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EXCLUSIVE: I’ve just learned that David Letterman and his producers yesterday morning announced to his Late Show staff that they will be paid through the end of the year even though the show isn’t on the air during the writers strike. 
“Dave’s not doing this to get good press, which is why it hasn’t been reported for almost two days,” a source tells me. “This is really significant because, as opposed to all of the other shows, this money comes out of Dave’s own pocket.” When Late Show stopped making new episodes last week, CBS ceased paying Letterman’s production company on November 5th. And, in case you were wondering, Dave owns Late Show while Jay does not own The Tonight Show as Johnny Carson did. (FYI, earlier this month, a news report claimed Jon Stewart had made a similar offer to pay his staff through the holidays, but then his rep said it was untrue.)
Yes, Worldwide Pants employees are getting paid. However, most of the technical crew for the Late Show and Late Late Show are CBS employees, some of which are non-staff but per diem, even though they work on regular basis. These employees (at least in Los Angeles) have been on the street since day 1 of the strike. CBS does not want to pay them. They’re like the bastard child nobody wants to claim.
Just a reminder that striking Late Show writers Eric Stangel, Justin Stangel, Bill Scheft, Steve Young, Matt Roberts, Tom Ruprecht, Jeremy Weiner, Lee Ellenberg, Joe Grossman and Bob Borden have begun a blog about the writers walkout. (Here’s an LA Weekly column I wrote about Letterman, Dave The Brave.)
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Happy to see you go, Tired of Political Middle Fingers
When faced by facts, folks like you obfuscate them by turning on the snark, and turning up your volume which unfortunately works on the uneducated
Incidentally, Letterman is a mid-Westerner from Indiana who earned every penny, unlike Bush. Even Bush’s father doesn’t approve of his Iraq war decision.
Do you want a country in which you cannot criticize your president .. hmmm .. sounds a bit Communist, Mother Russia-ish. How American are you?
Great article, Nikki.
I love David Letterman.
Always have.
Always will.
The best.
If he is not doing this to get press, why do we know about it, at all? I am not knocking him for this, certainly, and it would be nice for the other multi-millionaire showrunners and creators to do the same for their hard-working support staffs they owe a lot of their success to. But I am sure that if he wanted this to stay a secret between him and his staff, it would have been a secret between him and his staff.
But, now that this is out, if only the others mentioned above followed his example.
I have an enormous amount of respect for Mr. Letterman.
Not surprised. He’s not exactly a fan of the big studios and he has a history of fighting that goes back to a comedians strike against the Improve and Comedy Store in the late 70s.
On the other side of the coin, Craig Ferguson was pretty adamant about going on without writers and actually said that he hoped he could prove the show would work without writers, so when the strike was over he wouldn’t have to hire them back.
Guess that’s not going to happen because today the show found out Dave is shutting it down.
Well at least he’ll have some good PR going for him when he comes back to work in a few weeks.
I knew there was a reason I LOVE DAVE!! :0)
What a cool guy.
I’m a writer. Dave Letterman is a friend to writers and not a dumb person. He sees very clearly what’s going on and knows what’s at stake. He sets a great example for folks like Ellen D. by doing the right thing because that’s what his heart tells him to do. If Ellen were thinking with her heart, she’d be right there with big Dave, standing behind her writers and supporting her staff as we enter the holiday season. Kudos to Dave.
The longer the conglomerates give the WGA to think about it, the more everyone, not just writers, is starting to see that the resids from internet are probably a ton of stinkin’ money. Otherwise, why would the congloms take this road to protect what they call ‘their share’ of 100%?
Stay strong writers. It could be a long haul but in the end we’ll get a fair deal. Our leaders are doing the right thing and more and more folks are starting to see who the bad guys are in this story.
And thank you, David Letterman.
-MJR
The shine is off of these late night hosts. Well, whatever shine was left. We’re consistently told how witty guys like Stewart, Colbert, and Letterman are, but without the truly creative men and women behind the scenes who put the words in their mouths, they can’t perform.
It’s clear that they don’t have what it takes to write monologues and funny skits that pepper their shows. It’s also clear that they evidently can’t even conduct an interview without someone else writing the questions for them.
