Debut of Late Night with David Letterman

NBC kept Letterman on its payroll to try him in a different time slot. Late Night with David Letterman debuted February 1, 1982; the first guest was Bill Murray. Murray went on to become one of Letterman's most recurrent guests, guesting on his later CBS show's celebration of his 30th anniversary in late-night television, which aired January 31, 2012, and on the final CBS show, which aired May 20, 2015. The show ran Monday through Thursday nights at 12:30 a.m. Eastern Time, immediately following The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. It was seen as edgy and unpredictable, and soon developed a cult following, particularly among college students. Letterman's reputation as an acerbic interviewer was borne out in verbal sparring matches with Cher, who even called him an 'asshole' on the show, Shirley MacLaine, Charles Grodin, and Madonna. The show also featured comedy segments and running characters, in a style heavily influenced by the 1950s and 1960s programs of Steve Allen. The show often featured quirky, genre-mocking regular features, including 'Stupid Pet Tricks' (which had its origins on Letterman's morning show), 'Stupid Human Tricks', dropping various objects off the roof of a five-story building, demonstrations of unorthodox clothing (such as suits made of Alka-Seltzer, Velcro, and suet), a recurring Top 10 list, the Monkey-Cam (and the Audience Cam), a facetious letter-answering segment, several 'Films by My Dog Bob' in which a camera was mounted on Letterman's own dog (often with comic results) and Small Town News, all of which moved with Letterman to CBS.