Top Ten Movies Featuring David Letterman (and/or one of his former employees)

Tonight will be David Letterman's last broadcast of The Late Show. Although I haven't watched it regularly in the past five years, I will be watching the final episode.

I remember discovering David Letterman on his old NBC show, Late Night, when I was finally old enough to stay up late. Before then, I had only been able to watch a bit of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, whom I thought was very funny. When I saw Late Night with David Letterman for the first time, it was a game-changer. Never before had I seen such a TV show. It was fresh, it was hip, it was innovative. Not only was Letterman edgy, he was backed up by band leader Paul Shaffer's The World's Most Dangerous Band and the skits were off the wall. This is where I would see my first Top Ten List. It's also where I would discover the talents of Chris Elliott and Larry "Bud" Melman. It was at that time, my favourite TV show ever.

I would watch Letterman for the remainder of his time at NBC and then follow him over to CBS.  The show changed a bit and was showed at an earlier time but it was still the best, in my opinion. In the battle of Leno vs Letterman, I was in Letterman's corner each and every night. What I enjoyed most about Letterman is he was never afraid to bite the hand that feeds him.

Cabin Boy

It stayed like that until about five years ago.

When I think of Letterman's show the past five years, I think of a once-great, aging athlete who has hung on a little too long. He just doesn't have enough heat on his fastball like he used to. He often seemed uninterested in delivering the nightly Top Ten List. It looked like he was phoning it in.

Does this mean his previous decades of work should be discounted? Of course not. I've enjoyed Letterman's humour for nearly 30 years. He's a hall-of-famer in my eyes. When he retires, I will fondly remember all the laughs he's given me and I will be watching all his funniest moments on YouTube. His overall body of work speaks for itself.

Top Ten List
From the home office in Auckland, New Zealand, here is tonight's top ten list.

Tonight's Topic: Top Ten Movies Featuring David Letterman (and/or one of his former employees)
These are films that feature appearances by former Letterman employees and/or Dave himself. For an authentic Late Show experience, read the list from the bottom to top.

1. Cabin Boy (Chris Elliott stars and Dave has a small part as "Old Salt" (credited as Earl Hofert)
2. Man On The Moon (Dave recreates his interview with Andy Kauffman (Jim Carrey) from The Late Show with David Letterman
3. Beavis and Butthead Do America (Dave voices the character of a Mötley Crüe roadie (credited as Earl Hofert)
4. Private Parts (Dave as himself)
5. Groundhog Day (Former Late Night with David Letterman writer and performer, Chris Elliott plays Larry the cameraman)
6. Scrooged (Paul Shaffer, bandleader of the CBS Orchestra (formerly The World's Most Dangerous Band at NBC) makes an appearance as a street musician)
7. This Is Spinal Tap (Paul Shaffer plays promoter Artie Fufkin)
8. There's Something About Mary (Chris Elliott plays Dom “Woogie” Woganowski, who has a fetish for women′s shoes and a problem with hives)
9. Osmosis Jones (Chris Elliott portrays zookeeper Bob Detorre who is also the brother and co-worker of Bill Murray's character)
10. Nothing Lasts Forever (Calvert DeForest, who was known as "Larry 'Bud' Melman" on Late Night with David Letterman, has a small part)

Make no mistake. There are way better movies on that list than Cabin Boy. However, the scene between Chris Elliott and Dave is reminiscent of the many skits they did on Letterman's show with Elliott's absurd humour, which I enjoyed tremendously.

In the movie, Letterman is credited as Earl Hofert in the role of Old Salt in Fishing Village. Earl Hofert was his maternal grandfather. This was also the name he used when he voiced a Mötley Crüe roadie in Beavis and Butthead Do America.

The competition for Letterman's part in Cabin Boy was steep. Have a look at some of the great actors who auditioned for the same role.

Coincidentally, four of the movies in the list star Bill Murray, whom over the years has been Letterman's go-to-guest whenever Dave has launched a new show or ended an old one. It was no different this time around as Murray was Dave's final interview on The Late Show.

In addition to Dave recreating his talk show interview with Jim Carrey as Andy Kauffman in Man On The Moon, Paul Shaffer and The World's Most Dangerous Band also appear briefly. Compare the recreation to the real Late Night interview.

Under the name Earl Hofert, Dave voiced Mötley Crüe Roadie #1 whom we can also assume is Butthead's father in Beavis and Butthead Do America.

Dave appears as himself in Howard Stern's Private Parts.

Chris Elliott appears as Larry, the cameraman for Bill Murray's TV reporter character in Groundhog Day

Paul Shaffer can be seen briefly as part of Miles Davis' group in Scrooged

Shaffer has a much larger role as Polymer Records promoter Artie Fufkin in This Is Spinal Tap

Chris Elliott plays the best friend of Ben Stiller's character in There's Something About Mary

Chris Elliott and Bill Murray play zookeeper brothers in Osmosis Jones

In Nothing Lasts Forever, Calvert DeForest (aka Larry "Bud" Melman) appears as a Lunarcruiser, which is another way of describing a passenger on a bus flying to the moon.

This is an obscure 1984 movie that was never released despite having stars such as Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd appear in the film. The star of the movie was Zach Galligan who also starred in Gremlins and its sequel.

I think it's fitting that this is the last movie on the list because just like David Letterman and his many TV talk shows, no matter how good they may be, nothing lasts forever.

Happy retirement, Dave!