Merrill was instrumental in Dave's professional life even dating back to his days as a stand-up. Late Night would not have been what it was without her input. Taking inspiration from Steve Allen, they created something extraordinary. We Lettermanphiles thank you Don!
I feel like Merrill was both successful and ahead of her time. The early video stuff like The Shame of the City and Just Lamps/Just Shades... she was doing Daily Show segments 15 years before there was a Daily Show. People didn’t understand the jokes then, but in today’s meme culture she’d be huge.
Clearly Dave's comedic true love 🙂 Also, really appreciated the monologue intro in the first clip, definitely missed this energy on the show by around 2005 lol...Dave still had a lot of love for being on CBS and being a free agent away from the claws on NBC in 1994.
Just want to add that I love the editing you do. It's very smooth. Extra gags, as much music is sensible, context from other shows. This channel is an absolute gem, and as much praise you get in the comments, its not enough.
@@dongiller The context is essential, I always appreciate that you go through the trouble to include moments prior and after that are relevant to the collection you're making.
Classic! Merrill is adorable! They're so cute together! There will never be another another Dave. He's pure joy. Sadly he's not on TV nearly enough now. 😂
Man this is entertaining after knowing their history. It keeps swinging violently between sweet, affectionate to caustic and brutal. They're both funny and aren't afraid to use humor to ocassionally take each other down. Its always threatening to get ugly.
No. Carson and Parr were the actual "golden age" There kind of work had never been seen before, ever. (The originals). DL borrowed a lot of the original stuff From Steve Allen and Carr and of course, DL's most respected mentor, Johnny Carson. DL's stuff was derivative and original at the same time. I still miss him so much. It's sad knowing how troubled he was during the best of his work, I'm glad I didn't know it then. In spite of the 'father time' beard , he seems better. Saw him with Kim Kardashian the other day (on some entertainment show) A seg. for MNGNNI. Just seeing them together,I could hear LD's sarcastic voice over describing how 'he and KKW had eloped , etc,..."
@@dgibson2314 the point is, regardless of Carson, Parr, etc, or Snyder, what the team including Letterman and Paul did with a talk show has never really been seen before or since. It was lightening in a bottle. Carson of course is the gold standard. Nobody touched that. But 80s letterman in the late night slot was absolute gold. David doesnt know what's happening, Larry "Bud" on location, the stupid throwing stuff through the window, Chris Elliott being insane, weird guests. Nothing will beat the early, subversive, bizarre days of early 80s letterman. For many it will be a golden age. Deal w it.
@@kjkiefcakes1847 STEVE ALLEN didn't need a Paul S. He was Lettermann and Paul s. in one, an excellent musician and as well as comedian, and authored about 50 books, and wrote hundreds of songs, including his theme music for His show in the 1950's and early 60's, original host and creator of The Tonight Show, etc. ; lettermann admitted in the 80's to copying Allen's format / concept, etc. Steve Allen invented the wacky stunts, throwing stuff out on windows, etc. and never gets credit for it, lettermann does. Watch old films / videos of Steve Allen on his TV shows. Deal With That.
Wow, it's funny and awkward and adorable and a flaming train wreck all at once! You can see why the relationship sparked, and also why it was doomed... Thanks for posting this, Don!
This is as uncomfortable as it is charming. Two comedic geniuses who are able to lean into what they once loved, and grew to dislike, about each other for the utmost humor.
It's great to hear Merrill give a mention to "Bob and Stan," the dogs she and Dave had. Of all the great segments on the Late Night show, my #1 was "Dog Poetry" where one of the dogs would recite sonnets. (Okay..... it was done with voice-overs.)
In college I had some friends who took out an ad for actors for a short movie they were shooting one summer. They got so many headshots they could paper their living room with the best, and still had enough left over for a three foot tall stack. And Leonard Tepper had a place of honor, center of the room, eye level. When he started appearing on Letterman, that was, no kidding, a highlight of that year. (Never expected his voice to sound like that, though.)
a big part of daves comedy was him trying to embarrass his guest, funniest thing was it was usually him who ended up embarrassed. big part of what I love abt the show.
Few things: A. I could watch them talk for hours. If Dave does a Season 2 of the Netflix show, he should have Merrill on. B. I wish Merrill had never left the show. Granted, she & Dave went through A LOT. It woulda been awkward, I'm guessin'. But still, if she had anchored the writing staff forever that would've been great. C. God, New York in the 90's was the best.
