan but never realized that working in television was a possibility until I was in high school. I read Bill Carter’s book, The Late Shift, and immediately realized that was what I wanted to do. I feel incredibly lucky that I was able to see it through and get an opportunity to be a part of that show for over a decade.

You’re the first former Late Show person we’ve interviewed since Letterman went off the air. How has the transition gone? That must have been some high to come down from…

The last month in particular was just so incredible. It was very emotional for everyone involved and we were so proud of the way we went out. It’s all a blur now but I recently went back and watched a few of the final shows and they really hold up well.

I had a few months to recover before joining The View and I’m really enjoying the show and the people that I get to work with (including some other Letterman veterans) but every day I miss the people who became like family to me over the last 11 years.

Like those Christmas shows, it was an experience that I don’t think can ever be entirely recreated.

(Former LS supervising producer) Kathy Mavrikakis works at The View now, right? Anyone else?

Kathy Mavrikakis is here, which is amazing, and we also have Sam Terry, who was the head researcher at Late Show.

So a simple question: What’s it like working for David Letterman? We’ve interviewed a few folks who were more like Dave’s contemporaries, Gerard Mulligan, Barbara Gaines, etc., so there was less “fan”-like appreciation. What was it like transitioning from a fan to staff, a colleague if you will.

Ha — I’m not sure I ever achieved “colleague” status. I met with him every day and though I tried to hide it, I never stopped being a fan. They alway say that you shouldn’t meet your heroes and I’ve met enough of mine to know why. But Dave is the one that didn’t disappoint. When people ask me, “What’s he really like?” it’s the easiest question to answer because he’s exactly who you saw on camera. There was never any artifice there at all.

I know you’re a big sports fan, and you had a chance to attend Super Bowls and book the winning quarterbacks for Late Show. Any highlights you can think of in your time as producer? Any lowlights? And once and for all, was Dave in on the Joaquin gag?

When I started booking sports on the show, all I heard about was how it bothered Dave that we never got the Super Bowl winner after the game. My first year, I was lucky enough to book Tom Brady after the Patriots won, and the immediate reaction was “Great! Now you have to get the winner next year, too.” It was always incredibly stressful, but we managed to be the first show to book the winning QB 10 years in a row. This will be the first Super Bowl in 12 years that I can watch from my couch and I couldn’t be more excited about it.

The producing highlights that come to mind are the ones that are still fresh in my mind from the final run. The final appearance with Julia Roberts, George Clooney handcuffing himself to Dave, Tina Fey’s “Last Dress Ever,” Adam Sandler’s farewell song. Bill Murray jumping out of the cake. The last weeks were filled with big stars who came on just to say goodbye to Dave and wanted to make it special.

Matt Roberts produced the infamous Joaquin segment, but I do know that Dave’s participation wasn’t in any way “rehearsed.”

Michael Keaton’s last appearance was one of my favorites because I was able to finally show the clip of Dave on Mary Tyler Moore’s variety show. I had been trying and failing to get that on for YEARS.

Well, thank you for that! I wish those last shows lived in some other form than personal YouTube videos. Any insight on that? I guess that taps into a thought I have that Letterman seems so disinterested in his own legacy, much more so than say Johnny Carson or Jerry Seinfeld, who have their own websites and archives.

Seinfeld’s last one was a highlight for me too!

I wish I did have some insight there — I’d love for those shows to live on and I’m optimistic that they will, but I don’t have any knowledge of what the plans are.

Any thoughts on the current late-night scene? And was it expected that Stephen Colbert would mostly bring in his own people – unlike the Daily Show, for example – or was it more of a surprise?

I love late night and still watch all of the other shows. I think it was expected that the Colbert folks would bring their own people over because they had such success with that team. They had every reason to feel confident in what they were doing. There actually are some Letterman alumni at Colbert and really at ALL of the late-night shows now.

I love all the material that those shows are putting out but I do miss Dave’s interview segments. I feel like there’s not as much real “conversation” in late night now and it’s poorer for it.

Guests and Dave’s interviews seemed to take more prominence as the Late Show progressed. Did that add pressure to your role as producer, prepping guests, booking them? It was less a pure comedy show towards the end than say the beginning of Dave’s run.

I don’t know that I completely buy the premise because the comedy was always a priority for Dave and he worked with the writers on it until showtime every day. As a producer, the focus on the interviews was figuring out a way to keep things interesting for Dave and not to have conversations only be about the movie an actor or actress was plugging. Luckily for me, guests generally knew they had to come to the table prepared because when they didn’t it could get… uncomfortable.

A final question: This might be obvious but does working on a show with Darlene Love help to not miss the tradition of Dave’s Christmas show? I’ve seen several tweets from folks cluing into the fact that there won’t be a meatball hit off the Christmas tree this year…

Well, there’s no reason people can’t throw footballs at meatballs on their trees at home! I do think that if you’re missing the Late Show, it will ease the pain ever so slightly to see Darlene Love singing “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” on The View this Friday at 11 a.m. ET.

Thanks Brian, for the time, for the work on the show, for bringing that Mary clip to air…

Thanks, this was fun!

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