This episode shows how great Hal Gurnee was as a director. Overseeing 13 cameras and calling the shots (with some brilliant moments) could not have been easy. Plus, I must add that he's hilarious!

@jacobjames8782

3 жыл бұрын

"Hal, I'm contracting vertigo" "...hold onto the desk"

@woodstocknun

3 жыл бұрын

not too take anything from Hal.. but their was no coordination with the 13 cameras -- which is the joke, the ridiculousness of having 13 cameras..

I much preferred this format. Small, intimate audience, small band, everything was friendly and slightly unprofessional but a LOT more fun than the big circus they had at CBS.

@timdingus2129

6 жыл бұрын

Mr. Big shot wanted to be on at 11:30

@andyb811

2 жыл бұрын

Obviously a smaller budget too.

@andyb811

2 жыл бұрын

I enjoyed the simpler days.

@andyb811

2 жыл бұрын

Dave's announcer Bill Wendel had a lifetime contract as did other "lifers" such as Don Pardo and Fred Facey.

@lanceash

2 жыл бұрын

You got that right. In the early days, Dave seemed like a special treat that only a few people knew about.

I was born March 1st, 1988. This is the best thing I've seen all week.

@RageTVHTX

3 жыл бұрын

28 days from my 18th birthday

@AUTOPSY666

2 жыл бұрын

I turned 18 on the 10th

@merrillolen9555

2 жыл бұрын

Happy belated birthday 🎂

I started watching Dave at the age of 11 so it would of been about a year after this episode! I loved Dave! Nobody at my school would watch him but me lol. Thanks for the memories of Dave Don! I miss the old school television days and that generation!

I'm a retired technical director, and this had to be a nightmare for the crew. There had to be quite a bit of re-wiring and patching, for not only the cameras, but the control room, too. Cameras need to be synced and phased, so you can switch between them without a glitch or roll (or green video). The cameras require control heads with operators to shade and adjust as needed. Then the intercom system, getting all the camera operators to communicate with each other and Hal in the control room would also be a headache. When I did remotes, intercoms were always a problem. It's like building a control room for a day, then it has to be put back and undone, afterward.

@andyrose5616

5 жыл бұрын

I'm sure it was a challenge, but NBC NY had a pretty robust routing system. That made it a lot easier to do one-time-only random bits without rewiring everything... inserting that random shot of Brokaw in his studio at the end of this episode, or another show where they replaced all of the normal control room monitor shots with "a bunch of fat guys eating eggs" for a viewer mail letter. I find it more remarkable that NBC had so many cameras just lying around to grab for something like this. Even on a normal show, if you watch segments where Dave goes backstage or into the hallway, there always seems to be a pedestal camera sitting around unused.

@jelly7310

4 ай бұрын

Word

I'm only in the first 9 minutes, and I'm like, rolling around with laughter. This is one of the funniest things I've ever seen. The studio is just full of cameras. There's like, 13 cameras. They don't even fit in the studio. My lands, I'm giggling non-stop. The fire-log-holder story, the camera behind him...I'm losing it.

@tedkier3264

5 жыл бұрын

floofytown strange. I felt this camera trip went over like a log of shit but i see your point.

@halfabeet

Жыл бұрын

When it cuts to the shot of Dave at his desk with a matrix-style array of cameras surrounding him - very funny

@allendracabal0819

Күн бұрын

The Dave of this era was in peak form. Even his lamest shows were worth watching at this time.

I can't believe people STILL think March 1, 1988 was just another Tuesday night.

@TheFlockBro

5 жыл бұрын

The cancellation of the Fiero. Very sad day

@michaelfairchild8867

4 жыл бұрын

i turned 18

@johndean4727

Жыл бұрын

@@michaelfairchild8867 i did too.we grew up in the best decade of it all.

Fascinating to watch the Brokaw interview and realize that the Berlin Wall would come down the following year and the Soviet Union would be no more in less than four years.

@allendracabal0819

Күн бұрын

The Soviet Union is gone, but all the bad things about the Soviet Union are still firmly in place.

Camera #13: The first Selfie Stick.

