Editing David Letterman (section)

=== Move to Los Angeles ===
[[File:The Comedy Store.jpg|alt=|thumb|Letterman's comedic career took hold in the 1970s at [[The Comedy Store]] in [[Los Angeles]]]]
In 1975, encouraged by his then-wife Michelle and several of his [[Sigma Chi]] fraternity brothers, Letterman moved to [[Los Angeles]], California, with the hope of becoming a comedy writer.<ref>Gail Koch. "Letterman Evolved from Struggling Radio Host to Star", ''Ball State Daily News'', February 1, 2002.</ref> He and Michelle packed their belongings in his pickup truck and headed west.<ref>{{cite news|title=Piers Morgan Tonight: Regis Talks to David Letterman|url=https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/pmt/date/2012-06-02/segment/01| access-date=August 22, 2012|publisher=CNN}} Airdate June 2, 2012, Regis Philbin, guest host. Letterman: "In 1975 I did that. My wife and I did that, put everything in the truck and went to California."</ref> As of 2012, he still owned the truck.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=August–September 2012|title=Top 10 Things Fans Don't Know About David Letterman|magazine=AARP The Magazine|location=Washington, DC|publisher=AARP|page=13|quote=9. Still has the pickup he drove to Hollywood as a young comedy writer}}</ref> In Los Angeles, he began performing comedy at [[The Comedy Store]].<ref name="walker2012">{{cite web|title=How I Discovered Jay Leno and David Letterman|first1=Jimmie|last1= Walker|author-link1=Jimmie Walker|first2=Sal| last2= Manna|date= July 12, 2012 |url=https://slate.com/culture/2012/07/jimmie-walker-how-i-discovered-jay-leno-and-david-letterman.html | work= [[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]| access-date=May 30, 2022| quote= Sitting on the couch would be David Letterman next to Jay Leno next to Paul Mooney. Snacking on the food might be Robert Schimmel, Richard Jeni, Louie Anderson, and Elayne Boosler. Young Byron Allen would be trying to ignore the fact that his mother was in the kitchen waiting to drive him home. There were others whose names would never be recognizable to the public because they were not star performers, such as Wayne Kline, Marty Nadler, Jeff Stein, Jack Handey, Steve Oedekerk, and Larry Jacobson, but who would soon write for some of the most popular sitcoms and late-night talk shows in television history. All of them—all then unknowns—would gather at my home from one to five times a week because they were on my writing staff, commissioned to pen jokes for my stand-up act.}}</ref> [[Jimmie Walker]] saw him on stage; with an endorsement from [[George Miller (comedian)|George Miller]], Letterman joined a group of comedians whom Walker hired to write jokes for his stand-up act, a group that at various times also included [[Jay Leno]], [[Paul Mooney (comedian)|Paul Mooney]], [[Robert Schimmel]], [[Richard Jeni]], [[Louie Anderson]], [[Elayne Boosler]], [[Byron Allen]], [[Jack Handey]], and [[Steve Oedekerk]].<ref name="walker2012"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2010/03/the-late-night-hosts-before-they-were-big.html|title=The Early David Letterman 1967–1980 Beware the Blog|publisher=wfmu.org|first=Kliph|last=Nesteroff|date=2010-03-07|access-date=November 6, 2011}}</ref>

By the summer of 1977, Letterman was a writer and regular on the six-week summer series ''The [[Starland Vocal Band]] Show'', broadcast on CBS.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUabP1JDCZA|title=1977 'Afternoon Delight' clip from The Starland Vocal Band show|publisher=YouTube|author=mickstadium|date=July 15, 2011|access-date=November 6, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908113731/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUabP1JDCZA|archive-date=September 8, 2013}}</ref> He hosted a 1977 pilot for a game show called ''The Riddlers''<ref>{{cite web|title=The Riddlers with David Letterman (1977)|url=http://classicshowbiz.blogspot.com/2007/04/riddlers-1977-with-host-david-letterman.html|publisher=classictelevisionshowbiz|date=April 8, 2007|access-date=November 6, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bk6zFrTYMk|title=David Letterman on "PASSWORD PLUS+ 1979"|publisher=YouTube|date=June 29, 2010|access-date=November 6, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908103557/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bk6zFrTYMk |archive-date=September 8, 2013 }}</ref> (which was never picked up), and co-starred in the [[Barry Levinson]]-produced comedy special ''[[Peeping Times]]'', which aired in January 1978. Later that year, Letterman was a cast member on [[Mary Tyler Moore]]'s variety show, ''[[Mary (1978 TV series)|Mary]]''.<ref>{{YouTube|zoAHLaNMWMo| Mary Open (1978)}}</ref> He made a guest appearance on ''[[Mork & Mindy]]'' (as a parody of [[Erhard Seminars Training|EST]] leader [[Werner Erhard]])<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFavsfq3wjo |title=Mork & Letterman |publisher=YouTube |date=November 14, 2007 |access-date=November 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130203052258/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFavsfq3wjo |archive-date=February 3, 2013 }}</ref> and appearances on game shows such as ''[[The $20,000 Pyramid]]'',<ref>{{YouTube| title=The $20,000 pyramid| id=kSlWxg-WJQo}}</ref> ''[[The Gong Show]]'', ''[[Hollywood Squares]]'', ''[[Password Plus]]'',<ref>{{cite web|title=David Letterman plays Alphabetics 1979 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTkTdZx1haA |publisher=YouTube |date=June 30, 2010 |access-date=November 6, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908113619/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTkTdZx1haA |archive-date=September 8, 2013 }}</ref> and ''[[Liar's Club]]'', as well as the Canadian cooking show ''[[Celebrity Cooks]]'' (November 1977), talk shows such as ''[[90 Minutes Live]]'' (February 24<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/david-lettermans-sharp-humour |title=David Letterman's sharp humour – CBC Archives}}</ref> and April 14, 1978),<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2667189809|title=From the archives: David Letterman 1978 |date=May 14, 2015}}</ref> and ''[[The Mike Douglas Show]]'' (April 3, 1979 and February 7, 1980). He was also [[screen test]]ed for the lead role in the 1980 film ''[[Airplane!]]'', a role that eventually went to [[Robert Hays]].<ref>{{cite AV media|people=[[Jon Davison]], [[Jim Abrahams]], [[Jerry Zucker]], [[David Zucker (filmmaker)|David Zucker]]|title=Airplane! audio commentary|medium=DVD|publisher=Paramount Pictures|time=9:50–10:00|isbn=0-7921-6688-4}}</ref>

Letterman's brand of dry, sarcastic humor caught the attention of scouts for ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson]]'', and he was soon a regular guest on the show. He became a favorite of Carson and was a regular guest host for the show beginning in 1978. Letterman credits Carson as the person who influenced his career the most.<ref name="rose">{{cite AV media|url=http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/6364 |title=An interview with David Letterman |medium=TV-series |publisher=[[Charlie Rose (TV series)|Charlie Rose]], [[WNET]] |date=February 26, 1996 |access-date=November 14, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090218144132/http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/6364 |archive-date=February 18, 2009 }}</ref>