Totally agree that they're great together, but there's no way he'd have her on at this point. When his scandal broke she said "Aw Dave, you promised me I'd be the only one you ever cheated on." And she revealed that she'd been asked in the early 2000s to come and write for the woman involved in Dave's scandal. She torched the bridge, which she had every right to. I was appalled that he didn't mention her on the last show. I hope she was at least in that final montage (which made me break down and sob later as I described it to a friend)
@@johndalton3180 She was probably just too sharp and quick for him, but certainly a marvel to watch. I doubt there's much animosity and I wouldn't read too much into those comments. And Letterman and his wife are still married and have clearly moved on from that "situation", so it's all water under the bridge by now.
Wow yeah the third one really goes off the rails. Uncomfortable to watch. She seems put off by his "everyone else does" comment, which leads her to the overly caustic "aside from the lovely songs you wrote for me" comment. Once he suggests she sit in the audience there's no going back. She REPEATS the "songs you wrote for me" to uncomfortable silence, her way of saying "you're not getting to me." The diary page thing is so uncomfortable. He used to cheat on her, and life with him was very difficult, so that's was she was basically referring to by even taking it out. I'm surprised they allowed her to come back, and surprised she agreed to come back the next year
You have the best collections, Don!! Is there any chance of getting one that compiles all the Ball Get Out of My Nachos segments? It drives me nuts that I can only find small clip online of it actually happening when I know they did funny parodies like the stage production and touring company.
I've found only three "Get out of my Nachos" bits, from April 9, April 27, and June 9, 1999, the last with F. Murray Abraham. Only the April 27 is sharable at the moment; will have to first digitize the first and third before preparing an upload. Found five parody performances, all of which will have to first be digitized, etc. 1. Cast from "Homecoming" May 5, 1998 2. Cast from "One Small Step" May 19, 1998 3. Cast from "But Boy, Could He Sing" December 29, 1998 4. Fresh Step February 4, 1999 5. Fresh Step 2 March 3, 1999 And thanks!
LIstening to them recount their stories totally reminds me of Bob Hope's song "Thanks for the Memories" from the Big Broadcast... that song is two people, now divorced who are still able to remember the good times they had to cover. There's something very lovely about this. (here is the song fo reference ruclips.net/video/nKgUq5dziEk/видео.html )
I was just thinking the other day I should look up videos of her appearances, because I remembered watching them when they were new. And it's like you read my mind.
Markoe is attractive and you have no idea what she is going to say which is a fabulously funny combination. i have never seen anyone able to handle dave the way she did. well done
Ah; unlikely. At some point I'll put them up. I uploaded #1 last year but have since acquired a much better source. Last year's upload: ruclips.net/video/pVQDD2X37uM/видео.html
She's hilarious, Dave's hilarious - it's great they were intimate - but it's obvious they'd eventually bite each other's head off: and I'm sure they knew it.
I don't think that was it at all. Dave was difficult, insecure, and unwilling to commit after, according to him, ruining his first marriage. Merrill always loved him, maybe still does.
@@cultfilmfreakreviews Cite ONE "little girl." I'll wait. Dave was famous for being very funny, and for helming the best late night show on TV, which made him attractive to women. He was also fiercely loyal to his staff, many of whom were women with whom he was not involved, such as Barbara Gaines, a gay woman, who, in her 30 yrs with him rose from receptionist to executive producer.
Merrill didn't get any laughs until she directly referred to Dave and their history. I think she is a funny lady but I don't think the audience were laughing as much as they would have thought they would.
In the first segment she speaks of a dim-witted talk show host who can't recognize sarcasm. If you pause on the newspaper article you'll see she's talking about....Chris Matthews. Lol
I think she's a little bitter. That she enabled his incredible wealth without enjoying comparable wealth. When she is at least his peer at comedy and possibly funnier. Pretty sure she gave him body and soul and he gave her a little bit less. Hell, I'd be bitter too.
She doesn't give an inch. She's fantastic.
Merrill was instrumental in Dave's professional life even dating back to his days as a stand-up. Late Night would not have been what it was without her input. Taking inspiration from Steve Allen, they created something extraordinary. We Lettermanphiles thank you Don!