@wecontrolthevideo

5 жыл бұрын

Looks like it was the camera that was the "Thrill Cam" months before.

@lordscrewtape2897

4 ай бұрын

Also we didn't need to see that...😬

I love Late Nite with Letterman. My favorite talk show of all time. Great 4 piece rock band with Anton, Will, Sid and Paul. The crew and staff who had to be camera ready and great writers!

Great post! I never saw this episode. It's like visiting old friends! 😊👍 The show was at its top form here!

There's something extra funny to me about the black and white camera. Something tells me they dug out an old B&W camera that had been sitting in the 30 Rock storage closet for 15-20 years.

@BIgBass255

Жыл бұрын

Same cameras that filmed the Beatles.

@allendracabal0819

Жыл бұрын

​@@BIgBass255The Beatles appeared on CBS, not NBC.

@andyrose5616

6 ай бұрын

If you look really closely, you can see that the “black and white” camera is the same as all the other studio cameras. They just turned down the chroma on that one camera as a joke.

Man, part of me wishes I had been around to watch LNwDL when it was on the air. But I'm still grateful to be around today where I can see it all on KZread! Appreciate your uploads sir.

This episode is a hoot. awesome upload. love classic Dave.

Dave almost predicted the future of how concerts are supposed to be shot nowadays with Belinda being the performer of the day.

Don... as a Dave Letterman fan from his early days in my hometown of Indianapolis, I want to thank you for this outstanding archive of Letterman material. I get countless hours of pleasure from it. I am especially a fan of the NBC era. You are to be commended for your editing and hard work in compiling this archive. You apparently even have access to old network raw copies judging from extra promos and no censoring on some of the tapes. Kudos to you!

@dongiller

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks!!

@KowankoMusic

Жыл бұрын

@@dongiller I second this. Your work has been invaluable to fans!

Perhaps one of the last of Letterman's experimental formats. But this is a gem.

@briankelleywastaken

2 жыл бұрын

He did do the commercial-free episode about eight years later.

Paul missed an opportunity to do "13 Cameras" to the tune of "16 Candles"

Delightful silliness. Thanks for uploading this, Don. :)

So much Dave!! Thanks again, Don!!!

Enjoyed seeing what the studio looks like. Always wondered. Thanks for posting this. 🤔👍👍

Thank you so much for posting this. So Hilarious

thanks don!

Great example of camera work, scene selection and cutting! Looks like one of the cams was a GoPro prototype on a stick. They must have raided the camera closet for this show.

The very beginning.. you're flying a plane directly into the towers... Still sad and eerie

This is the best episode of anything ever, and the reason is

i remember this show.

"When the FOX network finally goes out of business...." How times have changed!

I lived with Fred and Kermit on Yucca St. at Highland Ave. in Hollywood,CA when this aired. I was 22.

@allendracabal0819

Күн бұрын

Did Miss Piggy drop by from time to time?

33:37 - "Don't do that. Don't do that."

Geez, Dave went to the future and stole Headlines from Jay and called it Dumb Ads and Small Town News. Unbelievable...

I remember David Letterman on NBC (daytime) as a Weatherman..... A very L O N G time ago. I was sick and stayed home from school....

@dongiller

10 ай бұрын

He was never an NBC weatherman. Local Indianapolis only.

"Fire Log Holder" is now the name of my band.

@winonafrog

4 ай бұрын

“Inches from the Pizza” 😅

FOX used more than 70 cameras for Super Bowl 51, but 63% of the time, they used the close-up cam that followed Tom Brady.

@LampoonGoon

6 жыл бұрын

Out of the 11 minutes of gameplay?! Wow.

For those who were wondering, Belinda, in fact, did not win the Grammy that year (for best female pop vocal performance). The winner was Whitney Houston. Belinda did look great in her strapless dress, though.

@johndean4727

Жыл бұрын

she is absolutely gorgeous.

@donhailer4994

Күн бұрын

Thanks for the Grammy info. I was just about to Google it - but you answered the question. 😊

"One day, all shows will look like this." - Nostradamus, I think

worth checking out, to see a breathtakingly beautiful, and polished Belinda Carlisle, the most beautiful redhead ever...

