WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN 2012 TO GOOD OL' DAVE?

[radiojomo]

I was reading Bill Carter's book and he mentioned that Letterman's contract had been extended to 2012. I watched Letterman two nights ago, and he seemed more worn out and angry than fun and cynical. Do you think he's peaked his prime and possibly retire in 2012?

Also a quick note to Bill Carter's book, I never knew that Zucker had proposed an 8PM Primetime show to Letterman in 2002! Interesting read!

 

[sandiegoinexile]

While Dave long ago said that he didn't want to work longer than Johnny Carson had, I don't think he will bail anytime soon. Yes, he's cranky and irascible and crotchety, but that's hardly a function of age. He was that way 20 years ago. It's part of his charm.

I don't think he will walk away because Worldwide Pants employs hundreds of folks at the Ed Sullivan Theatre. If Dave leaves, they all are out of work. I think something like that means a lot to him. Much of the staff is long-term. Sure, he could probably wrangle some type of deal for all of them, and maybe that will be part of his plan.

I think he will start joking about retirement age and keep plugging along, perhaps with more substantive guests more often, like the Medal of Honor soldier he had on the last show of Sweeps.

If he were to leave, I would expect it would be a rather abrupt thing, not a year-long farewell.

 

[Yeziknoradio]

Hmmm...I don't intend to be correct in saying so, so I'll strictly guess he will depart early for health reasons. That's always a possibility.

 

[Mark Giardina]

Except when he was in the hospital for heart surgery, or other medical reasons, Dave, unlike Carson, never has guest hosts.
Instead CBS airs reruns.

As for Dave retiring after his contract expires in 2012; personally I don't see that happening. The guy might be a grouch, but he's a damn funny one. Besides look what happened to Carson after he retired. With virtually nothing to do, Johnny gained weight. Retirement for some means still having some where to go or something to do. I can't picture Letterman appearing as a guest on the View or some other show. The guy wants to stay active.

 

[KTU_Fan]

Once Dave goes, Ferguson goes too. He said he doesnt plan on staying when Dave retires.

 

[KentBrockman]

If Ferguson leaves when Dave leaves, and Conan builds a large enough audience on tbs, Conan could take over the 11:30 slot on CBS. But it all pretty much hinges on how successful Conan's new show turns out to be.

BUT, I really think Jon Stewart is the prime candidate to take over for Letterman when he retires. I think he could easily slide right into the role at the Ed Sullivan Theater (that is if CBS wants to keep it after Dave retires). A couple of years from now I think Dave should let Stewart guest host a day or two a week to kind of test the waters.

 

[radiojomo]

If Ferguson leaves when Dave leaves, and Conan builds a large enough audience on tbs, Conan could take over the 11:30 slot on CBS. But it all pretty much hinges on how successful Conan's new show turns out to be.

That would be a giant contrast in the audience CBS has right now. Letterman's average age is around 50, CBS as a network also has a fairly old demo. and Conan's right now is around 30. What I was thinking was maybe Jimmy Kimmel could find a home on CBS, I'm sure CBS could easily outbid ABC and give him a more lucrative package.

 

[searadiofreak]

My head is spinning after reading all the posts in this thread. Lots of scenerios here.

However, I don't see Dave retiring in 2012. This reminds me of rumors of Carson retiring starting in the early to mid-80's. He kept re-upping. My prediction is the same for Dave.

 

[JayR]

Except when he was in the hospital for heart surgery, or other medical reasons, Dave, unlike Carson, never has guest hosts.
Instead CBS airs reruns.

When he did have hosts for the short time he was out, they were not allowed to use his desk or chair. There is something Letterman has about that...

:-\

 

[KentBrockman]

Except when he was in the hospital for heart surgery, or other medical reasons, Dave, unlike Carson, never has guest hosts.
Instead CBS airs reruns.

When he did have hosts for the short time he was out, they were not allowed to use his desk or chair. There is something Letterman has about that...

:-\

Utter nonsense.

Do a search on YouTube for Letterman guest hosts. They were able to use his desk & chair.

 

[LKellerIII]

Except when he was in the hospital for heart surgery, or other medical reasons, Dave, unlike Carson, never has guest hosts.
Instead CBS airs reruns.

When he did have hosts for the short time he was out, they were not allowed to use his desk or chair. There is something Letterman has about that...

:-\

Utter nonsense.

Do a search on YouTube for Letterman guest hosts. They were able to use his desk & chair.

Heart surgery is a little different. Other than that, the guest host thing has been dead for years. I don't remember Carson using guest hosts in his final years, either. The reason was simple. NBC figured out that reruns with Carson got higher ratings than new shows with guest hosts. And needless to say, it's a lot cheaper to repeat shows for a week than it is to produce new shows.

 

[1069_KIFR]

That started when Bill Cosby Guest hosted during Dave's recovering from his heart bypass. Bill Cosby, out of respect, stated he did not feel comfortable sitting in Dave's chair. I believe a couple of other guest hosts did the samething, for a while. But No, this is not, was not a demand from Dave.

 

[JayR]

That started when Bill Cosby guest hosted during Dave's recovering from his heart bypass. Bill Cosby, out of respect, stated he did not feel comfortable sitting in Dave's chair. I believe a couple of other guest hosts did the same thing, for a while. But no, this is not, was not a demand from Dave.

Thanks for the clarification.