David Letterman net worth is $400 Million. Also know about David Letterman bio, salary, height, age weight, relationship and more …

David Letterman Wiki Biography

David Michael Letterman was born on 12th April 1947. in Indianapolis, Indiana USA, of German, Scots-Irish and English descent. He is an actor, television host, producer as well as writer. The above mentioned are the sources that helped David Letterman to earn his net worth, but he is also the owner and founder of the film and television production company Worldwide Pants (1991 – present). However, Letterman is probably most recognisable for hosting the “Late Night with David Letterman” (1982 – 1993) which later evolved to the “Late Show with David Latterman” (1993 – 2015) making him the longest serving host in the history of American television. David is listed in the 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time by TV Guide magazine. David Letterman has been active in the entertainment industry since 1974.

So just how rich is David Letterman? Sources report that the overall amount of David Letterman’s net worth is estimated at $400 million, accumulated during a career spanning more than 40 years, and from an annual salary of as much as $45 million.

David Letterman was educated at Broad Ripple High School and Ball State University. He began his career working as a weatherman and news anchor of Indianapolis television station as well as a host on WNTS radio. In 1975, he moved to Los Angeles, California with a view to pursuing a career as a comedy writer. He became one of the comedians performing at the comedy club called The Comedy Store. Letterman was also writing jokes for such stand up comedians as Steve Oedekerk, Jack Handey, Byron Allen, Elayne Boosler, Louie Anderson, Richard Jeni, Robert Schimmel and others. Later, he made appearances in various shows including the variety show “Mary” (1978), sitcom “Mork & Mindy” (1979), talk show “The Mike Douglas Show” (1980) and many others. However, it was “The David Letterman Show” (debut 1980) which gave him the start of a long-lasting award-winning career. The above mentioned show won two Emmy Awards although low audience ratings led to the cancelation of the show, but was nevertheless the start of his major earnings, towards his net worth.

Fortunately, the show was renewed under the title “Late Night with David Letterman” (1982 – 1993) and aired in a different time slot. It was a huge success. The most memorable shows include those with the famous guests including Bill Murray and Don Herbert, Andy Kaufman and Jerry Lawler, the rock group R.E.M., the singer Cher, actor Crispin Glover, Oprah Winfrey and Michael Jordan, as well as the actor Tom Hanks and many other beloved celebrities. The show won five Primetime Emmy Awards.

After a ratings battle with comedian Jay Leno, the show was named “The Late Show with David Letterman” (1993 – 2005) and moved to broadcast on CBS. This one won six Primetime Emmy Awards and could boast having the second highest ratings at the beginning. The final episode earned “Late Show with David Letterman” the highest ratings in American television history, even overtaking such events as the Olympic Games. Undoubtedly, this show added the most to the overall amount of David Letterman’s net worth.

Additionally, David Letterman has appeared in many feature films as well as television series. Moreover, he owns the production company Worldwide Pants Inc., the record label Clear Entertainment/C.E and racing team Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing which have also increased his wealth.

David is supposed to have retired, at least from full-time TV work, but there’s little doubt that his presence will continue to be required on the screen.

Concerning the personal life of David Letterman, he has been married twice and fathered one child. In 1969, he married Michelle Cook, but they divorced in 1977. In 2009, he married Regina Lasko. His health has not always been perfect: in 2000 he needed an emergency quintuple heart by-pass, later joking on air about a scare that could have ended his life – that, however, is the demeanour of one of the most popular talk-show hosts ever on US TV.

IMDB Wikipedia “Late Show with David Letterman” (1980-) “Mary” (1978) “Mork & Mindy” (1979) “The Mike Douglas Show” (1980) 1989 1994 2001 Andy Kaufman Bill Murray Byron Allen CBS Cher Crispin Glover David Letterman Don Herbert Elayne Boosler Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Variety Or Music Program (1984-1987 Entertainment Hal Gurnee Indianapolis Indianapolis 500 Indianapolis Monthly IndyCar Jack Handey Jay Leno Jerry Lawler Johnny Carson Comedy Award (2011) Late Night Late Night with David Letterman List of talk show hosts Louie Anderson Madonna on Late Show with David Letterman Michael Jordan Michelle Cook Music or Comedy Series NBC Oprah Winfrey Oriol Servià Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety R.E.M. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Regina Lasko Richard Jeni Robert Schimmel Steve Oedekerk Television Television in the United States The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson The Late Shift The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien The Tonight Show with Jay Leno Tom Hanks Worldwide Pants Incorporated

David Letterman Quick Info

David Letterman Trademarks

1. Self-deprecating humour
2. His spinning pencil trick
3. White socks with black shoes
4. Often makes jokes in his monologue involving himself
5. Top Ten lists
6. Repeats a phrase of a joke immediately over and over again
7. Gap-toothed grin