Here’s the the writers – you guys and gals are needed. In he meanwhile, I’ll watch my DVDs of classic tv shows and classic movies, and just weather the storm. Doubtful I’ll be coming back to the sardonic empty suits who have demonstrated they just don’t have what it takes.
Aww, Dave you so rock! You make this Hoosier proud. Note to Ellen, this is the way you support your staff And the strike at the same time.
Kudos for Dave! He’s the best. Someone is finally looking out for the crew.
Now if only the rest will follow his lead. Even if they are only helping out the crew for an extra few weeks, it makes a big difference.
It should be noted that Dave owns THE LATE SHOW while Jay does not own THE TONIGHT SHOW as Carson did. Jay’s logo is slapped on the end.
Jay has already told his staff everyone will be taken care of and not to worry but I think they’re confused as to what that means exactly.
.
Dave’s a class act. Not only is he backing up his writers and taking care of his staff, but if it were up to him nobody would even know about it.
So many writers look up to Dave. Now you know another reason why.
ANON wrote, “If he is not doing this to get press, why do we know about it, at all? I am not knocking him for this, certainly, and it would be nice for the other multi-millionaire showrunners and creators to do the same for their hard-working support staffs they owe a lot of their success to. But I am sure that if he wanted this to stay a secret between him and his staff, it would have been a secret between him and his staff.”
If Dave’s staff is anything like the other shows, and I’m sure it is, there are over 100 people who work there. That means this was announced to 100 people yesterday morning who were worried about their jobs. Good news travels fast. I’m sure those people were quite excited and relieved. The surprising thing is that this took as long as it did to reach the public. Thanks for spreading some good news Nikki.
Letterman is the best in the business. None of the other latenight guys will ever match his charisma.
He has agrred to pay his writers until the end of the year. At this point it seems 100% that the strike goes that long.
So the real question is: do his WGA writers cash the checks he is passing out when he is back on the air.
That’s awesome! Craig Ferguson is a dick, but Dave is the man! Thank you Dave!
What a guy! Dave is first class! I hope the strike ends soon. I miss him!
Dave is the best. I have always preferred him and his show to Jay and I never understood the ratings advantage of Jay. This is just another reason for me now to continue on the same preference path.
He is the best. class act all the way.
Let’s face it…Dave GETS it. He’s a businessman and he he’s done VERY well, thanks for asking. He understands that the internet pot of gold needs to be shared with those who make it all possible. The writers.
God bless ya Dave. And Craig can check out tomorrow..nobody would miss him at all, except that overnight Master control operator.
Re: Vinnie Vegas,
I’ve heard that same argument before. However, I think it is unfair. First, I’m under the impression that Leno, Letterman, etc., are members of the WGA, therefore, even if they wrote their own material, they would be breaking the strike. Also, even the funniest person alive would have trouble writing an hour of material for an hour show, 5 days a week. Finally, “It’s also clear that they evidently can’t even conduct an interview without someone else writing the questions for them.”- Have you seen these shows before? Clearly Leno is not having someone right questions for him, and if he does, then he needs to get new writers because he’s one of the worst interviewers I’ve ever seen. And Letterman surely doesn’t have people writing for him. He is a great natural interviewer. Most importantly, are you suggesting they just go out and do hour-long interview sessions minus the monologues and comedy bits? Isn’t that what everyone is crucifying Ellen for? You just sound like a bitter, horribly uninformed person. Maybe instead of “going to the classic DVD’s” you could read a book or a newspaper. Might do you some good.
#
If he is not doing this to get press, why do we know about it, at all? I am not knocking him for this, certainly, and it would be nice for the other multi-millionaire showrunners and creators to do the same for their hard-working support staffs they owe a lot of their success to. But I am sure that if he wanted this to stay a secret between him and his staff, it would have been a secret between him and his staff.
But, now that this is out, if only the others mentioned above followed his example.
Comment by Anon — November 14, 2007 @ 2:36 pm
Still waiting on your point, Anon.
Mr. Letterman did a kind & noble thing. I’m very happy to know about it. So what if he didn’t want it to stay secret, for any # of reasons (sending a msg to the AMPTP, for example)?
If 1 of his staff decided it was too nice a gesture to remain secret, is that a problem?
If you’re truly not knocking him, then rejoice in this gentleman’s kindness & respect for, as you said yourself,”their hard-working support staffs they owe a lot of their success to” .
Pax.