I’ve covered entertainment in New York for about 30 years, give or take. In all that time I have never seen David Letterman outside of his studio. No one else has, either. Now that he’s off of TV, we may never see him again.
Check the photo agency websites: nothing. There are a couple of photos from Letterman from the Kennedy Center Honors, last December. There is exactly one picture of his wife, Regina, on Wire Image. And that’s from this last week. When Letterman appeared last winter at a fundraiser for Paul Newman’s SeriousFun camp, it was out of respect for the late actor. He was home before the event was over.
A great photographer who shoots all the big parties, premieres, etc and has for two decades, told me yesterday he’d never actually seen Letterman in person.
There was once a feeling that Letterman maybe dined in Connecticut with actor Charles Grodin and Regis Philbin. Grodin wasn’t invited to the final weeks of the show. Regis did appear, and Letterman is clearly fond of him. But they don’t socialize.
All that fawning a few nights ago with Julia Roberts is make believe. The “relationship” exists only in the studio, at the desk.
If you watched Dave thanking the celebrities last night who did the Top 10 list, listen carefully: he speaks to them as if they are strangers. He doesn’t know them. They don’t know him. He and Tina Fey short of shake hands.
The relationship with Paul Shaffer– it’s business. It’s worked, don’t get me wrong. But Dave is not coming over for Friday night dinner.
Dave gave a beautiful speech last night. But he didn’t mention the producers who got him there– Bob Morton and Rob Burnett. He didn’t acknowledge Mike Ovitz, who got him $14 million when he jumped from NBC to CBS, or his manager Jack Rollins (just turned 100) or Rollins’ late partner Charles Joffe.
Oh well, why quibble? But Letterman sightings? Don’t hold your breath. Like Greta Garbo, he wants to be alone.