@RageTVHTX

3 жыл бұрын

I enjoyed that. She was great to watch

@marktatum2592

2 жыл бұрын

Miss Kitty?

Camera #13 was the original GoPro!

I remember watching this one. I can't remember I VHS'd it or if I stayed up to watch it (was this a Friday night?), but I remember telling someone abot it a few days later, and mentioning the thing of the camera going between Dave's legs, and then when I mentioned Belinda Carlisle, he asked if they did the same thing during HER performance, and of course they didn't.

33:39 - Larry's hand riding up and down the guitar neck in pretty much the worst air guitar sequence ever filmed. This alone would be funny enough. Dave catches something else altogether dirtier in the execution, though. "...Don't do that." I've been laughing for five minutes.

For me the damndest thing about these shows is that they make me feel nostalgic for a year/decade that seemed lousy at the time and looks even lousier to me now.

@allendracabal0819

Жыл бұрын

Dave was a bright light in the midst of it.

Brilliant

Selfie sticks have improved over the years

A rare Jeff Samaha sighting at 34:55. He was the other main stage manager besides Biff during the NBC run, but got almost zero on-camera time.

@dongiller

Жыл бұрын

True, he was never in any comedy bits, but he was frequently seen on camera.

It is interesting to say the least . It has some awkwardness to it . Worthy of the experiment. Also seems like an idea out of a lack of anything else ,speculation on my part .

The intro reminded me of the opening credits for the Naked Gun movie.

Another great upload. Thank's Don! Do you have a Richard Lewis compilation?

@dongiller

6 жыл бұрын

Not yet. There were 47 Late Night appearances, and I'm missing the first (hope to fill that in soon). It'll be take a lot of time. Is there really a demand for Richard Lewis?

@smilevibes

6 жыл бұрын

Well at least from me there is. LOL!

@davanmani556

5 жыл бұрын

Jane Pauley compilation?

Fun show

$90,000 a camera!!!!!!!! WOW!

@mubd1234

4 жыл бұрын

Rhyan Coleman It’s still about the same for a studio camera these days.

14:31 ... Valley of the Dolls in OKC, OK. Been there many times back in the day.

4:55 We're still waiting...

Wrong about Fox, correct about GE...31 years later!

do u have 'parents night" ?? feb of 86....one of my fave shows

@dongiller

7 жыл бұрын

Uploaded here on January 28, 2016 -- kzread.info/dash/bejne/qZ1ouMOwgZCppag.html

Nine NBC Vice Presidents? That’s like clowns getting out of a Volkswagen in the circus. Lol!!

What’s the song the band plays after they show off all 13 cameras? They used it a ton after Top 10 Lists, too.

@dongiller

6 жыл бұрын

The title escapes me at the moment, but it's James Brown.

This is when TV was at it’s best

@allendracabal0819

Күн бұрын

This was when Dave was at his best.

Damn i loved Letterman's ending theme more on NBC then CBS had more thwang !!

@allendracabal0819

Жыл бұрын

The opening theme was better, too.

I wonder how it would be with HD cameras?

Hilarious how Dave was annoyed by the way "Kenny the Gardener" was stroking his guitar.

This many cameras, looks like Zeppelin at Knebworth!

I want Paul's synth!

Kenny the gardener ? and Belinda Carlisle, I get weak!

@dongiller

11 ай бұрын

There’s a complete compilation of Kenny the Gardener elsewhere on this channel.

0:48 iPad existing in 1988 confirmed

Fire codes? What fire codea? :)

Isn't that Al Camoin from SNL?

@andyrose5616

5 жыл бұрын

Al's not in this. He retired in '86. I believe the guy on the mini-crane is John Pinto, the man who replaced Al at SNL. A whole lot of cameramen worked on both Letterman and SNL at different times, including Peter, Eric, Carl, Barry, and Bailey.

I miss the GoGos & Belinda Carlisle

So we start off by apparently passing through the World Trade Center. What innocent times.

