Why is David Letterman special?
Once we rode down in an elevator silently
together that was special. (Bill:) He's just looking at the numbers change, the light
change? (Jimmy:) He was not even looking at the numbers he's looking above the
numbers for fear that our peripheral vision might meet. His warmth I guess,
that's what I'm getting at. (Bill:) Yeah, that's what would surprise you.
For me, I think the quintessential David Letterman bit was the giant doorknob. It was a giant
doorknob, and they brought it out and he said nothing more than "it's just plain
big." You know they talk about risky comedy and none of it's really that
risky, but to bring a doorknob out in front of an audience and expect them to
laugh in the right spot, that's pretty risky, it's as risky as I
guess it gets. (Bill:) Well, I can't argue with that
either I won't argue with that, although I really did love the guy from
the deli. (Jimmy:) Rupert, gee yeah, but was he a bit as much
as he was a person? (Bill:) Yeah he was, but to be able to put your faith in a person that
that person is going to be consistently amusing in a unpredictable way that's
that was fun to see that guy. (Jimmy:) That was a brilliant bit in another way as well
because Dave at one point was just telling Rupert what to say to people and
he'd have him say crazy things right it was a way for Dave to do
man-on-the-street bits without having to do a man on the street bit, he wouldn't
have to tape anything he just—it wasn't uncomfortable for him it really
was, I don't—(Bill:) It was like puppetry, it was good. (Jimmy:) It was almost like he was playing a
video game and the character was Rupert. (Bill:) I think, you know, it's the same, you kind
of get a kick out of making him laugh, you know he's got a card, you know he's
got some prepared sort of things you to ask but if you can, if you can get off
without any of those questions being asked that's—(Jimmy:) Then you've won.
(Bill:) Yeah then you've really battled, and and he's really happy about that because
even though he likes to be prepared and everything to to really fly off of it
and never get to it is just, it's so great because it means like there's a
reason to come to work, that it's possible that something accidental and
odd can happen. You know that that was the fun part of it and he, and in the
early days it was fun to... you really had to be on, you really had to be rolling and
you had to come in with one in the chamber, you couldn't come in cold and
because you've seen him just, like I was talking about last night, that
he would just cut people—kill people—if they were bad or vain which was where the
fatal flaw, he would just say "Jimmy Kimmel, ladies and gentlemen, thanks for coming."
And that was it. It went to the commercial and like that this person just got one
minute 15 seconds and they're gone, he just kicks 'em. (Jimmy:) I felt a weird...
when I watched the show, I'd decide which celebrities I thought were we're good
and which were bad based on Dave's reaction to them, and know when I was on
the show the first time I felt I had to apply that standard, it's me, you know, and
and if he didn't like me then I was I was forced to be in that group with
Shirley MacLaine or whoever the hell was in that group, and so it was really for
me a test—it could have potentially ruined my whole life.
There's only so much you can learn from Dave because only Dave can do what Dave
does, but I think one important thing is when you have someone on the show who is
funny, don't try to get in—don't force your jokes and just let that person be
funny, and if that person is doing well
let them do as well as they possibly can. I think that's, if there is a secret to
at least the guest part of hosting a talk show, that's it.
It was very nice, I dreaded it really because it's... you know you just can't
take that much smoke being blown at you, it's kind of hard to take, and I know Dave is
dying. (Jimmy:) Yeah. (Bill:) These last hours he's just twisting in
agony, he's probably on the floor of his room. (Jimmy:) At least you had your brothers and
sisters busting your balls the whole weekend. (Bill:) Yeah, I had my brothers and sisters chomping
at me the whole weekend, but I mean it was the whole thing, you get treated
pretty well and I was fortunate to have really nice people come and
speak and Jimmy came, and Dave came, a bunch of people came, Paul Shaffer played of
course, and Miley Cyrus sang, it was... There was a lot of funny things that
happened during the show. (Jimmy:) Do you have to give him your Mark Twain Prize? Is it
like the Stanley Cup? (Bill:) No, I don't think so. I didn't bring it. It's a bad thing to
pack it's like a coffee table book it's a little heavy. (Jimmy:) Yeah, I've got currently
I've got it holding a door open or something. There's been some really great
people that got it. (Jimmy:) Oh, yeah I'm just getting a text, they're saying
that they need your Mark Twain Prize back, that it's supposed to go to Dave.
(Bill:) Alright. Fedex, fedex.
Dave seems to be medicated. I don't know, I don't know if we can explain it in any
other way. Seems like you've got the proper medication now. (Bill:) It's either, it
could be medication or it could be a preexisting that's just exploded, but he's...
(Jimmy:) It''s possible. (Bill:) He's got more time to himself, you know
he was a very hardworking guy and, you know, the shows you guys do, you got to
get up at dawn and work all day to get it right, and you know there's a lot of
work that goes into it and to be free of that, it's like a—there's being
a sort of semi permanent vacation, you know, they have something like a vacation from
not from your problems, but from that work, from that... and it was, he
took it very seriously, the responsibility, these guys take it very
seriously to have that job, and the people that work for them do too. (Jimmy:) It's
the most important job in the world. (Bill:) In the world. (Laughter)
I think David Letterman is worthy of honor, if you like television, I mean what else
are you gonna... (Bill:) If you're gonna be watching television anyway, there probably,
there's really not going to be anything better to find.