On this day in 1993, the Late Show with David Letterman debuted on CBS! CBS hadn’t had much luck with late-night talk shows, so when David Letterman became available after a dispute with NBC, they jumped at the opportunity. They offered him a 3-year, $14 million per year contract, doubling his salary.
CBS also purchased the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City for $4 million, spending several more million to renovate it. After renovations, negotiation rights, and salaries, the total cost for CBS to acquire the show was $140 million.
Late Show‘s very first guest was Bill Murray, and the first musical guest was Billy Joel. Regis Philbin appeared on the show the most (150 times), followed by Marv Albert (126 times), and Jack Hanna (102 times). Darlene Love performed on the show 21 times, notably with her 19-year annual tradition of singing “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”.
David Letterman announced his retirement in 2014, and the last show aired on May 20, 2015. It was watched by more than 13 million people in the U.S. Bill Murray was his final guest. Stephen Colbert took over the show in 2015, and Letterman currently hosts the Netflix series My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman. Learn more here.