Late Night With David Letterman - Memorable Shows

Memorable Shows

• February 1, 1982 – Dave's first show with guests Bill Murray and Don Herbert aka "Mr. Wizard."
• July 28, 1982 – Andy Kaufman and Jerry Lawler are guests. The two appear to get in a fight on the show with Lawler knocking Kaufman out of his chair. It is later revealed to have been staged.
• October 6, 1983 - The American rock group R.E.M. made its debut American network television appearance on Late Night. The band performed both their debut single Radio Free Europe and a new unnamed song that eventually was titled "So. Central Rain", and became the first single from the band's second album, Reckoning. After their performance, singer Michael Stipe (known for his shyness) sat down on the drum riser, forcing Letterman to interview the other band members.
• August 19, 1985 - Letterman used a bullhorn to interrupt NBC's The Today Show outdoor primetime taping in the Rockefeller Center's lower plaza. Yelling from the RCA Building, he introduced himself as "the president of NBC News" and announced, among other things, that he was not wearing any pants. This incident became the cause of a long-time feud between Letterman and Today Show host Bryant Gumbel.
• May 13–16, 1985 – The show travels to Los Angeles for a week of shows.
• April 8, 1986 – Shortly after General Electric purchased NBC parent RCA, Letterman brings a camera crew and a fruit basket to the GE Building. The trip results in "The GE Handshake," in which a GE security officer offers to shake Letterman's hand but pulls his hand away before Letterman can shake it, after which the officer orders Dave and his crew to exit the building.
• May 22, 1986 – Singer Cher made an appearance where she got into a verbal sparring match with Letterman. At one point she called Letterman an "asshole", which had to be bleeped.
• December 16, 1986 – Darlene Love performs "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home);" it's the start of a tradition, as Love has performed the song on Late Night (and later Late Show) nearly every December since.
• May 18–21, 1987 - The show travels to Las Vegas for a week of shows.
• July 28, 1987 – Actor Crispin Glover appears as a guest and gave one of the most bizarre interviews in the history of the show. At one point, the actor kicked at Letterman's head while wearing giant platform shoes, after which Letterman ended the segment, walking off the stage and saying "I'm going to go check on the Top Ten." Crispin later mentioned being in character during the interview.
• August 31, 1987, American Splendor author Harvey Pekar accuses Letterman to be a shill for NBC parent company General Electric; the segment ends prematurely. Pekar does not appear on the show until the early 1990s.
• November 13, 1987 – Sonny & Cher reunite and sing, for the last time together, "I Got You Babe."
• July 1, 1988 - Late Night's 1,000th show.
• May 1–5, 1989 – The show travels to Chicago for a week of shows. Among the guest that week were Oprah Winfrey and Michael Jordan.
• May 23, 1991 - Johnny Carson makes a surprise walk-on appearance on the show, only hours after announcing his decision to leave the Tonight Show in a year.
• June 28, 1991 – Late Night's 1,500th show.
• February 6, 1992 – Primetime 10th Anniversary Special
• June 25, 1993 – Dave's last Late Night before moving to CBS features guest Tom Hanks and surprise musical guest Bruce Springsteen performing "Glory Days."