I am all astir with nostalgia, melancholy and bewilderment at the passage of time.

Larry “Bud” Melman. Brother Theodore. The Guy Under the Seats. Stupid Pet Tricks. Stupid Human Tricks. The Top Ten List.

So long, Dave. Thanks for all the laughs.

Rocket Chair Race

The Human Sponge

Dropping stuff off a five story tower

Dave and Zsa-Zsa’s Fast Food Car Trip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F6ihYOgruY

Dog Poetry

Larry “Bud” Melman in a Bear Suit

Chris Elliott as the Guy under the Seats

The official G.E. Corporate Handshake

My letter (quite possibly) on “Viewer Mail”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arWx-bW5H88

The “stand up tragedy” of Brother Theodore
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KG14rsY7Ik

Unfortunately, after Dave left NBC for CBS, after being passed over for “The Tonight Show,” NBC withheld the rights to re-air these clips from the show’s first, funniest, edgiest ten years. Those who know Letterman only from his CBS incarnation (“The Late Show,” as opposed to “Late Night”) really don’t know Letterman. There used to be at least one gag a night that had me in tears.

PHOTO: Dave in 1986. Note the chicken, bottom right.