From Harvey's wikipedia page- After Pekar's death, Letterman reflected in 2017 that "He was great.... He would just go after stuff. He ... would go after me, he would go after the network, he would go after everything, in a very committed way. It wasn’t a gag, it wasn’t an act, he would really go to work on you.... [Pekar] was anti-establishment in a way that you don’t see guys like that anymore. And that used to really upset me, because I just thought 'Come on Harvey, don’t do this to us, just play the game, blah blah blah blah.'... I’m a completely different person now. And I would be so much more better equipped to view the immediate surroundings of that show now, than I was [then].... Now, jeez, I wish I could have had Harvey on every night.

@presto709

5 ай бұрын

Wow, that's interesting. Thanks for sharing

@profile2047

5 ай бұрын

Pretty cool.

@danny1959

5 ай бұрын

It was great television, and Dave was no fool.

@presto709

5 ай бұрын

@@danny1959 Charles Grodin was very antagonistic and always had a great interview on Letterman. It was a little more playful than with Pecor.

@amra33

5 ай бұрын

Thank you for sharing this.

"Sneakers and a suit -- that looks weird, man." THANK YOU, HARVEY.

@Taffey_Lewis

3 ай бұрын

He f'n got him there wow

@StrikeTeam0316

3 ай бұрын

Exactly! Sneakers 👟 don’t go with suits

@hannibalburgers477

3 ай бұрын

Looked 🔥 on 10th Doctor

@Skank_and_Gutterboy

3 ай бұрын

I have to agree. Buckaroo Banzai is quirky and loveable but it didn't work him, either.

@Braindead591

3 ай бұрын

Harvey reminded me of Al Pacino here

Dude reminds me of Andy Kaufman doing a character. This was awesome.

@Skank_and_Gutterboy

3 ай бұрын

That's who I thought this was when I clicked the thumbnail. Then, "Wait, this isn't Andy Kaufman...." I needn't have worried.

@michaelgpartridge2384

3 ай бұрын

But if you were around to see it back then, you knew it was for real. It was awesome

@granthurlburt4062

3 ай бұрын

He;s nothing at all like Kaufman, who was a self-aggrandiizing entertainer who some people found funny. Pejar was honest.

@leucifer2

2 ай бұрын

​@@michaelgpartridge2384it wasn't real. It was staged

@marcowerner8739

2 ай бұрын

Exactly what I thought!!!

I watched this episode when it aired. Harvey was truly fearless, and you'll never see network TV like this again.

@JK-br1mu

4 ай бұрын

Clearly a little "off".

@spb7883

4 ай бұрын

@@JK-br1muIf you read his work and understand his motivations, not in the slightest. What he *was* was his own person, and - unsurprisingly - that seems “off” to anyone in American culture.

@JK-br1mu

4 ай бұрын

@@spb7883 very off, he didn't really make much sense here, and if he was going to attack Dave, he could do it in a coherent fashion. One of those counter-culture weirdos who aren't capable of forming coherent thoughts, but they're very anti. Very, very anti.

@derekderek2570

4 ай бұрын

What’s network TV?

@ahappyshow

4 ай бұрын

@@derekderek2570 NBC, CBS, FOX, ABC, are all network television.

The unblinking stare. Right into Dave’s soul. Absolutely amazing.

@fatmunch6318

5 ай бұрын

He didn’t blink the whole interview

@ParaousiaComingnow

5 ай бұрын

He didn't blink because he's a psycho... he's also high. Look at the gloss in his eye.

@andreaholcock8992

5 ай бұрын

@@ParaousiaComingnow that’s not an indicator of a psycho lol

@ParaousiaComingnow

5 ай бұрын

@@andreaholcock8992 I've worked with Schizo's for years, they don't blink... unless you used the phrase metaphorically, it absolutely is an indicator.

@andreaholcock8992

5 ай бұрын

@@ParaousiaComingnow a schizophrenic isn’t a psychopath, so even if you were telling the truth you’re still wrong

When you insult a man before he even comes on stage you’re bound to get something back

@stevec7770

5 ай бұрын

Always despised Letterman

@useliteski3381

5 ай бұрын

Letterman is absolutely awful.

@57briben

5 ай бұрын

awfully good.@@useliteski3381

@taylorbayouth998

4 ай бұрын

I get that, but look what he was wearing

@keithobrien7894

4 ай бұрын

@@stevec7770yet here you are on a Letterman channel lmao

Every now and then you can see a twinkle in Pekar's eye that says, "This is fun as hell."

@milesstover3724

4 ай бұрын

it comes with his unique cultural and ethnic heritage

@Bulvan123

4 ай бұрын

​@@milesstover3724 there are quite a few Jews like this. Brilliant & "out there" but kookoo as well.

