David Letterman Essays - Late Show With David Letterman,

David Letterman David Letterman Anyone that has met, seen, heard of, or listened to David Letterman can immediately tell he has a likable and humorous personality. Anyone studying him can see that his ?clowning,? as he called it, is more than simple clowning in its accepted sense. In inventing weird disasters and making up places that did not exist, which he did quite often as a weather man for channel 13, he was indulging himself in another facet of his complicated humor. It was ?nonsense?-nothing more, nothing less. And the nonsense that David found most compatible with his sense of humor was fragile, soap-bubble thin, and as transparent as butterfly wings. This easygoing, laid back sense of humor has brought him were he is today. On the other hand, anyone that has met Garrett Scharton has more than likely been stung by his sarcastic, witty remarks. His sense of humor, derived from his ever- changing childhood, has taught him to always ?be on his toes.? Garrett's hardships in his early years have opened his eyes to see the lighter side of everything to keep his sanity. This sometimes gets in his way of experiencing new things. The lingering insecurities in the back of his mind, which are shadowed by his unsurpassed wit, put a wall in front of anyone trying to get close. David Letterman and Garrett Scharton's sense of humor are comparable in two ways. David's peachy, childish remarks surprise even the most intelligent of observers. He cracks jokes, plays pranks, and ?clowns around,? to have fun. He makes people laugh to hear them have a good time. While Garrett, stings with words to keep people at a distance. David jokes around to have fun, while Garrett does it for protection. All throughout his life David performed sub-par academically compared to his older and younger sisters. His ?C? average convinced him to lower his goal for going to Indiana State, and settle for Ball State. His less than professional training as a radio talk show host gave him a chance to find his own, special angle to look at news, politics, and daily life. He now gives a lot of credit for his successful career to Ball State. In 1985, to show his appreciation to Ball State, he funded a scholarship that is eligible for ?C? students only. He also has given $24,285 to the telecommunications department for new state of the art equipment. There were three children-two girls and one boy. David was the middle sibling, bracketed between two girls, Janice and Gretchen. The sisters did well in school, especially Gretchen; David did not perform academically as well as they did. But it was obvious that he was intelligent. When David Letterman was about eight years old he was just beginning to set himself apart from his peer group of other eight-year-olds. He looked no different than any of the other kids in the Broad Ripple section of Indianapolis, Indiana, but in his psyche he was developing into what would become a jokester and buffoon in his college years and a world-famous talk-show host in his maturity The children attended public school 55, which was well within walking distance. There David made friends with several of the boys, but did not become any kind of playground leader or classroom star. If anything he was the exact opposite of a star. When I think about why anyone should read about David Letterman the first reason that comes to mind is perseverance. In all things this is most self evident in his hardships contrasted to his successes. David had less than desirable grades, a less than desirable education, a less than desirable marriage and a less than desirable situation. He settled for a less than desirable college, and worked for a less than desirable news station. But he stuck with it, and look where he is now. Sitting on top of the world, smoking cigars through the space between his teeth laughing and having a good time every night at 12:30 am. I think the best thing that David Letterman ever accomplished was graduating from Ball State. He got exposure to performing under pressure, strict bosses, deadlines, and most importantly airtime. David got exposed to things that he would