Editing Late Show with David Letterman (section)

==Guest hosts==
In 2000, after Letterman had quintuple bypass surgery, the ''Late Show Backstage'' was aired. This featured many celebrities reminiscing about their experiences as guests on his show. [[Charles Grodin]] (February 7), [[Regis Philbin]] (February 8 and 10), Bandleader [[Paul Shaffer]] (February 9 and 11), [[Drew Barrymore]] (February 14), [[David Brenner]] (February 15), [[Tom Snyder]] (February 16 and 17) (Snyder hosted ''[[The Late Late Show (American talk show)|The Late Late Show]]'' from 1995 to 1999), and [[Tom Arnold (actor)|Tom Arnold]] (February 18) were among those who hosted. These interviews were interspersed with past footage. Previously, only reruns without any special introductions had been aired since Letterman's temporary leave from the show began on January 15.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2000/02/05/2000-02-05_dave_pals_to_cover_for_him_w.html |location=New York |work=Daily News |title=Dave Pals To Cover For Him While He Heals |date=February 5, 2000 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100611085910/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2000/02/05/2000-02-05_dave_pals_to_cover_for_him_w.html |archive-date=June 11, 2010  }}</ref>

Letterman returned on a limited basis on February 18, in a show which premiered three days later. To ease his transition back to air, temporary guest hosts carried the show. [[Bill Cosby]] (February 22), [[Kathie Lee Gifford]] (February 24), [[David Brenner]] (February 29), [[Nathan Lane]] (March 2), [[Janeane Garofalo]] (March 7).<ref>{{cite web| url= https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106053/trivia |title= Janeane Garofalo |work= [[IMDb]] }}{{unreliable source?|date= May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,26334,617380,00.html |title=Gifford to Leave |work=People |date=October 21, 1998 |access-date=May 15, 2011 |archive-date=January 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111125111/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,26334,617380,00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> filled in on the first week.<ref>{{cite web |last=Barnhart |first=Aaron |title=Guest-Host Concept Will Ease Letterman's Work Load |url=http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2000/02/guesthost_conce.html |date=February 16, 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927114936/http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2000/02/guesthost_conce.html |archive-date=September 27, 2011 |publisher=KansasCity.com |access-date=September 20, 2015}}</ref>

In February and March 2003, Letterman missed 14 shows due to [[shingles]]. Letterman had various guest hosts during his illness-inflicted absence: [[Bruce Willis]] (February 26), [[John McEnroe]] (February 27), [[Regis Philbin]] (February 28), [[Whoopi Goldberg]] (March 10), [[Vince Vaughn]] (March 11), [[Elvis Costello]] (March 12), [[Will Ferrell]] (March 13), [[Megan Mullally]] (March 14), [[Brad Garrett]] (March 17), [[Tom Dreesen]] (March 18), [[Bonnie Hunt]] (March 19), [[Paul Shaffer]] (March 24), [[Bill Cosby]] (March 25), and [[Luke Wilson]] (March 26).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,625611,00.html|title=Letterman Stressed Out with Shingles|work=[[People (magazine)|People]]|access-date=July 19, 2015|archive-date=July 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722111447/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,625611,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In June 2003, Letterman had guest hosts on Fridays. They included [[Tom Arnold (actor)|Tom Arnold]] (June 6), [[Tom Green]] (June 13), [[Kelsey Grammer]] (June 20), and [[Jimmy Fallon]] (June 27).<ref name="usatoday-breaks">{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2003-06-27-letterman-breaks_x.htm |work=USA Today |title=David Letterman Ending his Friday Summer Breaks |date=June 27, 2003 |access-date=May 7, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/72051/11tunesontv#Tuesday |date=March 10, 2003 |title=Music-Related TV Listings for March 10–16, 2003. |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=April 8, 2014}}</ref> Letterman's weekly absence caused the ratings deficit between his show and Leno's to increase, so Letterman ended this experiment a month after it began.<ref name="usatoday-breaks" />

Paul Shaffer hosted January 19, 2005, when Letterman went to receive an award for his racing team's victory in the [[2004 Indianapolis 500]].<ref>[[Paul Shaffer#Collaboration with David Letterman]]</ref>{{Circular reference|date=February 2021}}

On March 20, 2007, Letterman fell ill less than an hour before the show started, and scheduled guest [[Adam Sandler]] took his place as host. Actor [[Don Cheadle]], Sandler's co-star in the film ''[[Reign Over Me]]'', appeared as a guest on a moment's notice.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/adam-sandler-saves-day-for-letterman/|title=Adam Sandler Saves Day For Letterman|website=cbsnews.com|date=March 20, 2007 }}</ref>