@PhilJRose

4 ай бұрын

Cough cough, Andy Kaufman.@@Bulvan123

@mr.blackhawk142

4 ай бұрын

I see a GLASSY-eyed guy who writes comic books. What is the attraction here? BTW, I hope he DIN lol shave his back just for this appearance! :P

@mr.blackhawk142

4 ай бұрын

Yup! It's a SKIT! They'll go for beers after and laugh at the audience!

"meditation is silent..... *Dave* ....." 😂

I remember this. Harvey's beef was that Dave didn't honor the writers' strike that was going on at the time.

@Scorchy666

5 ай бұрын

That must have been why his first question was what Dave had been doing. Letterman looked very uncomfortable answering.

@fostena

4 ай бұрын

Oh! That makes sense. And what about 5:20 "why you defended G"? "being a shill for G"?

@torgman

4 ай бұрын

@@Scorchy666 if I remember right, that was the week that Dave returned to the show after honoring the strike for a bit

@jdsciano

4 ай бұрын

For working people, most honorable thing is not to cross the Picket line in a Union strike-cannot blame Harvey but kudos to Letterman for having him on knowing that was his beef.

@dbadagna

4 ай бұрын

@@fostena He might have actually said "GE," referring to General Electric, the owner of NBC at the time.

Pekar calling Letterman a shill for General Electric hit him right in the gut. Letterman later reflected that Pekar was right about a lot of things, especially his anti-establishment positions. Letterman had to play that game in order to protect his show.

@bc1969214

5 ай бұрын

It's kind of funny when Dave went to CBS he amped up the anti-corporate pinhead routine especially after Michael Jordan (no kids, not the one who played for the Bulls) took over and didn't bother to come by to see the Late Show staff. “We make more money for this dump than any other single production in television today. I’ve challenged him to a fight. I’ve called him a drunk on the air. I’ve been on television with affiliates where I’ve said this guy’s a lightweight, he’s a pinhead, he’s a twit, and he still has not called me.”

@tomifost

4 ай бұрын

I found that interesting. Id like to know more about what that means. I saw "America Splendor" and this scene was in it.

@nigelinasia2088

4 ай бұрын

Could you please point to where these reflections might be? Would love to listen to Letterman talk or write about it but my desktop search is fruitless.

@gregory-of-tours

4 ай бұрын

@@nigelinasia2088 I'm maybe 75% sure it's in the Letterman Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee episode.

@ryanlynch290

4 ай бұрын

GE owned NBC, what do you expect?

"I want you to savor this appearance" is such a great line

@misterpsych3804

4 ай бұрын

brilliant way to say you're never coming back!

@luskvideoproductions869

3 ай бұрын

This is what I miss the most about Letterman...he was nearly perfect with pointed ripostes to guests off the cuff. The Between 2 Ferns out-take where he grills Zack about why the show is called between TWO ferns is just comedy perfection

@educateme8455

3 ай бұрын

No. The way you yanks worship these tv shills is just depressing.

@jasonsgroovemachine

3 ай бұрын

Reminds me of when Joaquin Phoenix came on and did his "act" with the gum.

"How about another joke, Murr-Ray?"

@thedetailspot6107

9 күн бұрын

exaclty lmao

@shrapnel77

18 сағат бұрын

Everybody would have remembered that type of ending!

'Dave, you're wearing sneakers with a suit'. Dave quickly puts his sneakered foot behind the desk.

@djdonald243

4 ай бұрын

Yah, Dave thought that made him anti-establishment edgy, but he was a midwesterner in New York

@DaveDexterMusic

3 ай бұрын

no, he shifts his sneakered foot into view afterwards then moves it back. it wasn't like it was on display the whole time and only pekar's comment got him to hide it

@djhenyo

2 ай бұрын

Dave's foot was already behind the desk when Harvey said that and was moved sideways, putting it in view for less than a second, while Dave rotated his body slightly away from Harvey and towards the audience. Your interpretation of events is horrible.

@NP-ux9xg

5 күн бұрын

@@djdonald243 being a "midwesterner in New York" has nothing to do with being edgy one way or another. As a matter of fact someone going to New York (the center of the universe as far as boring and normal goes) is as much the opposite of edgy as you can get. Add to that someone working in the TV business in New York and you have as much of a square as someone can be.

This dude knew how to get under David's skin... it's wonderful

@thegreatrenaldo7718

4 ай бұрын

He was mad because he’s bald

@travelwell8098

4 ай бұрын

was does that even mean?@@thegreatrenaldo7718

@seanoleary1979

3 ай бұрын

@@thegreatrenaldo7718 ...don't quit your day job. Comedy won't pay the bills for you!

@Hausbrauen

3 ай бұрын

@@seanoleary1979 Seemed to me like a genuine hypothesis as to why he may not be a happy fella, rather than intended as a joke.

