Letterman: The Last Giant of Late Night

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

New York Times comedy critic Jason Zinoman delivers the definitive story of the life and artistic legacy of David Letterman, the greatest television talk show host of all time and the signature comedic voice of a generation.

In a career spanning more than thirty years, David Letterman redefined the modern talk show with an ironic comic style that transcended traditional television. While he remains one of the most famous stars in America, he is a remote, even reclusive, figure whose career is widely misunderstood. In Letterman, Jason Zinoman, the first comedy critic in the history of the New York Times, mixes groundbreaking reporting with unprecedented access and probing critical analysis to explain the unique entertainers titanic legacy. Moving from his early days in Indiana to his retirement, Zinoman goes behind the scenes of Lettermans television career to illuminate the origins of his revolutionary comedy, its overlooked influences, and how his work intersects with and reveals his famously eccentric personality.

Zinoman argues that Letterman had three great artistic periods, each distinct and part of his evolution. As he examines key broadcasting moments"Stupid Pet Tricks" and other captivating segments that defined Late Night with David Lettermanhe illuminates Lettermans relationship to his writers, and in particular, the shows co-creator, Merrill Markoe, with whom Letterman shared a long professional and personal connection.

To understand popular culture today, its necessary to understand David Letterman. With this revealing biography, Zinoman offers a perceptive analysis of the man and the artist whose ironic voice and caustic meta-humor was critical to an entire generation of comedians and viewersand whose singular style ushered in new tropes that have become clichs in comedy today.

Reviews

I devoured this book. Not only a rare and richly detailed account of the life of one of my comedy heroes, but I loved that you can feel Zinomans curiosity about, and admiration for, Daves singular sensibility on every page. Billy Eichner [Zinoman] writeswith great knowledge, high standards, and deep empathy. This is not only a revealing portrait of one of comedys most challenging and enigmatic figures but an acute and insightful look at how...the mind of one restless, uncomfortable, elusive man can transform both comedy and late-night television. Mark Harris, author of Pictures at a Revolution and Five Came Back [Zinoman]...turns his rare combination of show-leather reporting, lively storytelling, and interpretive brilliance to an epochal moment in American entertainment, and, of course, to the giant, gloriously complicated, quintessentially American celebrity at its center: a man we know both intimately and not at allat least until now. Brett Martin, author of Difficult Men Of all the performers who have put their imprints on late-night television, David Letterman may have done the most cleverly disruptive job. If you want to fully understand the Letterman DNAand Daves own quixotic legacy[Zinoman] has delivered a smart and funny analysis that is your best opportunity yet. James Andrew Miller, author of Powerhouse This incisive, illuminating book shows the personal toll that success took on all responsible, the price paid for laughs. Kirkus [A] book that does impressive triple duty as an acute portrait of stardom, an insightful chronicle of three rambunctious decades of pop-culture evolution, and a very brainy fans notes [Zinnoman is] especially sharp and engaging when hes breaking down Lettermans trademark predilections . New York Times Book Review [P]robably the finest profile ever written of a TV comic, which is praise not meant to be faint Youll be entertained, enlightened and even alarmed If you even just liked Dave, and especially if you loved him, youll get plenty of bang for your book bucks. Daily Beast Well researched, incorporating a nice mixture of interviewswith Jay Leno, Merrill Markoe, Chris Elliott, and Martin Short, among many othersand previously published material, the book is the Letterman biography fans have been waiting for. Booklist

Author Bio

Jason Zinoman writes the On Comedy column for the New York Times. He has also contributed to Vanity Fair, the Guardian, and Slate, and is the author of Shock Value and Searching for Dave Chappelle. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.