David Letterman Quotes

• [to Lady Gaga] When I was your age, I had a paper route.
• [following an Islamist threat against his life] Tonight, you people are more than an audience. You’re more like a human shield.
• [on dealing with cold winters] Here’s a tip: take your boxer shorts and put them in the microwave. It’s a tip I learned from Rosie O’Donnell.
• [about the type of guests he likes] “I don’t care who you are, I don’t care what you do. If you have four funny stories, you can be a guest on this show. That’s what we’re looking for.”
• [on his first show after the September 11th terrorist attacks] “It’s said they were motivated by religious fervor. And if you live to be a thousand, will that make any sense to you? Will that make any goddamn sense?”
• [on his close friend Jay Leno in 1986] “‘Jay’s a master at getting the audience on his side. He’s able to communicate the idea that ‘Shouldn’t we, as a group, think this is absurd?’ You immediately feel like he’s your ally”.
• [on becoming a father for the first time at 56] “By the time the child has trouble in life, you know, I’ll be dead. I’ll be long gone. By the time the kid’s out stealing cars, you know, Dad will be dead a few years.”
• It’s very simple. There’s only one requirement of any of us, and that is to be courageous. Because courage, as you might know, defines all other human behavior. And, I believe – because I’ve done a little of this myself – pretending to be courageous is just as good as the real thing.
• The worst tempered people I have ever met were those who knew that they were wrong.
• If it weren’t for Johnny [Johnny Carson], I’d have no career.
• [on being called a non-voting Republican] “I believe I have voted for both Democrats and Republicans. Am I either one? Absolutely not. Ladies and gentlemen, I am an American.”
• [on his move to the Westinghouse-owned CBS television network[] “I now have a lifetime’s supply of light bulbs.”
• There’s not a man, woman or child on the face of the earth who doesn’t enjoy a tasty beverage.
• The weather’s so cold in New York right now. And when I walked through Central Park this morning, I saw a squirrel warming up his nuts!
• I got my lips chewed off by a dingo!
• I’m a wiseass and a smartass, and I always have been.
• If it wasn’t for the coffee, I’d have no identifiable personality whatsover.
• “Each and every Thursday night, we like to go out in the audience of the Ed Sullivan Theater to play America’s fastest growing quiz sensation, Know Your Current Events”.
• [Jay Leno on Letterman] “Dave is one of the few performers who can say something real vicious and have it come across as a cute aside.”
• We can all sleep easy at night knowing that somewhere at any given time, the Foo Fighters are out there fighting Foo.
• Show me squid!
• You know, they don’t give these shows to chimps!
• There is no off position on the genius switch.
• In Hollywood, Oscar is king.
• Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.
• I wouldn’t give your troubles to a monkey on a rock.

