David Letterman

Born in April of 1947 in Indianapolis, Indiana, he had always admired his fathers way of being the center of attention and the life of the party. His Father, Harry, had a great way of telling jokes that Letterman was just awed by. Unfortunately, Letterman's dad died of a heart attack when Letterman was still fairly young.

Letterman's career started out right after college when he became a weatherman for a local television station. He was best known for the comical way he would announce the weather. He was a practical joker on the air that drove his bosses up a wall. He would congratulate tropical storms on becoming hurricanes and at times he would erase the state lines on the maps before he would start his report. Letterman did not stop with television though. He decided to try his hand in radio, where he hosted his first talk show.

In 1975, Letterman made the big move to Los Angeles to find his big break. He started out writing for sitcoms and doing small guest appearances on some of the shows as well as on a few game shows. Finally, in 1978, Letterman caught the eye of Johnny Carson and he became a regular guest host for someone that Letterman felt was an idol. Letterman had been watching Carson since he was 14-years-old and he credits Carson with his success in his own show. Carson would give jokes to Letterman after he retired and right up to his death.