In 1999, television host David Letterman bought a 2,700-acre ranch in Montana. According to Realtor, the ranch is one of several properties owned by Letterman, who has spoken openly about moving away from the pressures and lifestyle associated with show business.
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Letterman, now 79, was born and raised in Indianapolis. He left Indiana in 1975, when he was in his late 20s, to pursue a career in stand-up comedy. He later became one of American television’s best-known late-night hosts, spending much of his career in New York before stepping away from his long-running show in 2015.
After his decision to leave late-night television, Letterman and wife, Regina Lasko, moved back to Indiana, where he said he felt more comfortable being himself. He has described his years in show business as a period when he felt he had been pretending to be someone he was not.
Life away from show business
In a 2024 interview with GQ, Letterman spoke about the difference between his life in show business and his life in Indiana. He said returning to his home state had helped him reconnect with a broader part of life outside television.
"In show business, I find that I have pretended to be someone I’m truly not. In my life here in Indiana and at my home with my family, I am probably the person I actually am. And I regret that they don’t kind of cross at any point," Letterman said.
When he was asked whether he believed Hollywood had made him a "worse person", Letterman agreed. "Yes. You're exactly right," he said.
Letterman also said that his priorities had changed after leaving his late-night show. "I just feel like, personally, I have greater humanity than I did when I was in show business. It was all single-minded and great pressure, real unimagined, and I felt like it's all on me and it's all on me, and that it was all nonsense," he said.
