KPIX at 75: Comic Bob Sarlatte interviews David Letterman in 1993
When NBC signed Jay Leno to become the new host of "The Tonight Show," David Letterman left the network, moved his late-night talk show to CBS. Before his new program debuted on August 30, 1993, Letterman did a fascinating interview with comedian and friend Bob Sarlatte
San Francisco resident and stand-up comic Sarlatte first met Letterman when they were both doing comedy in Los Angeles. He interviewed Letterman for KPIX News, which the station split into five parts. In each segment, the iconic host fielded questions that the public wanted to ask him.
In Part 1 of the interview viewable in the player above, Letterman addressed if there will be changes to his show, covering the new band and cosmetic changes, his dispute with NBC over the network's claims of intellectual property, and why the show would be held in New York vs. Los Angeles.
In Part 2 of the interview (viewable below), Letterman discussed his $40 million deal to move from NBC to CBS. NY Police officers wanted to know if Letterman would buy them a house. Letterman answers, talks about law enforcement and his peculiar alarm system that -- according to the host -- caused him nothing but security problems. In addition to addressing his new salary, Letterman accepted a gift from Barry Bonds.
In Part 3 of the interview (viewable below), Letterman addresses the issue of his hair, if he's surprised by his success, what he thinks of the talk that he's mean to people and where his career began.
In Part 4 of the interview (viewable below), Letterman is prodded by one questioner to ask a woman across the street out on a date before talking about whether people bother him or are nice and what his deal is with cigars.
In Part 5 of the interview (viewable below), Letterman talks about playing basketball in Malibu as a kid and attending wrestling matches, going on at length about various wrestling moves, including the Atomic Drop, the abdominal stretch and the bulldog headlock as well as his affection for wrestling legend Pepper Gomez.