It's March 1st but how is Dave talking about the Olympics before the summer?

@tommytimp

6 жыл бұрын

Back then (1988) they had the Summer and Winter Games in the same year. Calgary 1988.

@PatrickKetza

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, this show is literally the day after the closing ceremonies of the 1988 winter olympics. This was the 2nd to last year of Summer and Winter being in the same year.

@rhyancoleman6462

10 ай бұрын

And 1988 would be the first year that NBC would air the Summer Olympics. It wasn't until 2002 that NBC got the Olympic contract to air both the Summer and Winter Games.

We have 13 cameras! Oh My God!!!!!!!!!!!!

2:50 Announcer Bill Wendell

@allendracabal0819

Күн бұрын

Although Alan Kalter was great because he was willing to do anything, I prefer Bill's voice.

The big blues ones look like RCA TK-47's with plumbicons.

@inversemedia

4 жыл бұрын

Sorry for the premature post, now watching the clip and at 12:30 Dave states the obvious to anyone that worked in oldschool TV broadcast production, will watch the rest of the clip but I don't think he'll call out the Vinten pneumatic pedestals by name, you had to fill them to a specific PSI with an air compressor to counter balance the weight of camera (200lbs with lens), but they were so smooth for any type of moves. It's quite amazing to see in just 30 years the technological advances, yet the quality is subjective... In 1980-something I remember seeing how stunning a properly adjusted CRT monitor looked at only 646x480 pixels (3-wire analog component, no digital compression schemes at that time). KZread videos look like crap compared to the mid 80's video that I mention above, despite claiming to be so much higher in resolution. On the computer side my SGI reality engine workstation had 10 Gigaflops of performance in the 90's (size of a small fridge at $250, 000) and now a $150 Oculus Go has 500 Gigaflops in a chip the size of my thumbnail. I wonder what the next 30 years will hold... Don, thank you so, so much for somehow grabbing old tapes, digitizing them and uploading. It's amazing that the multi-billion dollar corporation(s) that own NBC and CBS have such little interest in archiving the content that you have archived and presented in such a cohesive format for fans.

@-dash

2 жыл бұрын

@@inversemedia I was born in 95 and grew up using LCDs, but I know what you mean about how stunning 480i can look on a calibrated CRT monitor. Those displays are the absolute best way to play retro games. One day I hope to get a Sony BVM 20L5

@edkretchmer2167

Жыл бұрын

Yep. I was going back through old clips to try to determine when the show switched from TK-44s to 47s. In around 1984, an audience member got to use a TK-44. The show seemed to "brighten up" sometime in '85 with some set changes and noticably sharper and brighter video. You can see the 44s had a lot more and longer lasting red-streaking, especially on Paul's shiny gooseneck mic stand. Later shows, possibly with the 47s, seemed to have just a short lasting minor red flare on very shiny objects.

0:01 - This opening titles always gives me the creeps looking at it for obvious reasons. So uncomfortable for the first ten seconds or so.

@jpetes9046

3 жыл бұрын

All I could think of when they took the camera through that high interior floor of the WTC was all the people that died there, and how they might’ve died. So very sad. One minute they’re sitting there working, starting just another work day, and the next minute they’re all dying, screaming, crying, trying to call loved ones in a fiery blaze hot enough to melt steel.

Kenny the Gardner does look a lot like Roy Orbison

@allendracabal0819

Жыл бұрын

"Kenny" (Calvert) was 15 years older than Roy.

WATCHED 3/19/21

@allendracabal0819

Жыл бұрын

I read your comment on 1/1/23.

All these jokes about GE rings differently now

34:40--I Get Weak

Nice to hear some live performances without autotune or other things to polish the pitch. This song her range is so low? Why are you singing down there? Lol.

Duct tape sighted 4:45

I love this concept, but that Larry "Bud" Melman segment was hard to watch.

@allendracabal0819

Жыл бұрын

As were most LBM segments.

I think Belinda was getting into the multi cam deal 37:20

Should have skipped 13 and called it 14.

@allendracabal0819

Күн бұрын

They didn't suffer from triskaidekaphobia.