When he accepted the March 1995 gig, Letterman was on top of the world. He had defected to CBS after NBC chose Jay Leno as Johnny Carson’s successor on “The Tonight Show,” and “Late Show With David Letterman” was beating Leno handily in the ratings. But there was more to it, Letterman told me: “It was ‘pride goeth before the fall.’” This was something he was expected to do, at the level of success he had achieved. But for all the preparation, Letterman was also open to inspiration. “Rob Burnett, who was very good at last-minute things, he says to me — literally with 20 minutes to go — he says, you know what you can do?

Source: New York Times January 28, 2020 20:37 UTC