Mitchell Noland CRUCIAL
STEVE ALLEN
I LOVE that Paul and the CBSO chose "Use Ta Be My Girl" by the O'Jays 🤣
This interaction between Merrill and Dave is beyond priceless!! LOVE IT.
No kidding! It was also clear who was in charge. :-D Thank goodness they were "an item" c.1980.
@@plaws0 She's brilliant, and Letterman always needed a woman to put him in his place, and I bet she did it effortlessly, with humor.
@@bernlin2000 She really is.
She’s got him dialed in. This is great!
I feel like Merrill was both successful and ahead of her time. The early video stuff like The Shame of the City and Just Lamps/Just Shades... she was doing Daily Show segments 15 years before there was a Daily Show. People didn’t understand the jokes then, but in today’s meme culture she’d be huge.
Clearly Dave's comedic true love 🙂 Also, really appreciated the monologue intro in the first clip, definitely missed this energy on the show by around 2005 lol...Dave still had a lot of love for being on CBS and being a free agent away from the claws on NBC in 1994.
Just want to add that I love the editing you do. It's very smooth. Extra gags, as much music is sensible, context from other shows. This channel is an absolute gem, and as much praise you get in the comments, its not enough.
Thanks!! I sometimes get some grief for including the extra stuff, so it’s nice to hear from someone who gets why.
I would like to second what KJ said. Excellent work, Don!
@@WookieeBlaylock Third!!! You are a gem, Don Gillis! :-) Thank you for all your hard work putting these together.
@@dongiller The context is essential, I always appreciate that you go through the trouble to include moments prior and after that are relevant to the collection you're making.
I agree with the others.
This helped me figure out Dave started wearing glasses on the show between February and July of 1998.
They are so much alike, probably why they didn't work out as a couple. Imagine the 24/7 sarcasm.
Classic! Merrill is adorable! They're so cute together! There will never be another another Dave. He's pure joy. Sadly he's not on TV nearly enough now. 😂
Man this is entertaining after knowing their history. It keeps swinging violently between sweet, affectionate to caustic and brutal. They're both funny and aren't afraid to use humor to ocassionally take each other down. Its always threatening to get ugly.
I think you're overreacting. They are just making jokes for the audience. It's hardly brutal.
There's def an "I'm still tired of this person's shit." vibe from Merrill.
Certainly the most legit sexual tension I've seen on the show lol.
She’s too good for him. I say that as a lifelong Dave fan
She is so awesome and you can actually see her influence on Dave’s personality, I think…
The Post "Mr. Funny and Ex Gal Pal" / "parallel universe of stupid people" story is the best.
Thx so much for doing all this Don! I'm sure it means as much to others as it does me. I hope Dave has been made aware of this wonderful tribute.
You could tell there were still some feelings there.
for sure; they were lovers, friends, collaborators, not just a normal couple
Early 1980's Letterman with Merrill was the golden age of late night talk shows. Contrast with today's crap.
No. Carson and Parr were the actual "golden age" There kind of work had never been seen before, ever. (The originals). DL borrowed a lot of the original stuff From Steve Allen and Carr and of course, DL's most respected mentor, Johnny Carson. DL's stuff was derivative and original at the same time. I still miss him so much. It's sad knowing how troubled he was during the best of his work, I'm glad I didn't know it then. In spite of the 'father time' beard , he seems better. Saw him with Kim Kardashian the other day (on some entertainment show) A seg. for MNGNNI. Just seeing them together,I could hear LD's sarcastic voice over describing how 'he and KKW had eloped , etc,..."
@@dgibson2314 the point is, regardless of Carson, Parr, etc, or Snyder, what the team including Letterman and Paul did with a talk show has never really been seen before or since.
It was lightening in a bottle.
Carson of course is the gold standard. Nobody touched that.
But 80s letterman in the late night slot was absolute gold. David doesnt know what's happening, Larry "Bud" on location, the stupid throwing stuff through the window, Chris Elliott being insane, weird guests.
Nothing will beat the early, subversive, bizarre days of early 80s letterman.
For many it will be a golden age. Deal w it.
@@kjkiefcakes1847 Had it not been for Johnny Carson, there would be no David Letterman. Dave himself often said so.
