David Letterman

On July 2, 1968, David Letterman married his college girlfriend, Michelle Cook. They divorced in October 1977. From 1978 to 1988, he was in a live-in relationship with Merrill Markoe, former head writer and producer of ‘Late Night’.

While still in the live-in relationship, he started dating Regina Lasko in February 1986. He also has a son, Harry Joseph Letterman, with her. Harry was born on November 3, 2003. David married Lasko on March 19, 2009.

Letterman suffers from tinnitus (ringing in the ears). Once an alcoholic, he no longer drinks alcohol. He started drinking at the age of 13. He later became sober with the help of transcendental meditation and low doses of medication.

David Letterman was born on April 12, 1947 in Indianapolis, Indiana, to father Harry Joseph Letterman, who was a florist, and mother Dorothy Marie Letterman Mengering, who was a secretary for the Second Presbyterian Church of Indianapolis. He has a sister.

He stayed close to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and was fond of collecting model cars. While growing up, he admired his father's skills to entertain people with jokes and make a party lively. His father suffered a heart attack when David was a young boy. He eventually died of a second heart attack at the age of 57.

He attended the Broad Ripple High School and worked at the local Atlas Supermarket. He studied radio and television at the Ball State University, in Muncie, Indiana, and graduated in 1969. He completed a four-year double major in journalism news/telecommunications.

David was the announcer and newscaster at the college's student-run radio station—WBST. However, he was fired because he treated classical music with disrespect. He then founded another campus station—WAGO-AM 570.

David Letterman started his career as the host of a radio talk show on WNTS (AM), and as an anchor and weatherman on Indianapolis television station WLWI. In 1971, he was a pit road reporter for ABC Sports' Indianapolis 500.

In 1975, he moved to Los Angeles to become a comedy writer, and began performing at a comedy club called The Comedy Store. He joined American actor and comedian Jimmie Walker’s group of comedians to write jokes for his stand-up acts. He also wrote material for popular shows like ‘Good Times’.

In 1977, he became a regular writer on the six-week series ‘The Starland Vocal Band Show’, aired on CBS. In 1978, he became a cast member on Mary Tyler Moore's variety show, ‘Mary’. Finally, he landed at ‘The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson’, and soon became a regular guest on the show.

In June 1980, he bagged his first morning comedy show on NBC, called the ‘The David Letterman Show’. Although it was critically successful, it failed to get good ratings, and was eventually canceled in October 1980.

He then started hosting the show ‘Late Night with David Letterman’ in February 1982 at NBC. His fans loved his self-mockery and cynical sense of humor. Later, his style inspired numerous comedy talk shows.

David Letterman is best known for hosting the ‘Late Show with David Letterman.’ The talk show was a major hit with the audiences and was also critically acclaimed. The show was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Awards in the category ‘Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series’ for 16 seasons in a row and won the award six times.