the person who deserved to get it was david letterman.torcycle into a news conference hosted by nbc entertainment president warren littlefield, still has a bruised ego about the way the network wavered in its support for him. >> when we found out leno was going to get "the tonight show," we were all obviously depressed. we felt like we were being punished for making fun of them and not cooperating and not being as collaborative as we could have been. and we also felt like we were being disrespected because we did 11 years of great shows. >> just how pissed off are you? [ laughter and applause ] >> by all rights, david letterman should have taken over for johnny carson, but his agent took a very, very aggressive stand. we're going to really control all of late night. it's going to cost you a fortune. and they put our backs to the wall. >> i can only tell you it's been an honor and a privilege to come into your homes all these years and entertain you. and i hope when i find something i want to do and i think you will like and come back, tha

here he is. >> no one can go on the david letterman show and try to steer it towards a point of viewr push something, it just wouldn't stand for it. you're on to do one thing and one thing only, be as funny as the rest of the show. >> you know, we could get in a two-shot here dave. >> we could actually send a crew home, couldn't we? >> as a comedian, you want the biggest audience that you could get. for dave, he knew a lot of things that he would do were going to alienate people. he didn't care. he wanted his thumb print out there, and that was the important thing. >> it's time for small town news. paul? paul schafer, ladies and gentlemen. >> the show making fun of itself and turning itself inside out that way was something kind of new. >> don't we look like guys who could be hanging around together? >> absolutely. >> would you like to hang around with me? >> no. >> i'll say again, this is the stupidest show. >> i thought i would never want to do this show with you. >> why? because you thought i was a [ bleep ]. >> there's one rule i keep trying to abide by. and unfortunately, i only

jonathan introduces david letterman to beard oil in the new interview.ey have serious moments as well the two get into a deep discussion on gender identity and lgbtq rights >>an letterm beard is important. every time i see that it's interesting to watch >> that is a life's work right there. well earned. he likes to grow that beard, beard chapter. >>> one country has beene ablto cover evyo wleernehi lowering drug prices, but what does it cost their taxpayers e'uh-oh, looks like someon still nervous about buying a new house. is it that obvious? yes it is. you know, maybe gu'd worry less if you geico to help with your homeowners insurance. i didn't know geico could helps with homeowners insurance. yep, they've been doing it for years. what are you doing? big steve? thanks, man. there he is. get to know geico and see how much you could save on homeowners and renters insurance. >>> as we head into the 4th of july week, many folks across the countrare finalizing their travel plans aaa estimates 41.4 million people will be on the roads over the holiday. places

. >> david letterman originally had a one-hour daytime show, and nbc, after like 13 weeks, decided tohe air. monday, las vegas -- [ booing ] have these people been frisked? >> it was a dismal failure in terms of the ratings, but not in terms of introducing us to letterman. >> david, thank you for being with us tonight. >> thank you very much for having me, i appreciate it. >> in spite of all this nonsense that goes around in the background, stay with it and don't give up. and stay with us here in new york. we like having you. >> i like being here. >> dave is back in new york. you're going to host a late-night television program that premieres monday night. what are critics likely to say tuesday morning? >> i don't much care because i found a way to deal with that, pills and whiskey. [ laughter ] >> david, you're on. >> oh, i'm on? >> proceed. >> i'm enjoying listening to you snort. >> they gave him "the late night show" after "the tonight show."" and at the time, people thought who is going to watch television at 12:30 at night? who is up? i'll tell you who is up. young people. colleg

one thing you have not changed since david letterman was here, it is freezing in here, am i right?unbelievable. why so cold? >> stephen: thank you, by the way, for stopping by on the way to the funeral. >> i thought i looked good. >> stephen: you do. you do look good. life-like. i would describe you as life- like. you look like you're just sleeping. >> you know what happened to me, i did four years on "america's got talent." >> stephen: i was on it once. >> and i was like, you know, i should get a new wardrobe. i'm going to be on television on a network television show. i was all excited. so i went out and bought a bunch of suits. i got them from john varvatos. you know john varvatos? very, very popular. you don't know him? i barely know him. but he's fantastic. and i bought these suits and now they sit in my closet. i left "america's got talent." because it was basically silly. i was judging singers. i don't sing. >> stephen: you have ears. >> i would go out there. i would go, "you're terrible. you can't sing," this, that and the other thing. who cares if i ruin their careers? i'm

. >> jimmy: boy, the first time i was on the david letterman show was like 1998 or something.showed a picture of a jack-o'-lantern that my grandfather carved. he put it in the freezer to save it for the next year. and so it was in the freezer for a whole year. that was more than 20 years ago. is it in there? >> no. there's no way it's still in here. whoa. look at that. >> jimmy: oh, yeah. there it is. go into grandpa sal's room. >> okay. >> jimmy: 20 years. 20 years that has been there. >> i don't know if you guys have eaten but this is either a beef stroganoff or brownies. we'll deal with that later. >> jimmy: you always were a great cook, aunt chippy. >> come with me. >> jimmy: this is our grandfather's room. he's deceased. he was killed by beef stroganoff. but -- you can see -- >> grandpa used to paint on beer cans. and there's sammy davis jr. he took his talents then to egg shells. i don't know if you can see. but he would paint on egg shells. that i think is aunt chippy right there. >> jimmy: uh-huh. >> that's either -- i think that's elton john. saddam hussein. he really