@@dgibson2314 STEVE ALLEN
@@kjkiefcakes1847 STEVE ALLEN didn't need a Paul S. He was Lettermann and Paul s. in one, an excellent musician and as well as comedian, and authored about 50 books, and wrote hundreds of songs, including his theme music for His show in the 1950's and early 60's, original host and creator of The Tonight Show, etc. ; lettermann admitted in the 80's to copying Allen's format / concept, etc. Steve Allen invented the wacky stunts, throwing stuff out on windows, etc. and never gets credit for it, lettermann does. Watch old films / videos of Steve Allen on his TV shows. Deal With That.
Wow, it's funny and awkward and adorable and a flaming train wreck all at once! You can see why the relationship sparked, and also why it was doomed...
Thanks for posting this, Don!
Anyone notice the band playing "she used to be my girl" when Merrill walked out?
@@joeyday576 Nope. They played "Who Wrote the Book of Love".
22:55 What I wouldn't give to have that view again. Love these compilations!
I’m reading a book about David Letterman and Merrill had a huge part in making the DL show a success for many years.
Great videos , I’m glad this legacy lives on . They don’t make shows like this one any more.
"My version of flirting is I sit really really still and try not to spill anything on myself." Omg priceless.
This is as uncomfortable as it is charming. Two comedic geniuses who are able to lean into what they once loved, and grew to dislike, about each other for the utmost humor.
I remember watching the night Merrill brought out the diary page. It was REALLY awkward.
Only time I've ever seen Letterman physically *cringe* on his show. And would dearly love to see it again!
It's great to hear Merrill give a mention to "Bob and Stan," the dogs she and Dave had. Of all the great segments on the Late Night show, my #1 was "Dog Poetry" where one of the dogs would recite sonnets. (Okay..... it was done with voice-overs.)
They're all here:
Merrill Markoe "My Dog" Late Night Collection
ruclips.net/video/8QphVvaBXTQ/видео.html
LOL Paul playing "Who's Makin' Love (to your old lady)
I didn't recognize the song. That's hilarious.
I think they're playing the O'Jay's "Use Ta Be My Girl"
@@fosbury68 Either way it's still funny .
Merrills two appearances on Space Ghost Coast-to-Coast are great and worth checking out as well.
That’s where I first saw her, since I was born in the 90s and grew up watching that show when it was on. She was hilarious on Space Ghost.
They have the same sense of humor!! Lol
The band playing Ben Folds' song "Battle of Who Could Care Less" after her last appearance is some primo song selection.
I love that Paul selected “But it’s Alright” on her first appearance.
They played Prince's "When You Were Mine" for one of them.
And here we see why Leonard Tepper never quite filled the shoes of Calvert DeForest.
In college I had some friends who took out an ad for actors for a short movie they were shooting one summer. They got so many headshots they could paper their living room with the best, and still had enough left over for a three foot tall stack. And Leonard Tepper had a place of honor, center of the room, eye level. When he started appearing on Letterman, that was, no kidding, a highlight of that year. (Never expected his voice to sound like that, though.)
Irene Adler was the match for Sherlock Holmes. For Letterman, it was Merrill.
dave gets red as a lobster at the mention of
her name. down to earth fellow.
a big part of daves comedy was him trying to embarrass his guest, funniest thing was it was usually him who ended up embarrassed. big part of what I love abt the show.
Few things: A. I could watch them talk for hours. If Dave does a Season 2 of the Netflix show, he should have Merrill on. B. I wish Merrill had never left the show. Granted, she & Dave went through A LOT. It woulda been awkward, I'm guessin'. But still, if she had anchored the writing staff forever that would've been great. C. God, New York in the 90's was the best.
Totally agree that they're great together, but there's no way he'd have her on at this point. When his scandal broke she said "Aw Dave, you promised me I'd be the only one you ever cheated on." And she revealed that she'd been asked in the early 2000s to come and write for the woman involved in Dave's scandal. She torched the bridge, which she had every right to. I was appalled that he didn't mention her on the last show. I hope she was at least in that final montage (which made me break down and sob later as I described it to a friend)
@@johndalton3180 She was probably just too sharp and quick for him, but certainly a marvel to watch. I doubt there's much animosity and I wouldn't read too much into those comments. And Letterman and his wife are still married and have clearly moved on from that "situation", so it's all water under the bridge by now.
