David Micheal Letterman was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on April 12, 1947. He has one older and one younger sister. His parents were Harry, a florist, and Dorothy Letterman, a church secretary. His father died at the age of 57 of a heart attack. Letterman went to Broad Ripple High School and worked at a local supermarket as a stock boy. He graduated from Ball State University in 1969 from the Department of Television and Radio
CBS signed Letterman to a three-year, $14 million per year contract, which doubled his previous salary at NBC. Letterman toned down his wacky and fiercely unique sense of humor somewhat in anticipation of a bigger, more traditional and conservative audience. He added Paul Shaffer and his band as a sidekick to the show and lengthened the opening monologue. He was able to keep many of his signature bits from his previous show by re-branding them slightly (i.e., The Top Ten List became The Late Show Top Ten). Letterman and Leno were notorious competitors over the years they both ran, each one taking turns dominating the top spot depending on the year. Letterman’s shows enjoyed immense popularity and critical praise, with 67 Emmy Award nominations and 12 wins in his first 20 years in late-night.
Letterman announced his retirement in April 2014, and his last episode, a grand and star-studded affair, aired on May 20, 2015. It was watched by 13.76 million viewers. It was announced that Stephen Colbert would succeed Letterman. Letterman hosted, in total, 6,080 episodes of Late Night and Late Show. He surpassed his mentor and friend Carson as the longest-serving late-night talk show host in American TV history.
Dave married his college girlfriend Michelle Cook in 1968. They divorced in October 1977, just after their move to L.A. He was in a long-term relationship with Late Night producer Merrill Markoe from 1978-1988. She is said to have been a big influence on the development of his comedy style.
Letterman started dating Regina Lasko in February 1986, and Lasko gave birth to their son in 2003. The couple wed in 2009 and the family resides in North Salem, NY.