@noneofyourbusiness4616

2 ай бұрын

@@thegreatrenaldo7718 Thanks for sharing the perspective of a small child.

I admire how Pekar succeeded in dragging out Letterman's unflattering side into the open from behind the glib facade, live on camera, in Dave's control room.

@bobvp9434

4 ай бұрын

spot on.

@user-fk6lf6yy4s

4 ай бұрын

Great take, exactly.

@katg7965

3 ай бұрын

Unflattering side? Or just showing annoyance? Calm down

@user-fk6lf6yy4s

3 ай бұрын

@@katg7965 Unflattering not strong enough. Arrogant and condescending. Still calm over here. Letterman should stick to interns.

@MinecraftMartin

2 ай бұрын

You think we should always display our unflattering sides, and anything else would be fake and glib? ... Why?

If Michael Keaton and Andy Kaufman had a baby.

Where was the implosion? That was just Harvey being himself. Seemed like Dave imploded, if anything.

@brt5273

5 ай бұрын

Exactly.

@Splandrocity

4 ай бұрын

Right, he couldn't match his energy so he tapped out.

@williamlyons3947

4 ай бұрын

Yep, Harvey won this

@benjaminqmorris

4 ай бұрын

this is a definite EXplosion. see, imploding is silent; exploding is audible.

@svalbard01

4 ай бұрын

Dave filled his diaper about 60 seconds in.

"Sneakers and a suit" really got me ☠️

@sinistergrin7053

4 ай бұрын

Harvey was everything Dave never was

@sgt.thundercok4704

3 ай бұрын

Well at least you got that going for ya.

I hope Dave still has that autographed comic from Harvey. What an amazing collectable it is now

The "implosion" is Harvey knowing that Letterman was scabbing for Disney during a strike and not letting up on it.

I can imagine Dave getting extremely uncomfortable here, once that line is crossed it’s hard to pull back! Hahaha. Tough gig. Loved the guest.

I met Harvey around this time. This was his normal. You never knew what to expect. My ex-husband illustrated a couple of Harvey's stories in American Splendor. Weird times it was.

@jamesjdm

4 ай бұрын

He has a personality disorder and needed therapy

@nighthawk5295

4 ай бұрын

Maybe your husband left you because you're a raging feminist. (lol) 😑

@v4v819

4 ай бұрын

He seems like a reasonably agreeable, charming, elegant kind of fellow... I'm sure you enjoyed his company and i wish you and your family the best for 2024! :)

@jediryan9454

4 ай бұрын

So this wasn't staged or a bit?

@OTOss8

4 ай бұрын

Val Mayerik?

I remember watching that show. I didn't know Pekar, but he certainly grabbed my attention. This was during the days when Letterman was at the top of his creative period. He had very intriguing guests who were completely unpredictable. Pekar was one of the most audacious of this type

@CalebThornhill

4 ай бұрын

@@kirks.1854 You may think it's staged, but I'm not so sure. Even if it was partially staged, it's clearly not entirely so. I worked in theatre for a decade, and to me the exchange bristles with a vitality that only comes from a work in progress. They may have worked some stuff out, but it's definitely not fully scripted.

@j7220

4 ай бұрын

Definitely not staged

@terrymckenzie8786

4 ай бұрын

Brother Theadore was a hoot.

@VOOODOOO37

4 ай бұрын

Yeah it was a great time in his show, all the cool guests and antics. No fancy suits, and Paul was great too as a side kick. Loved when he had Richard Simmons on and Larry Bud Melman

my eyes are burning just watching him not blink!

That stare though, no blinking.😂😂😂

@kdooms

4 ай бұрын

This. I've stared pretty hard at certain people in my life.....I'm not sure he actually ever does blink though....

@justinsixx90

3 ай бұрын

Cocaine

@randallf.4646

3 ай бұрын

A common trait of a psychopath....

@blazer3327

2 ай бұрын

Pekar was the real deal amidst the phony personalities of the celebrity mill wheel.

@blazer3327

2 ай бұрын

In a match I’d have to give Pekar the edge over Dave by virtue of his unpredictability and relentless focus.

Harvey actually grabs Dave's pencil from him. That is the true source of Dave's power....notice how Harvey's demeanor changes to calm when he has it and Dave loses control.

@daveconnor6174

5 ай бұрын

Haha that's wild. Dave really didn't wanna give it up.

@callmesceptical9114

5 ай бұрын

So true! The pencil grab was a savage move💪🏼

@autonomoustronomous5264

5 ай бұрын

That's because Dave went from getting laughs to getting laughed at and it broke him. Lol

@devonalomar9012

4 ай бұрын

Harvey was actually trembling. Truly a sad mental case.

