On Feb. 1, 1982, late-night television — and comedy, in general — changed forever with the debut of ‘‘Late Night With David Letterman’’ on NBC. For me, it was momentous. As great as Dave’s failed morning show was, this was even more amazing because it broke the mold of the tired ‘‘Tonight Show.’’ As much as Dave loved Johnny Carson, he managed to find a new form of comedy by not being Johnny. Stupid Pet/Human Tricks, the Velcro Wall, the Monkey-Cam, Stump the Band, Hello Deli gags, The Top 10 List and Dave’s Record Collection were just some of the great Letterman bits. One of my favorites was called ‘‘Viewer Mail’’ on NBC. It became the ‘‘CBS Mailbag’’ when the show moved to CBS in 1993. And that’s why we are talking about Dave today. In today’s quiz, we feature several emails from the Quizmaster’s Mailbag. And in the words of David Letterman, ‘‘This is not a competition; it’s only an exhibition. Please, no wagering.’’
1. ‘‘You know him, you love him, you can’t live without him — Paul Shaffer, ladies and gentlemen!’’ David Letterman had never-ending respect for his bandleader and comedic partner, Paul Shaffer. ‘‘Paul is essential,’’ Letterman said. ‘‘It’s a long trip. And Paul is the funny flight attendant.’’ With that in mind, ‘‘You know her, you love her, you can’t live without her — Tracey Labovitz, ladies and gentlemen!’’ Tracey is the gifted person who designs the quiz each week, and I guarantee you would never enjoy it as much without her skills. Tracey’s parents always told her that she interrupted the Cubs game on July 15, 1969, to be born. The second-place Mets beat the first-place Cubs that day. Who was the Cubs’ manager?