@@bernlin2000Dave is 76 years old his philandering days are long behind him
Merrill Markoe: One Fabulous Babe.
Does it make me weird that Merrill was my TV crush when I was a teenager?
Merrill you can't lob a change-up right down the middle of the plate 33:24 and then act surprised when Dave hits it out of the park.
Being a native New Yorker, seeing those bumpers with pictures of the Twin Towers at night is breaking my heart.
Good on you guys for not seeking revenge on Boston for letting it happen though.
"I've heard you make that noise. . . ." Great sparring partners.
Her sarcasm makes Letterman's look tame.
You have to wonder why Dave didn't marry this woman. She is so adorable and hilarious!
As if men have any say about who they marry. MM had no reason to marry a self-professed asshole.
@@dgibson2314 Merrill never got married to anyone.
Dave is so goddamn insecure he couldn’t handle being in a relationship with someone that is funnier than him
@@eddien01 I'm pretty sure that can be said of all men.
@@eddien01 He seemed to handle it for 10 years.
Don this is fantastic. Anyway you can put together a Harmony Korine compilation? That would be amazing.
In time.
There’s already one floating around RUclips.
it's like John Lennon joining Paul with The WIngs
Long time coming, brother Don. Can't wait to watch this one! Have you done other Merrill collections?
I had to wait until decent-quality videos turned up. :)
No other collections, but she has appeared in previous uploads.
love her
Wow yeah the third one really goes off the rails. Uncomfortable to watch. She seems put off by his "everyone else does" comment, which leads her to the overly caustic "aside from the lovely songs you wrote for me" comment. Once he suggests she sit in the audience there's no going back. She REPEATS the "songs you wrote for me" to uncomfortable silence, her way of saying "you're not getting to me." The diary page thing is so uncomfortable. He used to cheat on her, and life with him was very difficult, so that's was she was basically referring to by even taking it out. I'm surprised they allowed her to come back, and surprised she agreed to come back the next year
That trainwreck made great Television.
I remember watching this when it first aired and, at the time, I thought it was painfully awkward. Not sure what I was thinking.
Brilliant
You have the best collections, Don!!
Is there any chance of getting one that compiles all the Ball Get Out of My Nachos segments? It drives me nuts that I can only find small clip online of it actually happening when I know they did funny parodies like the stage production and touring company.
I've found only three "Get out of my Nachos" bits, from April 9, April 27, and June 9, 1999, the last with F. Murray Abraham. Only the April 27 is sharable at the moment; will have to first digitize the first and third before preparing an upload.
Found five parody performances, all of which will have to first be digitized, etc.
1. Cast from "Homecoming" May 5, 1998
2. Cast from "One Small Step" May 19, 1998
3. Cast from "But Boy, Could He Sing" December 29, 1998
4. Fresh Step February 4, 1999
5. Fresh Step 2 March 3, 1999
And thanks!
Just noticed the band played "When You Were Mine" by Prince.
LIstening to them recount their stories totally reminds me of Bob Hope's song "Thanks for the Memories" from the Big Broadcast... that song is two people, now divorced who are still able to remember the good times they had to cover. There's something very lovely about this. (here is the song fo reference ruclips.net/video/nKgUq5dziEk/видео.html )
I was just thinking the other day I should look up videos of her appearances, because I remembered watching them when they were new.
And it's like you read my mind.
If you listen closely, you can hear a little bit of Dave in Merrill.
Floating Apple, it's the other way around. Dave took elements of his persona from her.
@@johndalton3180 Of course. That's what I initially meant, as she molded a lot of what made him big.
Right yeah I got ya. Utterly fascinating dynamic.
i'd say the other way around
Love seeing Mr. Leonard Tepper. Any chance in the future of seeing a compilation of this wonderful fellow?
As to near future, slim. Perhaps after the rest of the Late Shows are digitized.
He's in the last segments here: Fun with Rupert Collection on Late Show, 1994-97 + 2005 Coda
ruclips.net/video/v_sa1aCkJZU/видео.html
Paul and the band were playing "Back Home Again in Indiana."
What’s the harmonica song?
Wow. Merrill takes precisely zero shit lol. Like Dave, it seems like she could be entertaining to be around but not to be the focus of.
Markoe is attractive and you have no idea what she is going to say which is a fabulously funny combination.
i have never seen anyone able to handle dave the way she did. well done
well she's had a little practice
What's the song the band plays at 3:26 called?