@cayleprice

4 ай бұрын

I thought Dave was going to catch it in the jugular there for a minute!

An old fashioned fight with just words, something you rarely see anymore.

@royfr8136

4 ай бұрын

WEll, there were cameras there.... It's not that they were any more civilized.

@alphamale1228

4 ай бұрын

@@royfr8136 So if there were no cameras there, you feel it would've resulted in violence?

@23Butanedione

4 ай бұрын

​@@alphamale1228no it's because they were both white men. The violence in this country is coming from one demographic

@alphamale1228

4 ай бұрын

@@23Butanedione White men don't fight with their fists?

@sardonicsisyphus

4 ай бұрын

@@23Butanedione I guess all of those violent white people attacking the US capitol went below your radar huh?

I think the "you're in a rut, you do the same thing every night" stung a little for Dave, hence him falling back on his well used "thanks for dressing up" line .. and I love Dave

Him and Crispin Glover are the only two guests that I know of who have made Dave visibly lose his temper

@Nastyboy269

5 ай бұрын

I remember him getting heated with Bill O’Reilly once, but you’re probably right. The weirder and more uncomfortable an interview the more he loved it. Especially the early days.

@dustinprewitt

5 ай бұрын

@Nastyboy269 I sorta remember that interview.... but Dave seemed less angry and more annoyed

@peterjensen6233

5 ай бұрын

Richard Simmons.

@thedude4672

5 ай бұрын

Harmony Korine, who was a weird interview and who got banned when Letterman caught him going through Meryl Streep's purse backstage.

@thedude4672

5 ай бұрын

Oh yeah, and we can't forget Andy Kaufman

Harvey was one of the few people who would have no problem with talking to Dave the way he spoke to his guests and called BS anytime he smelled it!!!!

@MikeSchmidt969

4 ай бұрын

Yeah those types of folks are invited to parties once and only once.

@TheGeenat

4 ай бұрын

@@MikeSchmidt969good. Those types of people are superior to the idiots at the party (sheep fest) anyway.

@blakfloyd

3 ай бұрын

Indeed. I thought the exact same thing.

It's awkward as hell and amazingly fun! This guy is having a blast!

The way he kept saying Dave's name...reminiscent of the talk show scene in the Joker.

Harvey lived to flip the table over and he pretty much did that on every appearance. Still remember him complaining about not getting dounuts and then there's that thought-bubble picture of dounuts - I about died laughing that night. RIP, HP, you beautiful bastard.

@Hengry-hn7rb

3 ай бұрын

I’m making a t-shirt that says “ beautiful bastard “😂

Nowadays you would never see a Harvey Pekar on late night TV. It's sad. Now it is just a bunch of actors and pop stars pretending they are excited to lip sync with Jimmy Fallon as he fake laughs and ruins every joke that every guest tells.

@hunterericson6782

7 күн бұрын

nailed it. the fakeness is so cringeworthy i cant dare to watch

@maddrop

6 күн бұрын

Facts. It became so fake that it´s annoying.

@lablaine1981

3 күн бұрын

Fake" describes late nite tv,

If anyone is wondering what the donuts were about they were used in a comedy bit earlier in the show. The bit started with a stage light crashing down next to/on Dave's desk and it turns out it was Biff Henderson's (stage hand) plan to kill Dave so he had more donuts to himself in the breakroom. So the bit ended with the camera fixed on a disappointed Biff thinking about the extra donuts he's missing out on. Some genius in the control room decided to bust out the donut graphic again to use on Harvey. I saw this when it first aired and I lost my mind laughing 😆 It's been quite a while but that's the way I remember it.

@lowkeysoundsystem6174

4 ай бұрын

Nice. I thought it was from one of their previous interviews where Harvey asks Dave for doughnuts. 😅

@derekderek2570

4 ай бұрын

40 years!!! Is quite awhile. Better times back then I’m sure

@ADrunkBassist

4 ай бұрын

he was promised donuts the next time he came to the show in a previous interview.

@caderoger

4 ай бұрын

haha without any context it looks bizarre and random

@thjola

4 ай бұрын

On his first visit on the show, Harvey complained about the lack of snacks in the green room, e.g. donuts, to which Dave replied that Tom Brokaw ate them all when he was a guest a little earlier on the same show.

"Three and a quarter Dave, but for YOU - two fifty. We'll settle up after the show, you got it on ya?!" Man, Harvey was fantastic!

Anyone who can rock that hairstyle does not care what anyone thinks of him.

@ruok3351

5 ай бұрын

Who sold comics about his life story. That’s ego and people with big egos actually care deeply about what people think of them.

@humphreygruntwhistle3946

4 ай бұрын

I doubt he even owned a mirror. Just a frivolous waste of money.

