The Letterman Podcast 021 Stephen Winer

Stephen Winer was there at the very beginning of Late Night. And some of his contributions to the show as a writer endured the entire Letterman run until 2015, such as the bit he wrote for a viewer mail segment where Dave threw something into the open window scape behind him, triggering what would become an iconic glass breaking sound effect. He was also one of the men who discovered Calvert DeForest, better known in some circles as Larry 'Bud' Melman. And while those two facts alone cement him in the annuals of Letterman lore, there is so much more to talk about. Stephen and Mike have a delightful conversation about how the show was built, and behind the scenes stories of what many call the greatest talk show in history during its infancy. They go deeper into comedy, and talk about one of Stephen's other most important contributions to entertainment, working directly with another titan of clever irreverence, Robert Klein. The love for the craft of comedy writing is evident in this conversation, and anyone who is an enthusiast of the discipline will surely love this episode.

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