caption active children influenced birth_place influences religion name notable_work domesticpartner birth_date spouse signature genre image article_title birth_name medium
letterman in 2015 1974 -- 2015 1 stephen conan o'brien , jon stewart , larry wilmore , seth colbert meyers , jimmy fallon , john oliver , james corden , ray romano , jimmy kimmel , indianapolis , indiana , u.s. johnny carson , lutheran david letterman '' 1980 -rrb- '' late night with david letterman '' -lrb- the host , 1982 − 93 -rrb- '' late show with david david letterman '' -lrb- host , 1993 -- 2015 -rrb- letterman show '' -lrb- host , merrill markoe -lrb- 1978 -- 1988 -rrb- 12 april 1947 michelle cook 1968 1977 regina lasko 2009 david letterman autograph.svg observational comedy , surreal humor , deadpan , self-deprecation david letterman - 2015 indianapolis 500 - stierch.jpg david letterman
 david michael letterman stand-up , television
david letterman

david michael letterman -lrb- born april 12 , 1947 -rrb- is an american former television host , comedian , writer , producer , and actor .
he hosted a late night television talk show for 33 years , beginning with the february 1 , 1982 , debut of `` late night with david letterman '' on nbc , and ending with the may 20 , 2015 , broadcast of the `` late show with david letterman '' on cbs .
in total , letterman hosted 6,028 episodes of `` late night '' and `` late show '' , surpassing friend and mentor johnny carson as the longest-serving late night talk show host in american television history .
in 1996 , david letterman was ranked 45 on `` tv guide `` s 50 greatest tv stars of all time .
letterman is also a television and film producer .
his company , worldwide pants , produced his show and formerly produced `` the late late show with craig ferguson '' .
worldwide pants has also produced several prime-time comedies , the most successful of which was `` everybody loves raymond '' , currently in syndication .