I gotta admit, that’s the first I saw Dave loose an interaction. But he got owned.

@krewgarr

4 ай бұрын

"Lose" is the word you're looking for.

@blakfloyd

3 ай бұрын

@@krewgarra one-letter typo doesn't change the validity of what they're saying.

@morb0yo

3 ай бұрын

@@blakfloydWho says it did?

@blakfloyd

3 ай бұрын

@@morb0yo ya mama.

@Prince.Hamlet

2 ай бұрын

@@blakfloyd Nah, we're tired of y'all spelling lose wrong.

Wow. Dave was a swamp creature from the beginning. I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

I’ve seen Letterman get irritated at people but he usually hid it very well and maintained professionalism enough to focus on entertaining the audience. He actually stopped trying at some point in this interview and just engaged one on one with Pekar as though he forgot he was live on the air. Not many people got the better of Letterman but Pekar sure did.

@RawOlympia

4 ай бұрын

he and peter tork, of all peopel

@MrSpuzzz

4 ай бұрын

@@RawOlympia i haven’t seen the Tork interview. I’ll try and find it

I remember when Dave used to have actual psychos on the show. We at home were never really sure how much was real or fake. BEST TELEVISION EVER!

@mwdiphone

5 ай бұрын

Your comment is exactly why Harvey finally went off. He wasn’t a psycho. Not even close. He was a brilliant writer. A regular guy with a job who had a talent. Dave and the audience played him and his words like he was a fool. Harvey felt like he was being used instead of being listened to. Thats why he went off.

@sonicdiablo8968

5 ай бұрын

How is he a psycho?

@thedude4672

5 ай бұрын

I don't think Harvey was a psycho at all, but Dave was good about having eccentric people on who wouldn't make you comfortable

@porflepopnecker4376

5 ай бұрын

Harvey was pushing Dave's buttons hard that night and he knew it. Dave kept things comedy-oriented while still demonstrating that he wasn't a pushover for someone like Harvey to steamroll on his own show.

@Mozart1220

5 ай бұрын

@@mwdiphoneI don;t know him but from this interview he's a psycho.

The unpredictability of the guests - and the sheer eclectic variety of who was appearing - made this show must-see each night.

@gordons-alive4940

5 ай бұрын

Yeah,. They lost that when Dave moved to an earlier time slot. It became a pretty conventional late night talk show.

@markbeames7852

4 ай бұрын

Pekar was on five or six times.

@crackawood

4 ай бұрын

​@@gordons-alive4940but dave's influence was already well established. his effect on comedy reverberates to this day and every late night show is just a rehash of conventions that dave established

@olorin1710

3 ай бұрын

Left version of Trump

When he said "who's next" i laughed out loud. That was a good line + facial expression.

3:25 “Harvey, I want you to savor this appearance” 😂😂😂 you will not be asked back.

Pekar covered the whole thing from his perspective in an issue of American Splendor labeled “David Letterman Exploitation Issue” showing Dave telling Harvey (in front of the audience) “You f-cked up a great thing!”.

I saw this when it happened when it was broadcast. I'm sure he meant it. He was always off the hook.

Being from the other side of the pond, I'd never heard of Harvey Pekar before tonight. Which is a shame, seemed like a good guy.

Dave can't even look him in the eye. Lol Pekar FTW.

“Harvey, I want you to savor this appearance!” Ooof…savage. Dave telling him he ain’t ever gonna be on again.

@thedude4672

5 ай бұрын

But he did come back on ... two or three times

@wastedapathy22

5 ай бұрын

@@thedude4672 was he as worked up in those later appearances as he was here?

@chiefscheider

5 ай бұрын

Thanks for explaining what Dave meant by that

@Brendan-Black

5 ай бұрын

​@@wastedapathy22Nope, Pekar was much more subdued when he finally came on again.

@simonfeakes

3 ай бұрын

​@@wastedapathy22he came back after a number of years, and before it started Dave opened that they had a misunderstanding/disagreement previously but they'd got over it. Harvey was still his awkward weird self, but definitely less antagonistic towards Dave than he was in this particular interview

I loved this one. I remember staying up late in college to watch this episode. Amusingly, right from the get-go Pekar's body language and the way he shakes Dave's hand is very telling. And it goes downhill from there...

@brt5273

5 ай бұрын

I think it was going downhill before Pekar even came out. Letterman's tone is already dismal, probably because they exchanged words before the show and he got an idea of the sort of ride it was going to be.

@danielstoddart

5 ай бұрын

@@brt5273 My fave Letterman guests were Pekar, Charles Grodin, Harrison Ford, Harmony Korine (before he got banned), Crispin Glover, and Andy Kaufman. Those were absolute musts to stay up late.