"(Back Home Again In) Indiana".
Would you happen to have any full episodes from 1994 or 1993 in this great quality? If not, it’s cool :) great uploads!
I have every Late Night and Late Show, most of them in great quality.
Don Giller would you mind me asking a request, could you send me a private message?
I don't think You Tube has the means to convey private messages anymore. But ask away.
Don Giller I would like to ask if you can make me a dvd of Dave’s first week as cbs host I’d gladly pay you
Ah; unlikely. At some point I'll put them up.
I uploaded #1 last year but have since acquired a much better source.
Last year's upload: ruclips.net/video/pVQDD2X37uM/видео.html
She's hilarious, Dave's hilarious - it's great they were intimate - but it's obvious they'd eventually bite each other's head off: and I'm sure they knew it.
I don't think that was it at all. Dave was difficult, insecure, and unwilling to commit after, according to him, ruining his first marriage. Merrill always loved him, maybe still does.
@@fretbuzz59 and Dave was famous and being famous many many little girls are right there to choose from.
@@cultfilmfreakreviews Cite ONE "little girl." I'll wait.
Dave was famous for being very funny, and for helming the best late night show on TV, which made him attractive to women. He was also fiercely loyal to his staff, many of whom were women with whom he was not involved, such as Barbara Gaines, a gay woman, who, in her 30 yrs with him rose from receptionist to executive producer.
Sadly that beautiful shot of the Twin Towers 23:00 would only last 4 more years.
Merrill ❤
Were they not fornicating at one point....(surprise)....its obvious who was ..wearing the pants in that relationship...lol
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
"I've heard you make that noise"!
Question?! Is it just me, or, does anyone else see some Barbara Walters in this lady Merrill?
Nah, it's completely and utterly you. Walters couldn't hold a candle to Ms. Markoe here in terms of quick wit and personality.
holy h3ll she's funny
Are those all the Merrill appearances? I wonder why she was never on again.
These are all of her Late Show appearances.
It might have been Dave's choking comment? Just a guess.
That Dave didn't mention her on his final show is a shonda.
Dave Letterman died on that operating table and never came back.
@@PreferredCustomer operating table; a euphemism for CBS, no?
SEEM AS IF SHE ALWAYS SECRETLY THREATENING HIM WITH EXPOSURE AND DOING IT DEVILISHLY SUPERB.
Love this gal.
I was alway sad that they split up. I thought they were great together. I guess working together and living together gets a little long in the tooth.
Do you remember dumb ads in a meat cooler ? It wouldnt already be up, would it ? ( this is not a request, im just checking )
The viewer mail 4 that night was really cool too 😂
August 4, 1989. Not yet up.
Don Giller thanks
MM got VFM this time.
The audio is very loud 📢 which is a good thing. There are a lot of videos out there you can hardly hear them- and no, I'm not hard of hearing.
Turn it up boomer.
Merrill didn't get any laughs until she directly referred to Dave and their history. I think she is a funny lady but I don't think the audience were laughing as much as they would have thought they would.
Y can’t they do a podcast
10:29 funny woman
Oh my god this was hard to watch (expecially in light of Dave's later "improprieties")
Things must have ended badly between them, because in her official Letterman remembrances video she refers to him only as "the host".
30:08 & just after: an AWKWARD PAUSE Craig Ferguson could only hope for
should have married her.
So he could have an affair?
And she shouldn't have married him. So it worked out.
@@EclecticBuddha true that
I wonder what in the world made Mitch so hungry.
She's cute
Can I say something…
The same reason Tracy and Hepburn couldn’t marry.
Merrill comes off as smart and cold. She can definitely spar with Dave but I can see why they called it quits.
In the first segment she speaks of a dim-witted talk show host who can't recognize sarcasm. If you pause on the newspaper article you'll see she's talking about....Chris Matthews. Lol
feather031 - explains a lot about him.
Merrill is hot, funnier than hell, and way fucking cool! WTF was dave's problem?
I think she's a little bitter. That she enabled his incredible wealth without enjoying comparable wealth. When she is at least his peer at comedy and possibly funnier. Pretty sure she gave him body and soul and he gave her a little bit less. Hell, I'd be bitter too.
She has plenty of money.