Letterman Words Come Back to Haunt on CNN
Will David Letterman jump to ABC? Not if the Dave of five years ago has anything to say about it.
CNN Saturday repeated a May 1996 edition of “Larry King Live” in which King asked Letterman whether he’d ever jump networks again, repeating his 1993 leap from NBC to CBS.
“No,” Letterman emphatically told King. “I will do this show on CBS for as long as I want to, and for as long as the network wants me to, and as long as the vast North American viewing public will stand for it.”
The gap-toothed comic also said that whenever he did sign off CBS, he’d likely do so by noting he would “never be able to repay my gratitude to (CBS).” As for ABC, Letterman took a swipe at his could-be future home, mocking an episode of “Good Morning America” broadcast from a Disney Store.
“They devoted the entire two-hour show to the opening of a Disney merchandising outlet!” Letterman said. “Now is that a two-hour news story? Absolutely.”
Meanwhile, Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart — frequently mentioned as a potential Letterman replacement or an ABC plan B — poked fun at the whole latenight controversy during his opening monologue as host of this weekend’s “Saturday Night Live”
“I just want to clarify about those rumors: Yes, I would — I would do anything: I would do Dave, Leno, Conan, anybody who wants to leave,” he quipped. “Willard Scott — you tired of waving at old people? I’ll take that. I work on basic cable. Do you understand what I’m saying?”