@kbrewski1

4 ай бұрын

​@danielstoddart Man, I don't remember issues with Grodin and Kaufman, those guys were Dave regulars, especially Grodin. I'm going to have to search for those clips. Joaquin Phoenix is the one that stands out for me. He appeared like he was drugged and Dave couldn't get him to talk.

@danielstoddart

3 ай бұрын

@@kbrewski1 They weren't really "issues" because especially in the case of Grodin, it was a bit. A gag. Grodin's entire act was to be antagonistic to the host. But all of the guests mentioned above scored high on the passive-aggressive quotient.

@kbrewski1

3 ай бұрын

@danielstoddart That was my point. Dave didn't have issues with Grodin because he knew Grodin's shtick. This Pekar wasn't in that category, he was truly so odd and obstinate he wanted to upset the apple cart.

This is Harvey at the peak of his powers!

I have the great pleasure of meeting Harvey pekar at the San Diego Comic-Con in 1995. We were both in the artist Ali section. This is an area in which famous artists and writers of comic books can get a table for free and sell their work to the attendees. Few people seem to recognize him as he has never been at the Comic-Con before, it was also his first time in California. He was such a nice person and he was impressed with my ability to do sales. He was so interested that he put me in his next issue of American Splendor comics published in June 1996.

There's a very funny, well-made film about Harvey, with Paul Giamatti playing him. American Splendor.

Harvey was a simmering volcano of saccharine contempt, God love him!

@zimmerman1031

3 ай бұрын

What was saccharine about his contempt?

@jamescarter3196

3 ай бұрын

"saccharine" means 'artificially sweet' and he wasn't artificial or sweet, just extremely focused on whatever he was thinking

One of the best interviews I've ever seen. Harvey just being Harvey and Dave trying to navigate the storm on live TV. Brilliant for as long as it lasted. RIP Harvey

"Harvey, I want you to savor this appearance" Now *that's* professionalism 🤣😅😂

Letterman was so much better when it wasn’t just about spoiled celebrities.

@OMGWTFLOLSMH

5 ай бұрын

I gave up on talk shows because of celebrities shilling their crappy projects, well before The Late Show ended. I watched the last few weeks, which I enjoyed, and I watched/watch clips of Conan and Kimmel on KZread, sans celebs.

@fatalmodelmadhatter

5 ай бұрын

Thank you! Funny how the "talk" parts of a talk show are often the less interesting unless there is chemistry with a guest or it's not a celebrity pandering. Dave usually made an effort to go beyond the shilling and when the celebrity went along with it got gold, but modern talk shows don't even bother, everybody comes rehearsed and all is insufferable because of it!

@keefriff99

5 ай бұрын

@@fatalmodelmadhatter There are some celebrities who are REALLY great at talk shows…relaxed, funny, conversational, not overly scripted, but they’re few and far between. Nothing is worse than a comedian who’s being prompted by the host for anecdotes. It’s so fake that it drives me crazy…can’t do it.

@apchsiri1156

5 ай бұрын

​@@keefriff99Comedians doing bits from their latest show during their talk show interview: uggh.

@jonesnbones

19 күн бұрын

I loved when Dave really did get uncomfortable. It made for good tv.

Ordinary life is pretty complex stuff.

Harvey was one of a kind. Loved his visits to the show. I saw him once at a literary festival. He was just himself and I loved it.

the look of a man who has been up every night thinking about his interview since the day he was born

I watched this live, one of those many interviews on Late Night that you never, ever forget.

Harvey was one of the greatest comic book writers in history. His American Splendor comics are absolute genius. I cannot recommend them enough. Anyone interested in him should check them out and also watch the great Paul Giamatti bring him to life in the American Splendor movie.

@mwdiphone

5 ай бұрын

His appearance on Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservation Cleveland episode is a classic as well. The entire show was pretty much themed to go with Pekar’s comics.

@dengueberries

5 ай бұрын

oooooh i have to check that out, thanks a lot @@mwdiphone

@keefriff99

5 ай бұрын

@@mwdiphone Oh damn, I gotta look this episode up now! Thanks for the suggestion.

@brt5273

5 ай бұрын

Good stuff. Available online.

@user-db6pt7vr3l

5 ай бұрын

Oh, shut up. He's a social misfit. He's the problem not everybody else.

I had no idea who he was. After looking him up he was quite a character. I thought this was some kind of skit, it wasn't this is real. People like him can be hard to take, but they make the world a more interesting place to live in.

@jjhammer31

4 ай бұрын

Watch the movie. Really a fantastic film.

0:52 I had forgotten about his deal to star in movies for Disney. Almost as soon as he signed that deal, he started making jokes and giving interviews saying he didn't intend to fulfill it.

