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Never Piss Off David Letterman
Ed McMahon: TV's Affable Uncle
Letterman vs. Conan: Who Ya Got?
Jimmy Kimmel Destroys ABC at ABC Upfronts
Showbiz Monkeys: A History
Wayne Newton Recalls The Pain Of Being The Richard Simmons Of The Carson Era

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Xiu MeiGeryon
07/23/09

In reply to Never Piss Off David Letterman
That guy really IS a professional.
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Slackferno
07/23/09

In reply to Never Piss Off David Letterman
Dave is well known for grudges, just ask Susie Biggers. Higgins was good in the role, a good sport about Kath & Kim and plays off Cheryl Hines admirably in The Ugly Truth.
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mostlymartian
07/23/09

In reply to Never Piss Off David Letterman
This is a deceptive article. He did not say Letterman has refused to speak to him. He was asked if he'd talked to Letterman at all or had any contact with him and he said no. There was no suggestion he's been trying to get in touch with Letterman himself and getting rebuffed. He did not say Letterman hates him. Letterman invited him on the show and he got bumped, but he doesn't imply it was malicious.

The TV movie was a long time ago and Letterman, most of the public, and even Higgins have moved on.
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badhatharry
07/26/09

@mostlymartian: Yeah, but it also doesn't mention that Letterman likes to light bags of dogshit on his porch, ring the bell, and run off.
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TedSez
07/22/09

In reply to Never Piss Off David Letterman
As I recall, Letterman was mostly mad about the awful red wig Higgins wore for the part.

But I don't think Letterman hasn't had him on the show because there's a conflict between them -- as we know, Dave finds his own discomfort to be comic gold. What he hates is talking about himself, especially when it involves personal business that he can't control, so I'm guessing that's what he's been avoiding all these years.
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Bobby Big Wheel
07/22/09

In reply to Never Piss Off David Letterman
Letterman was also at fault for Higgins being named the worst audience member at Cirque du Soleil.
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pureblarney
07/23/09

@Bobby Big Wheel: Letterman has a responsibility to tell you that there is no candy in this office.
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Sleepyhead
07/23/09

@pureblarney: Letterman uses one word to describe himself. What is it?
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FallonBestia
07/22/09

In reply to Never Piss Off David Letterman
I remember how obvious the bump was. Tom Cruise was on the show that night and stayed on for through 2 commercial breaks. I am a fan of Dave's but never understood why he is so bitter to Higgins who did a great job.
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The Cajun Boy promoted this comment 92BuickLeSabre approved this comment FallonBestia was starred FallonBestia was unstarred

unclevanya
07/22/09

In reply to Never Piss Off David Letterman
C'mon Dave, bury the hachet! Now that Conan is your competition, you officially win for life! Can you still hold a grudge against this super-talented actor while you're sitting at your desk, bouncing your kid on your knee?

Besides, Higgins also voiced Mentok the Mindtaker in Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, and you don't see the real Mentok going all apeshit over it! Well, do ya?
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raincoaster
07/22/09

In reply to Never Piss Off David Letterman
Do you think Letterman will have him murdered and then invite his mother on to reminisce?
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The Cajun Boy
07/22/09

@raincoaster: No. But he will have him raped by ARod!
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Uncle_Billy_Slumming
07/22/09

In reply to Never Piss Off David Letterman
Comedic pipsqueak. Craig Ferguson should invite him on his show and make him put his head between his legs like Letterman did to a geriatric Raquel Welch. Worldwide Pants? More like Worldwide Colostomy Bag.
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lobstr
07/22/09

In reply to Never Piss Off David Letterman
So stupid.. $200m later, what the hell does Dave give a shit about any of this now? Shouldn't he be more mad at the writers of that movie than simply "the messenger"?
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SpyMagician
07/22/09

@lobstr: In the world of entertainment, there's no such thing as being sated. You know the sad—but true—cliche that says that folks in entertainment are trying to fill a void in their lives? Well, being in the spotlight is like grabbing a drink each time you have a problem. You think you solved something, but at the end of the day the problem is still there and you're an alcoholic.

That's why I think Johnny Carson was the last great guy in late night comedy. He—and many of his peers—seemed like they could get over the petty differences to get on with their lives.
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Greasy Thumb Guzik
07/23/09

@SpyMagician:
Except Carson never forgave Joan Rivers for taking the talk show job with Fox.
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SpyMagician
07/23/09

@Greasy Thumb Guzik: Well, people aren’t perfect, but I think that level of contention makes sense since Joan Rivers was closer to the same level as Carson than John Michael Higgins is to Letterman.

Joan Rivers didn’t have a career stigma-laden cloud hovering her because of that. For Letterman to still behave this way towards John Michael Higgins is petty and borderline malicious since it harms his career.
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lobstr
07/23/09

@SpyMagician: You had me there until you say someome like JOhnny Carson could "get on with their lives".. It was no secret him and Ed McMahon had some sort of bad vibe between them, surfacing shortly after he left the Tonight Show.. along with all of the other tales of celebs saying how they were always on thin ice worrying about pissing off JC, as he had a lengthy blacklist. :[]
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Edited by lobstr at 07/23/09 8:54 AM lobstr was starred lobstr was unstarred

The Recession Is Over
07/23/09

@lobstr: But no one is going to care if Dave has a grudge against the writers. By shunning the messenger he gets to... well... send a message.
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Edited by The Recession Is Over at 07/23/09 11:05 AM

MargotheDoeEyedFMachine
07/22/09

In reply to Never Piss Off David Letterman
Higgins was superb in that, and Letterman should be grateful to him for pulling it off with so much panache.
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Tremonius
06/23/09

In reply to Ed McMahon: TV's Affable Uncle
He was the Greek chorus on the Tonight Show, and the deep haw-haw provoked laughter throughout America. It's a technique well known to Hamlet, who cautioned the players against "inciting some barreness" in the audience by onstage laughing like Will Kemp and his contemporary George Burns were famous for. But it works. I have seen very lame pedestrian patter win guffaws just because Burns was bent double in hysterics on the stage and everybody wanted to be part of the in crowd so they laughed too.

How come Publishers Clearing House isn't part of his resume?
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SidAndFinancy
06/23/09

@Tremonius: I know that George Burns lived a very long life, but was he really a contemporary of Hamlet?
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Tremonius
06/23/09

@SidAndFinancy: Oh, no, of course not. Reference was to the late 18th Century comedy actor William Kempe, who quit the King's Men due to Creative Differences with Shagspur and did the Morris Dance all the way to Norwich, a distance of a hundred miles, with George Burns playing the flute alongside.
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Nice Beaver
06/23/09

In reply to Ed McMahon: TV's Affable Uncle
I'll always be indebted to Ed for inspiring Phil Hartman, dressed as a Ed with a big 1990s Kid 'n Play flat top, to say, "That is the straight stuff, O Funk Master!" on an old SNL skit with Dana Carvey called "The Carsenio Show," a demon hybrid of Johnny and Arsenio.

Also, this was great, Mr. Lawson.
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CaptainFantastic
06/23/09

In reply to Ed McMahon: TV's Affable Uncle
Wow, I miss the Carson show.
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lobstr
06/23/09

In reply to Ed McMahon: TV's Affable Uncle
I like how he chuckled at the gold hip replacement.. they guy could laugh, even at himself..
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