David Letterman Important Facts

• $32,000,000 /year (2009)
• (2002 – ) $31,500,000 + show profits and licensing
• $7,000,000
• $1,000,000
• Like fellow talk show host Johnny Carson, Letterman is also known to be a very private man.
• Turned down numerous offers to host “Saturday Night Live” because he felt he was terrible at sketch comedy. His time on Mary Tyler Moore’s variety show convinced him of that.
• On the last show, David Letterman held a pencil with an eraser on each end. This was a reference to his hero, Johnny Carson, who also had used such a pencil as a prop on the Tonight Show.
• His father had English, Scots-Irish, and German ancestry. His mother’s family was of German descent.
• Announced his retirement on April 3, 2014, with guest star Johnny Depp.
• In August, Dave will celebrate 10 years as host of the 6 time consecutive Emmy Award winning CBS show Late Show with David Letterman (1993). [February 2003]
• Recipient of the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors. Other recipient that year were Buddy Guy, Dustin Hoffman, Natalia Makarova, and the rock band Led Zeppelin, comprising John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, and Robert Plant.
• Wrote jokes for Jimmie Walker’s stand-up act and his series Good Times (1974).
• Is a fan of the cartoon “Beavis and Butthead” (1993).
• Hasn’t had any alcoholic beverages since 1983.
• Stopped smoking cigars in 2004.
• Appeared on the cover of GQ magazine three times: July ’84, June ’90 and August ’93.
• Married his second wife Regina Lasko in a courthouse ceremony near their ranch home in Montana.
• In 2007, Forbes Magazine estimated his earnings for the year at $40 million.
• Pencils used at his talk show desk have erasers at both ends. This is so no one is injured when he throws them.
• Early in his television career, Dave did some ring announcing work for an Indianapolis wrestling promotion run by Dick the Bruiser (Dick Afflis). Years later on NBC, Dave nicknamed his band “The World’s Most Dangerous Band”, based on Dick the Bruiser’s nickname of “The World’s Most Dangerous Wrestler”.
• Had a running gag with Indianapolis radio station WNAP during the 1970s. He would telephone in comedic “reports”, allegedly from the Indiana State Fair, using the name Moferd Pardo.
• In February 2003, an emergency group of guest hosts had to be called to fill in on the Late Show with David Letterman (1993), when Letterman was suddenly debilitated with a bout of shingles.
• At one time was a part owner of the Seattle Mariners, courtesy of then-owner, Jeff Smulyan, as he gave Letterman shares of his company, Emmis Communications, which included the Mariners (Letterman was given about 1%).
• Has mentioned on the Late Show with David Letterman (1993) that his favorite song is The Spinners’s “I’ll Be Around (Whenever You Want Me).” On the July 27, 2006 broadcast, The Spinners appeared on the show, playing “I’ll Be Around” with Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra.
• Auditioned for the role of Ted Stryker in Airplane! (1980).
• Is portrayed by John Michael Higgins in The Late Shift (1996).
• Owns a ranch just outside of Choteau, Montana.
• On his shows he has mentioned to both Gene Siskel and Martin Scorsese that his favorite movie is Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West (1968).
• Was a writer on the 1970s comedy series Good Times (1974), as was his current late night talk show competitor Jay Leno.
• He often does an in-joke that only his studio audience will understand. This is done by speaking with the audience before taping begins and finding out where people are from, what they do, etc. During the opening monologue, he will then make a reference to one of the audience members.
• Just won as a car owner in the Indy 500 (5-30-04) with co-owner Bobby Rahal and winner Buddy Rice.
• 2003 was the 19th year in a row that his show, be it Late Show with David Letterman (1993) (CBS) or Late Night with David Letterman (1982) (NBC) received an Emmy nomination for writing on a variety series.
• Enthusiast of Coen Brothers’ films.
• On 3 November 2003, Letterman’s then-girlfriend (now his wife), Regina Lasko, gave birth to their son, Harry Joseph Letterman, named after Letterman’s father, who passed away at the age of 57.
• Life Loyal Member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity.
• Once petitioned to get a highway in his hometown named “the Dave Letterman Bypass” as a reference to his heart bypass surgery. Businesses in Indianapolis referred to the highway as “The Dave” for a short time.
• Owns vacation home on St. Bart’s.
• Sister Gretchen is journalist, editor of St. Petersburg Times (FL) Lifestyles section.
• Guest hosted The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962) 51 times.
• He went to college with Jim Davis, another Indiana native who created and still writes the world famous comic strip “Garfield.”
• Named one of People Magazine’s “25 Most Intriguing People of 2001”.
• Was a resident of New Canaan, Connecticut, but moved to Westchester County, New York, around 2001.
• Worked as a grocery bagger in Indianapolis in high school.
• Funds a scholarship at Ball State University (his alma mater, class of 1969).
• He was frequently a celebrity guest on TV game shows of the 1970s, among them The $10,000 Pyramid (1973), The Gong Show (1976), and Liar’s Club (1976).
• He once hosted a game show pilot called The Riddlers (1977). Its celebrity guests were Joyce Bulifant, Michael McKean, Debralee Scott, Robert Urich and Jo Anne Worley. (The pilot was shown on the Game Show Network on 28 October 2000.).
• His father, Joe Letterman, was a florist who died of a heart attack in 1973. Mother Dorothy Mengering remarried in 1983 to Hans Mengering.
• Nicknames for Paul Shaffer include “Johnny Carwash”, “Wayne ‘Fatboy’ Ewing” and “Paul W. Shaffer.”
• Multi-purpose names he uses for any man: “Larry,” “Kenny,” and “Rodney”. Multi-purpose names for women: “Linda”.
• Before his heart bypass surgery, he had not missed a day due to illness in his 18 years of late-night.
• Underwent quintuple bypass surgery on 14 January 2000.
• Says he never uses the same tie twice in his show.
• While working as a weatherman in Indianapolis, he once congratulated a tropical storm for being upgraded to a hurricane.
• Hero is Johnny Carson.
• Has an older sister named Janice and a younger sister named Gretchen.
• Born at 6:00am-CST.
• His previous production companies include ‘Space Age Meat’ and ‘Cardboard Shoe Productions’.
• His production company is called Worldwide Pants.
• Had a relationship with Merrill Markoe.
• Attended Broad Ripple High School. Was voted Class Smart Alec.
• Is part owner of Team Rahal auto racing team (majority owner Bobby Rahal, 1986 Indianapolis 500 champion).
• Allegedly, he will not stay for longer than five minutes for an on-location cameo appearance in any given film, which may be why Letterman doesn’t really “appear” on stage with Jim Carrey and Jerry Lawler in Man on the Moon (1999), but rather is a special-effects image, like a cut-and-paste.
• Began a relationship with his second wife, Regina Lasko, in February of 1986; they did not marry until March 19th, 2009.

David Letterman Filmography

David Letterman Awards