@chiefscheider

5 ай бұрын

Thank God he fulfilled his obligation to appear in Cabin Boy

@danielbrown4383

5 ай бұрын

@@chiefscheider Would you like to buy a monkey?

@Brendan-Black

5 ай бұрын

​@@chiefscheider"Man oh man, do I hate them fancy lads."

Ordered 3 of his books last month! Thanks to you, Dave!

@maximehamelin156

3 ай бұрын

@flatearthlogicdotnet Really, ordering more. I grew up with Archies in the restroom,. Harvey replaced them :)

The perfect guest for Dave.. Wish there was more authentic folks like him which you don't see anymore.

Basically Harvey had a personality disorder and one of the signs is having zero boundaries in a social setting.

I would pay good money to see Eric Andre flip his own script and do a whole season where every guest is combative and angrily talking over him like in this interview.

@andrehendrik

4 ай бұрын

really? I tried watching his show, kind of empty shock value, I thought it got boring pretty fast

@mralexforbes

4 ай бұрын

100% the show is pure shit​@@andrehendrik

@thechosenmountain9815

4 ай бұрын

or eric andre having harvey pekar

@D2ezbmu

4 ай бұрын

except this sint a skit or an act or a gag.

@steventhana8314

3 ай бұрын

Found the smooth brain who enjoys eric andre elementary school humor

I think calling him "whining" in his intro is what started it.

Kudos to Pekar. Love the guy.

Priceless. Someone who saw hollywood for what is was long before now.

"You're a dork, Harvey -- relax!" Classic Dave. 🤣

@maskedmarvyl4774

4 ай бұрын

Also classic hypocrite Dave. He blew off the writer's strike and betrayed them. The dork and wuss in this case was Letterman.

He had an Andy Kaufman vibe to him here

@kbrewski1

4 ай бұрын

More of a Son of Sam vibe....

@davemustaki134

4 ай бұрын

@@kbrewski1 nah lol

@user-gn3qt4pu3u

4 ай бұрын

Yes, with a little Christopher Lloyd's Reverend Jim from Taxi mixed in.

@davemustaki134

4 ай бұрын

@@user-gn3qt4pu3u yeah kinda....

@jamescarter3196

3 ай бұрын

@@user-gn3qt4pu3u Like Reverend Jim if he was a scary crackhead

Paul Giamatti played Harvey brilliantly

New to Harvey today - the intensity in his eyes is amazing, you knew he was going to bring it - Glad to see him fight the power, whatever the cost

Love Harvey, and love his comics. Kudos to Dave for keeping this interview in the show. I thought it was one his best interviews, ever.

@hughmcaloon6506

5 ай бұрын

Harvey was interviewing Dave, from the outset. It's really stunning to see; fascinating. Harvey was large and in charge until Dave blew his top.

@carewser

5 ай бұрын

@@hughmcaloon6506 Dave never "blew his top", he just got rightfully annoyed with Pekar

@useliteski3381

5 ай бұрын

Yes, he did. Harvey is an incredible man, Dave is not.@@carewser

@chrisisnowliftingstuff3248

4 ай бұрын

This was Harveys 6th appearance and they were all like this one. After this appearance Harvey continued to come on. Dave and Harvey loved going back and forth. It wasn't scripted or rehearsed but this was the magic they knew would naturally happen.

This isn’t an implosion, he’s genuinely sticking it to Dave and Dave becomes genuinely flustered

@turttell2736

5 ай бұрын

Facts

@betweenthreeislands

5 ай бұрын

What is he upset about? There's no context here.

@Nastyboy269

5 ай бұрын

@@betweenthreeislandsHarvey was just a curmudgeon. Check out the Movie American Splendour if you haven’t seen it yet. Giamatti does a good job capturing his essence.😆

@ericwhite1942

5 ай бұрын

​@Nastyboy269 yeah, but what's he going on about here. He's accusing Old Dave of something and Dave is saying "You're wrong, Harvey. I didn't say/do that and this isn't the place to discuss that." I watched his show alot back in late 80s early 90s but never saw him get angry at a guest like that so it must have been something to it

@ceegee9064

5 ай бұрын

@@ericwhite1942 In a failure to understand his own magic, Pekar progressively went more and more off the rails until during the last 2 (at least) appearances he was bad TV. Letterman's 'Looking back, I would have had him on every night' is uncharacteristic schmaltzy b.s. IMO. Peker was an absolutely wonderful character but started to take himself WAY too seriously and, at some point, felt it was his duty not to just be intelligently confrontational but UGLY.

I love the comb over

Definitely Dave that ended up imploding 😂

I used to love watching Letterman growing up, even though I didn't get half the jokes. I have never heard of Harvey Pekar before, he's awesome!

@lesweizman388

5 ай бұрын

you should read american splendor

The comic store I own had the pleasure of selling books for Harvey at a New York Comic-Con 20 plus years ago. On the first day, one of our managers showed up and gave Harvey a two liter bottle of Sunkist, which pleased Harvey to no end. Harvey's wife at stop by the booth and it kept asking her if she wanted some pop, and she was like "Harvey Do you have a glass? " Which of course he didn't. He was insisting she just drink some straight from the bottle like he was!

@ronehill

5 ай бұрын

On Day 2 I was personally doing the vending. Harvey was very much the guy you see here on TV, telling me the only reason he's here at this show was to get the free trip to New York. The convention area he was in was filled with all kinds of b movie celebrities, and sitting directly across from us was Peter Tork, from the Monkees (another classic late night guest!).

@Zepster77

4 ай бұрын

What???!

@claytonbouldin9381

11 күн бұрын

@@ronehill I met Peter Tork and Mickey Dolenz at Chicago Comiccon YEARS ago. Taylor Dayne was there too. Lots of wrestlers too for some reason.

An earlier comment basically says, he wasn't just playing a whiny malcontent, he really was a whiny malcontent. High praise indeed!

Harvey, completely geeked out of his mind.

actually this is the first time ive seen Dave visibly losing patience at 5:14, very rarely have i seen him shaken... You can see he isnt happy at all

@Road2acept

5 ай бұрын

Harvey Pekar looked ready to fight him. The way he grabbed the pen. Privately these 2 definitely would have traded blows.

@danielnichols5632

3 ай бұрын

Good, Letterman is awful

@asdf2593

3 ай бұрын

@@Road2acept you're projecting, why would anyone fight over words? because they are an idiot

Letterman later came to understand Pekar's anti-establishment views. Letterman also came to respect Pekar tremendously much later in life, and he even admitted that he was "ill-equipped" to deal with Pekar in those earlier days.

@kleetus92

4 ай бұрын

Letterman continues to be ill equipped for most things in life.

@MinecraftMartin

2 ай бұрын

If someone has to be "properly equipped" just to put up with you, that's not good.

Don't you miss the age when people like this could actually get on a late night talk show, and the host would have the balls to let the segment play out without cutting it short? I'm pretty sure Harvey What's-his-face committed so many micro aggressions here.

@schlomoshekelstein908

4 ай бұрын

reminds me of my friend, we always act like this towards each other

That man's pupils are the size of saucers, he's high as hell.

Unmatched intensity.

I don't know him or anything about this, but I like Harvey.

I'd love to see a biopic where John C. Reilly plays Pekar. 😂😂

@mplandis7080

26 күн бұрын

there is one (American Splendor (2003)), and he's played by Paul Giamatti! it's great, nothing compares to the real Harvey, though.

@claytonbouldin9381

11 күн бұрын

American Splendor is an absolute must to see. You will like the movie for sure.

letterman comes off like a child in this

@jasonmurdoc9533

Ай бұрын

Really? Looked liked a teacher trying to control a teenager who has so much angst he doesn’t even know what he mad at

@hipser

Ай бұрын

@@jasonmurdoc9533 Did you not understand what he's saying? How right he was and how Letterman desperately tries to keep his show PC and not counter-cultural? He couldn't even stand to hear the (admittedly emotional) wisdom of his guest. He couldn't answer the hard questions.

I remember watching this. Harvey was a character.😆

Ah, the good ole days of television.

Who wishes it was 1988 all over again?!

I’ve been wanting to see this ever since I saw American Splendor. Glad they released it.

@agtv_media

Ай бұрын

I just saw American Splendor for the first time today

For a brief moment they got real and it was compelling- real stuff is so much more entertaining than phony comedy bits

@colddirtybastard

5 ай бұрын

Find some higher standards.

@wilkinsmusicfl4141

5 ай бұрын

Yup. You are seeing real Dave here, and Harvey pulled it out of him.

@carewser

5 ай бұрын

So when someone is annoyed that's the "real" person you're seeing? uhhh okay

@cable7152

5 ай бұрын

This was a phony comedy bit.

@carewser

5 ай бұрын

@@cable7152 I don't think so, Dave looked genuinely annoyed with Harvey so if this was a comedy bit it was anything but funny

since I saw this dude on the first upload they did of him on this channel, hes become my fave guest ever. surpassing all the guests I ever saw on the show while it was on the air

Harvey got under Dave’s skin. lmao!!!

Letterman was the best late night talk host ever.

Harvey was 100% correct and Dave was going thru this real douche phase. He wanted to mock Harvey and Harvey wasn’t having it.

@cardinalpoints2839

4 ай бұрын

Oh I don’t know, seems hard to see who started it.

@RaveyDavey

4 ай бұрын

@@cardinalpoints2839I don’t know the history but he did call him whiny before he even came on?